front end adjuster adjusting

[zen]

i'm a little stumped. i haven't dealt with adjusters before. 1st for some edumication. i would like to know if i am understanding them right. i have read several articles on how they install, but they never seem to cover this.

as the suspension is lowered, the adjusting bolt should move down shouldn't it? i am trying to raise my suspension and can't seem to get it all the way up. i am trying to raise it as i am putting dropped spindles on. the adjusters are both at their lowest position though. i figured this to be the position for when the suspension is trying to be set at its lowest. they were both almost all the way down when i first went to adjust it and when breaking the locknuts loose, they sprung down the last 3mm.

now that i am trying to raise it, i figured i would just move the bolts up and see what happens, but they will not budge. they seem to have tension on them. so am i to assume that these were put in by the PO offset to allow it to be lowered more than standard? any suggestions on how to correct this and get a little more height? i am at around 2" between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender lip without gas, spare tire or occupants. so it is VERY close as to whether i can make this work at current settings.

sorry for the length.

[boygenius]

With the adjusting bolt backed all the way out is the lowered position and screwed all the way in is the raised position. I have a 4" lowered front beam and the surface of the adjuster where the jam nut is located is parallel to the floor pans. The standard adjustable beam has the adjuster on a 45 degree angle and the raised beam on a 90 degree angle.


Do you have lowered shocks? They won't let you go up in ride height.

The reason there may have a gap is that there is only a certian amount of range in the adjuster. The bolt can be screwed out farther than the slot in the adjuster will allow.

I have the directions for mine and I can post them if you need them.:)

You did jack the car up off the ground otherwise the suspension ain't gonna budge an inch.;)

[zen]

the car is in the air. i swapped the short shocks for standard height ones. and have those removed at the moment too. i assume this to be a standard height beam. i did not try to actually turn the adjusting bolt, just backed off the jam nuts and the bracket. i assumed turning the adjusting bolt itself would remove it from the torsion bar which is under load. is that the way to adjust the height though?

maybe instructions would be good. :rolleyes:

[boygenius]

Loosen all of the jam nuts and the set screws.

Turn the adjusting screw untill you reach the desired height.

retighten the set screw and both jam nuts.

set screw = 30 ft-lbs. Jam nut = 55 Ft-lbs.

Adjust both adjusters the same amount. :D

[zen]

cool. the missing links. i do not have a set screw, just 2 jam nuts on each adjuster and the serated bracket. i will try turning the bolt in some turns and see what i get. i should only need another 1/4-1/2"

[boygenius]

You have an avis style adjuster and not the same one that I have.

I haven't used that style of adjuster before but from what I can tell from seeing pictures you will have to loosen both the jam nut and back them off enough so that you can move the top serrated piece down on the beam to lower the suspension. Sorry for the mix-up.:o

[zen]

well i could be back to lost then. i have both nuts backed off all the way and the bracket is laying loose. like i said, both adjusters were at the bottom of the welded on bracket anyway. the non-welded bracket is just loose so moving it does nothing obviously. there is too much tension to just move the bolt up and turning it (and i could only get about a 1/4 turn so far) i thought would back it out of the bars and allow them to turn, which is bad since they appear to be under load. your height is adjusted by turning the lage bolt that goes straight into the torsion tube?

i can post some pics in a few.

[boygenius]

Try loosening the allen head screws a little bit and than pull down on your trailing arms to see if that moves the adjusters.:confused:

[zen]

updated info:

i think i got the procedure i need from a buddy, but i am still perplexed by something. see attached. that is the bottom adjuster. when i first loosened it, it was about 5-10mm higher. i expected it to move up when releasing the leaves, but it moved down. i am trying to get some height back on the car since i am putting dropped spindles in. i can't get it to budge.

i have removed the lower ball joint nuts in an attempt to allow the lower trailing arms to come down so i can follow the procedure given to me which was:

1. remove the adjuster
2. rotate and remove the set screw
3. put the adjuster in that hole
4. rotate back and put the set screw in the hole the adjuster was in

but it still feels bound. i am hesitate to unscrew the adjuster because i can not push it up. it feels as if it is under load. does anyone know what direction the lower adjuster should turn? i assumed up. could the PO have put the leaves in backwards and have this pushing the trailing arms up?

help! :confused:

[Sandeep]

I'll take some pics of my front end tomorrow as I am also going to raise my front due to the addition of dropped spindles. I'll post what I find.

I noticed right away that when I put the front end up in jackstands that the trailing arms didn't really drop. I found that by taking off the front shocks, the trailing arms dropped by about 3 inches.

I guess this shows that a dropped beam really has no suspension travel when dropped to its max. I hope to raise it by about 3".

Stay tuned...

Sandeep

[kenfyoozed]

zen,
from what i have read about the avis adjusters, thats the ones i want for my car, once you have taken off the jam nuts and backed everything off where it is loose, including the serated piece. it should release it to stock height.

where do you have the car lifted? make sure your not lifting on any part of the suspension. and keep your shocks off and the tires on. they will help to add weight to pull the suspension down. get the idea?

also check to make sure there are no set screws along the length of the beams, maybe there was something overlooked.

hope it works for you.

neil

[zen]

i thought that is how it should work. i was able to get it to drop some a few months ago, but it appears that it is not at stock height though.

i have it supported under the front of the pan, so nothing in the way there.

i have not looked at the backside of the beam for set screws. good point. i will check.

again, what threw me was when first pulling the nuts and plate, the adjuster went down (it was already only a few mm from the bottom) with some force and seems to be held down with some load. so i am hesitant to unscrew the adjuster for fear that it is under load. can't seem to get anything else to budge.

i am thinking of pulling the spindles carefully to see if i can get some rotation from the trailing arms.

[kenfyoozed]

zen,
i would very carefully back off the adjuster. that has to be whats holding it, because once everything is loose and not binding it should all move freely as you would think.

also, the PO didnot also cuat and turn the front beam did they? just a thought.

neil

[zen]

possible. i was just talking to NO_H2O about that. it seems the most likely cause at this point. what is the impact if so? how do get the load off so i can turn the bars back? i know just enough to be dangerous here.

[kenfyoozed]

if there is weld marks all around the beam its been cut. to me the easiest route would be to get a new used beam and start from scratch. they seem cheap on the samba.

if its not ben cut, then just stand in the front or the middle and keep all limbs away from the trailing arms, and loosen everything. i cant see anything too dangerous happening if you stay clear. but just in case have a phone handy to call 911 :D

ill check mine tonite to see if there is a set scew you might have missed.

i dont have that setup, but have done several hours on how they work, i like to completely understand something before i try it.

ok just looked on the stf and you do need to totally loosen the center grub bolt, should be done with a hex wrench.

let us know what happens.
neil

[zen]

well, everything is off the trailing arms now. the top moves freely and i can raise and lower it with the adjusting bolt in and without having backed it out at all. however, the lower trailing arms don't budge at all. i have tried jacking them up...it takes the weight of the car without moving. guess that answers for that harsh ride i used to have. they did move several months ago though when i first released the locking nuts. but not back to stock height. i need another 1/2" at least.

any ideas? i am down to the above suggestion of just backing off the adjusting bolt, but it is still under some kind of load. when trying to push it up i can move it about 1/2", but it doesn't move the trailing arms. so i am a little weary of backing it off. what are the internals. how does that adjusting bolt lock into the leaves?

[zen]

i just noticed that one of the grease fittings is missing on the beam. that probably answers the question of why it is not moving. i've pulled the beam. time for a replacement. just have to figure out what's going to happen when i try to pull the trailing arms off now. the adjuster is still under load. :mad:

[boygenius]

I have a beam and a set of front end adjusters. I think I need to clean up the threads on one of the adjusters. :)

[zen]

thanks brendan. dave has a beam that he was going to use for his son's car. he is going to trade me and work on this one. luckily he has the torsion arms and all so more time can be spent dealing with the load issue. i'm running down to his place tomorrow to trade and then back at it.

packing bearings and assembling the front brakes and spindles tonight. this will be yet another brake conversion option thanks to helgesen. details to come.