Date:         Fri, 15 Mar 1996 07:55:08 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         walshp@ippdsgi3.nawc-ad-indy.navy.mil (Pat Walsh)
Subject:      Re:  Sagging Rear...p00r RUmBa...fix?

snuggles@vnet.ibm.com writes:
>
>okay...getting ready to replace both tierods and an upper and lower ball joint.
>noticed recently that Rumba's rear is sagging a bit. i know, it's a typical
>problem with vw vans....i thought it was maybe the shocks..but my friendly
>shadetree mechanic said it was something else...can't remember the name of
>it but if you look in front...meaning towards the driver's side..in the front
>of the rear tire, there is a piece of metal that is supposed to be slid forward
>but is slid back. said it was expensive to fix....maybe $300. said it was a
>pain on a beetle and prolly worse on a bus. suggested as an option air shocks
>but said that they would be $150 to get...any ideas? how serious is this?
>
>jonathan ('74 Retrowestie, Rumba aka Saggy Butt)
>
It's the spring plate that you can see in front of the rear wheels.  One end
attaches to the housing that holds up the wheel.  The other end fits on a
splined shaft called the torsion bar.  The adjustment involves taking the
spring plate loose, pulling it off the end of the torsion bar, rotating it
a few splines and putting it back on.  Actually, you also pull the torsion
bar out and rotate the other end in the opposite direction.  (Both ends of
the torsion bar are splined, with different numbers of splines on each end.)
I know this doesn't make much sense but if you look it up in the Haynes or
Bentley manuals, you'll at least get an idea of what's involved and whether
it's something you want to tackle.  I did it on my bus a few weeks ago and
posted some observation and tricks I discovered.  It should be in the archives
but if you can't find it let me know and I'll mail you a copy.  It's not
THAT terrible, probably 2-3 hours work per side, and I think it's the
"official" way of correcting your problem, though air shocks might work too.

Pat Walsh, '71 Westy, walshp@ippdsgi3.nawc-ad-indy.navy.mil