944 suspension question: clearancing of beetle shock tower
 

Can't seem to find the post with the info..

Currently trying to remove my original rear arms off a 73 SB to install the wide alum 94 N/A set up.

What I can't remember is what folks did with regard to clearing the beetle shock tower.. I thought lanner or someone else used a different bolt instead of cutting/clearancing the towers... Still trying to retain camber and adj flexiblity if possible.

Loaf..

Lanners site has this
wheel tech

Thanks.. I knew it was Lanner..

Helped a bunch.. I will ping Lanner to get more input since his application was for a non 944 alum set up, and I believe I may have different issues.. but we will see, since I am struggling with removing the old arms.
VR

Loaf..

I just had problems removing the large pivot bolt. Large buckets of cuss were involved. One bolt would not pull out, so after a couple days of farting around I just cut it. Then I find the middle of the bushing had welded itself to the bolt. I really hope thats not your problem :confused:

LOAF,

The shock towers will not be an issue with clearance. My '87 arms with 9 inch wide ET 70 wheels clear everything with room to spare. The pivot bolts on the trailing arms have 87 ft- lbs of torque from the factory, and have several notches in the bolt head so the surrounding metal can be peened over in the notches to keep the bolts from backing out. If you don't un-peen the bolts, they can be a PITA. One thing that helps with frozen nuts and bolts is PB blaster penetrating catalyst that i got from O'Reily auto parts. If possible spray some on and let it sit a day or two.

Thanks guys..

Hopefully the weather holds up and I will retackle this this weekend.

I have been dragging on the rear arms, but with a little care and caution I should be able to figure this out..

PB blaster ;) good stuff, need to pick some more up.. I will post pics once I get the alum arms test fitted.

Thanks Again
Loaf

Anything new on the clearancing of the shock tower?
I have mocked up my 944 springplates and there isn't room for the front bolt (closest to the torsion tube) and the eccentric bolt might work if it was cut down.
Has anyone just welded the 944 spring plates together? Just work with the adjustments on the eccentric bolt on the aluminum arm?
I really don't want to weaken the shock tower by cutting into it.
Anyone want to share their solutions?

Hi Buulyboy

Im pretty sure its been covered before, you need to weld the front nuts hex to the spring plate, then grind it back a bit to clear the housing behind, the housing also needs a bit of a lick with a grinder to clear the ground of nut and the height adjusting nut as well.

Steve

I understand that it has been covered before, and have researched the previous posts. I was just asking if someone had come up with anything NEW on the subject. There are some pretty old posts that start discussing the topic, and that they are going to try something but then they just stop. Just like this one:D
Also I have not heard if anyone has just welded the two plates together. It seems like a simple fix, and would be the same as running the steel arms/ stock beetle springplates only with Aluminum arms.

Saw this in How to modify Beetle Book..

I noticed that the bolt closest to the sping plate was removed on the assembly..

No mention thru out the book on the subject.. I scanned the artilce.. Email me at olaverriam@yahoo.com for some pics..
Alex

I have assembled and installed the arms minimal rubbing.. but that is while its on jacks.. plus I need new torsion covers..

This is the only new idea I have.. I would hate to have to grind down anything..
Loaf

Bullyboy, I would not weld the plates IMO. The spring plates are heat treated. So, when you weld them they could become more brittle, and then the welds might fail. Broken spring plates in a curve, or high speed is not good for your health.

If you must weld on the spring plates... I like Steve C's idea about welding the head of the bolt, and clearancing as needed. This way if the weld fails the bolt is still in there.

The spring plates on my project have urethane inner and outer bushings. That might be why my bolts don't rub on the towers. I have about 1/16th of an inch between the tower and the bolt head. The stock bushings have too much "crush" when you tighten the end caps down. Over time the urethane might settle and the bolts may hit my towers too. Only time will tell on that.

I will try bolting up both sides of the rear to see if maybe I am getting a little too much squish on my urethane mounts. :confused: there seems to be more room at the top of the plate than at the bottom.
wrenchnride247 I was thinking along the lines of welding the front bolt in on the back side so I can still use the adjuster and grind the head down on the eccentric. We'll see how that works.
thanks Mark

I too am having the rubbing issue with ecentric and the pivot bolt common to the shock tower .
What I am thinking of doing is to fab a washer to go between the bushing and swing arm maybe .080 thick and then use washers under the spring plate cap the same thickness. I do not like the idea of clearancing the shock tower or bolts if I can help it .
Ill let you know if it works out .

Brad_gt, just make sure you don't move the spring plates too far out, or during driving conditions, the plate could slip of the perch. The end caps would stop the plate from completely "unloading", but still would not be a good feeling while driving maybe.