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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 24, 2016 21:47:40 GMT -8
The front beam on my Ghia is showing some wear and I want to fix it. There is play where the control arms mount into the outer ends of the beam, which I am assuming is due to worn needle bearings and bushings in the beam. CIP1 currently has 25% off the parts that I think I am going to need, so although I won't get to this for a couple of months, I was thinking of picking up the parts ahead of time whilst they are on sale tp save a few $$$..... My question is, how difficult is it to do this job DIY with normal hand tools? Is it worth my while spending a couple of hundred dollars on bearings, bushes etc to replace the worn components, or am I better saving my pennies and buying a new Classic VW Parts beam from CIP ($432)? The beam is in otherwise good condition. Is it likely that the Micarta bushings and metal bushings will require replacement, or is it normally just the roller bearings that fail? I know that I could go neoprene for very little money, but if VW put good quality bushes and roller bearings in there, they did it for a reason, so I am planning to go OEM. Second, my clutch in my Ghia began to slip a little at the end of the year when I was having fun with a heavy right foot! Has anyone tried the CIP OE quality (not Sachs) clutch? The current clutch is at least 20 years old, so I was thinking of just replacing the whole unit. Is it worth waiting to see if anything is salvageable, or is it better just to replace everything whilst the motor is out? www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D311%2D140%2D025%2DDKIT |
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Post by Volktales on Jan 24, 2016 22:47:57 GMT -8
I ordered one of those OEM quality clutch kits awhile back from CIP. "OEM" turned out to be a "brand name" of a Chinese company... It was sent back with comments of misleading advertising... In other words totally normal order of business for CIP. Buy the Sachs. I have never changed those beam bearings so do not have useful info for you. If the bearings are bad enough to feel play in them, I would be worried about the condition of the trailing arms. I would be EXTREMELY suspicious of the quality of ANYTHING CIP sells these days... I and many others have been burned WAY to many times by them...
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 6:46:12 GMT -8
Thanks Russ. Not the news I was hoping for. That is rather clever, but very misleading marketing, branding themselves as OE Quality!
The new beams they sell are branded as VW Classic Parts, so they should be what they say they are. I'll hold off on those bits until I pull it apart and determine the condition of everything. Thanks for the input.
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Post by stude on Jan 25, 2016 8:58:21 GMT -8
Play where the control arms mount into the outer ends of the beam is kind of odd place to wear on a beam I guess a bearing could be broken or worn it is not to hard of a place to check before you buy anything is it both sides upper or lower is it up down play or back forth play.
Terry
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 9:27:22 GMT -8
I haven't looked at it recently, but I think it is both fore and aft, up and down. It's been there for some time, but it's now getting worse. I know that the passenger side is bad, so I figured that whatever I did on one side, I'd do on both.
I need to get the bus sorted first, but am starting to to think about what the car needs too. I'm hoping that the bus is going to be an easy fix this year, once I finish tiling the bathroom I've been promising I'd do for five years....
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Post by stude on Jan 25, 2016 10:32:41 GMT -8
Up and down fore and aft would be a bearing sideways in and out something different and if it isn't broke why fix it if I were you I would find the problem to repair the issue before ordering any parts even if they are on sale save your money there probably crappy parts you don't need anyway.
Terry
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 11:12:11 GMT -8
Thanks Terry. The reason that I want to repair it is that I have a wobble that is starting to transmit through the car at Highway speeds. It's not a steering wheel vibration so I am fairly certain that it is not wheel imbalance. This is the only area that I can find any significant play in the front end, so I am assuming that is where it is coming from. The ball joints and track rods are all tight.
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Post by mitchy965 on Jan 25, 2016 13:18:29 GMT -8
check those tires for a separated belt
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 15:52:03 GMT -8
How do you detect a separated belt?
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 15:52:33 GMT -8
How do you detect a separated belt?
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Post by mitchy965 on Jan 25, 2016 16:03:15 GMT -8
take the weight of the wheel so you can spin it freely. face the tread and spin the tire. your looking for lumps,high or low spots or anything non concentric. some time you can feel it by running your palm over the spinning tread. most of the time a "wobble" felt on the road is rim or tire where as a pull or wander is worn suspension components affecting the steering angles.
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Post by CrazyBrit on Jan 25, 2016 16:50:46 GMT -8
It wanders as well, but that is due to crappy ball joints that are so tight the steering no longer spec centres - something else to fix!
The wobble is what I would describe as a shimmy. It is not a vibration, more a circular shimmy through the whole car. It's only really noticeable at speed, but is not constant. It seems worse after a bump, corner or other interference that upsets the cars normal balance. Because it is not constant, I was leaning towards suspension, rather than the wheels. I'll check them anyway though. Thanks for the suggestion and the help.
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Post by CrazyBrit on Apr 27, 2016 19:18:38 GMT -8
I checked my tyres tonight and other than some minor flat spots from sitting over the winter, I could see nothing unusual. No bumps or high spots, either on the tread or the sides. The tread wear looks even. Could this be something silly like a steering damper?
I'm still waiting for parts for my bus, so the Ghia is looking like a good idea with this nice weather.
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Post by Volktales on Apr 27, 2016 20:18:24 GMT -8
If the steering damper is bad, it usually shows signs of leakage. A bad steering damper can show itself as a bad shimmy after hitting a pothole or bump in the road...
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Post by CrazyBrit on Apr 27, 2016 21:11:09 GMT -8
That could be it then. This is intermittent, and I would expect that a tyre shake would be there all of the time?
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