To stick my nose in the hornets nest: Remember the leaning Vanagon? It was a thread about straightening out the westy's. Since all the furniture and water tanks etc. are on the left side in the westfalias, they tend to lean to the left. Exchanging the rear springs did not help enough. After installing a 1/2 " washer between the left rear "doughnut" and the frame, the car rides straight. The 1/2 inch washer did raise the left side the same amount. Could be that the spring compressed maybe 1/16 inch or less, but the amount is not noticeable. The left rear spring does not feel any different than it did before I installed the washer. The only difference, the car rides level. The effect is much better than using spring spacers. They do, in effect, reduce the effectiveness of the coils. You can fabricate the washers easily from a 1/2 inch semi-soft vinyl cutting board. Goes well with the "doughnuts." All you need is a jigsaw and a very thin fine toothed blade. Use the "doughnut" as a pattern. Also can be shaped with a belt sander. I also raised the front 1/4 inch that way. In 2 years of use, the washers have not compressed a bit. Harald 90 westy 2 wd. |
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