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Date:         Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:03:27 -0600
Reply-To:     Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Swapping '86 front end onto '82
Comments: To: mark drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <420D7048.9070704@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Mark, Andrew: What do you suppose the weight difference is? I suspect that is not much, but probably the fabbed steel part is a bit lighter. I am puzzled, too, why the different years would handle differently. And YES, I stand corrected, it is cast steel, not cast iron. Can anyone tell me the difference? I suppose the steel has some toughening alloy in it, like nickel or vanadium or molybdinum? I'm curious about the steel and the Vanagon handling! Al Brase

mark drillock wrote:

> Solid cast steel front lower control arms were phased into production > during the 1985 model year for 2wd Vanagons and during the 1989 model > year for > Syncros. The earlier stamped arms used a removable solid steel end piece > for mounting the lower ball joint to the hollow arm. The earlier 2 piece > design allows for replacement of the lower ball joint without as much > disassembly of the front suspension. This was perhaps a greater > advantage on Syncros. My guess is that the solid design was intended to > be more resistant to corrosion over time. AFAIK, the steering geometry > remained the same. > > Mark > > Shawn Wright wrote: > >> Al, >> >> Of course, you are right - I just put a magnet on my '88! I simply >> assumed the cast >> lower CA was aluminum, as this seemed like a logical move toward >> improving things, >> whereas cast iron does not. Perhaps there is an improvement in >> stiffness, given the >> more complex nature of the Vanagon control arm (with the radius rod >> tie in) versus >> simpler designs like the A1/A2 models. I don't know of any other VW >> model where >> cast iron supplanted a stamped steel part... I wonder why this was >> done on the >> Vanagon? >> All this time I assumed it was aluminum - am I the only one? >> >> On 11 Feb 2005 at 10:56, Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@mchsi.com> wrote: >> >> >> >


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