Fitting Adjustable Lowering Spring Plates On Already Low Bus

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cunning plan

cunning plan

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
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Location
Northamptonshire
Year of Your Van(s)
1968
Van Type
Clipper / Microbus
Hi,

Okay, so the rear of my bus was lowered by the PO, but I do not know how many splines.

I have got some Transporterhaus Adjustable Rear Lowering Spring Plates (ARLSP) to put on and I am confused about the suspension physics now. :?

1. Will the spring plate have any tension in it as it is technically lowered?

2. Do I put the new ARLSP on at the same spline as the current lowered spring plate or should I be aiming to put the ARLSP to a stock-height postion and use the adjustment to lower and raise the vehicle?

:sign0009:
 
It all depends on how low you want to go.
I don't have the TH spring plates so you will need to see what drop that give without extra splines being tuned.

IE; t2d and CE rear spring plates give 1" when put in the position as a standard spring plate in factory position.

Hope that makes sense.
 
*Sam* said:
IE; t2d and CE rear spring plates give 1" when put in the position as a standard spring plate in factory position.

Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

Okay, so it sounds like I need to get the ARLSP in the stock postion to start with. Which would be fine, but I do not know how many splines 'back' that would be as I am unsure how many it is turned from the PO to make it lower. :| :roll:

:sign0001:
 
To compound matters there's inner and outer splines which give exact adjustment. You may be lucky when you pop off the end cap that the PO has marked the OG position (are they marked at the factory? Not sure)

You can set them to stock using a inclinometer, or an app on the iPhone or similar - well documented on the web, such as

http://vw.zenseeker.net/Wheels-TorsionBars.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Very useful, thank you!

8)

There are no stock marks from what I could tell :? :cry:
 
Just coming back to this as they are the next job once I have finished the headlining install.

In the Bentley manual, it states a measurement of 23° + 50' is the stock / default setting of the spring plates for a 'Station Wagon' Bay.

What does 23° + 50' mean? :anim_20:

I have downloaded a Inclinometer on to my phone, so I think that is telling me to hold the spring plate at an angle of 23° to get it stock, but what does +50' mean? What is the ' measurement? To me, it means feet / foot ?? :shock: :?

:sign0009:
 
cunning plan said:
Just coming back to this as they are the next job once I have finished the headlining install.

In the Bentley manual, it states a measurement of 23° + 50' is the stock / default setting of the spring plates for a 'Station Wagon' Bay.

What does 23° + 50' mean? :anim_20:

I have downloaded a Inclinometer on to my phone, so I think that is telling me to hold the spring plate at an angle of 23° to get it stock, but what does +50' mean? What is the ' measurement? To me, it means feet / foot ?? :shock: :?

:sign0009:
Click to expand...

It's "minutes" of a degree. For strange pre metric reasons there's 60 minutes in one degree so a tolerance of plus 50 means set it to 23 but if the splines don't give you 23 then err on the plus side - up nearly one more degree.
 
Watch your fingers when you slide the plate off the torsion spring. The spring plate in itself is not a spring , but a plate that attaches to a spring ie, the torsion springs complete with splines. If you want to get it to the same height as you have it now then once you have it jacked up and on axle stands you could measure from the hub or some fixed point to a spot on the concrete and use this as your datum , might be a good idea to mark the point on the concrete very well with a cross so that you get back to the same point exactly then you can get your adjustables as high up as you can and as close to the measurement as possible. You can then drop your plates in order to get the wheels off and you can use the plates for any fine adjustment. If you want to go lower than you are at the moment, just adjust the measurement accordingly on each side. Might be worth checking before you start that the bus is in fact level at the moment as that could be factored in as well, if required.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, How low can you go :mrgreen: ;) :mrgreen:
 
Trikky2 said:
It's "minutes" of a degree. For strange pre metric reasons there's 60 minutes in one degree so a tolerance of plus 50 means set it to 23 but if the splines don't give you 23 then err on the plus side - up nearly one more degree.
Click to expand...


Ahh Trikky, I knew I could rely on you for a reply :party0021:

That helps! It makes sense when you explain it like that. If you move it to a spline and it's below 23°, then you move it to the next spline which will be over 23° because of the way they are made, so go more, not less.


ozziedog said:
Watch your fingers when you slide the plate off the torsion spring. The spring plate in itself is not a spring , but a plate that attaches to a spring ie, the torsion springs complete with splines. If you want to get it to the same height as you have it now then once you have it jacked up and on axle stands you could measure from the hub or some fixed point to a spot on the concrete and use this as your datum , might be a good idea to mark the point on the concrete very well with a cross so that you get back to the same point exactly then you can get your adjustables as high up as you can and as close to the measurement as possible. You can then drop your plates in order to get the wheels off and you can use the plates for any fine adjustment. If you want to go lower than you are at the moment, just adjust the measurement accordingly on each side. Might be worth checking before you start that the bus is in fact level at the moment as that could be factored in as well, if required.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, How low can you go :mrgreen: ;) :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help Ozzie, but the spring plates were already 'lowered' on my bus, so they did not have any tension on them at all really, I am trying to put adjustable spring plates back on, but first I want them in the stock position and adjust from there. However, valid point for anyone reading this still yet to play with their spring-plates!

Also, nice idea regarding measuring from the hubs, but I had already stripped everything in excitement :lol: So, there was nothing to measure against! :lol: :oops:

(P.S. Watch out for a reply to your backing plate modification thread, I have questions! :shadey: :mrgreen: )

So, back to the way the VW factory did it:


Here is how I got on:

IMG_20131223_145422.jpg


DSCF4276.jpg


mechanic2.gif
 
Wow, that was quick. Looking good. :D

I always find it a bit scary looking the way those plates rely on a bolt and a weld but I haven't heard of any problems.
 
Thanks Trikky!

I was further ahead than what you had probably thought ;)

(Thread here if you're interested: http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8798&p=467582#p467582" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Trikky2 said:
I always find it a bit scary looking the way those plates rely on a bolt and a weld but I haven't heard of any problems.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would be lying if I said I had no concerns with them, but, I considered them against the bus as a whole, which is from 1968 and is not exactly a emblem of safety as such.... :?
 

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