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Post by jonesy on Mar 14, 2009 11:22:52 GMT -5
My 65 bus is sitting too high, even for stock mode. The rear tires have always worn out only on half of the tread.
How can I lower it a bit, I think someone did something years back to raise it up. It looks like someone kicked it in the ass.
I remember seeing somewhere that you can adjust the height by adjusting how the spring plate is connected to the torsion bar.
If I open up the cover at the front of the plate, is it under a alot of tension and it will unwind with many Newtons of force right in my face?
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Post by dpeters81westy on Mar 14, 2009 13:07:44 GMT -5
I imagine that the bus may have had the rear end "sag" in years past...and somebody decided to correct it by re-adjusting the rear spring plates.
Maybe they twisted them too much and now you have 4x4 mode in the rear.
I'm not an expert on Type II's...but on a Type 1 the rear tortion bars have different numbers of splines on the inside and outside sections of the bar. Some are fine..some are coarse. You can adjust the ride height by changing the angle of the inner - or - the outer splines, or both until you have the ride height you're looking for.
As for the spring plates themselves...Yes, they are under a tremendous amount of pressure...and I wouldn't want to be in the way of that arm when that pressure is released ( when the spring plate is pressed away from it's perch ).
That being said, it didnt' stop me from adjusting the spring plates in my Ghia...and lowering the car. I did have the factory VW spring plate angle tool to help me be sure that the spring plates were at the same angle on both sides when I was done.
Hope this helps...
- DP
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Post by riffraff on Mar 14, 2009 21:33:31 GMT -5
It is not difficult to re index your spring plates, but you should set aside a full day to do it.
The buses were indexed a little high as, by 1965, they were rated to carry one ton. That means they had to start up a little high so they did not bottom out when loaded to the tits.
You can take the cover off with no danger, but IF a PO did re index them, they could be under tension.
The bus torsion bars have 48 splines on the outside and 44 splines on the inside which allows for almost infinite adjustment.
One spline is a BIG adjustment.
What you will need to do is get the ass end of the bus in the air.
Unbolt the RGB's from the spring plates - be careful not to let any bolts strip on the way out. The camber will be working against you.
Then take the torsion bar cover off.
Now you need to pull the spring plate away from the bus to clear the stops. If there is tension on the stops, it could spring down a small amount, so make sure you have only surplus body parts directly under the springplate.
If it does come down, it will come fast, but not far (an inch or so at the far end)
It's a good idea to mark the torsion bar with whiteout across the end of the bar and the springplate so you know where it started out.
Now carefully pull the springplate off of the torsion bar and replace it one spline counter clockwise. Don't pull the torsion bar out of the inner housing.
Do the same on the other side, then put it back together, roll it back and forth and see if you like the ride height.
If not, repeat until you get it how you like it.
Read my write up on installing a straight axle in the Virtual Garage section. It describes how to adjust spring plates.
If you don't want to tackle this alone, let me know and maybe I can help you out once the weather warms up some.
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Post by rareair on Mar 15, 2009 2:26:51 GMT -5
Now carefully pull the springplate off of the torsion bar and replace it one spline counter clockwise. Just make sure it's counter clockwise on the left side and clockwise on the right side. |
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