Ok so another problem has cropped up. For the last day or so my car has been a little hairy to steer. I noticed tonight that the front RH side appears to have dropped about an inch compaired to the LH side. There is no bounce on the RH either. The bump stop is just touching the lower arm. I am hoping that this might be that the shock has collapsed (Please) Does anyone else have an idea or do you think it could be as simple as the shocker?
I also noticed that the LH bump stop is split but this was like that when I bought the car and there is a reasonable gap on that side.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
What happened in the 'last day or so'? Did something break?
The shock has nothing to do with ride height - it simply 'damps' the suspension ie prevents it bouncing. Sounds like you need a suspension adjustment
[ Edited on 23-9-2006 by VWCOOL ]
Pay your debts, CxxT
It's the fist time I had seen the sag. But you could be right, it may have been there for a while as I don't realy get to see the car when I am at work. And yeah, I was sort of grasping at straws with the shocker idea 🙁 I dread working on the front as I heve never seen this setup before
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
Sounds like you have no suspension travel on the right. If you cann't see anything which has snapped, it's probably a snapped torsion bar.
Ain't nothin' like the wind in your hair.
nonononononononono, That's not good. Up untill last night I was still driving it. Nothing that I can see is snapped. So it may be the torsion bar. Let me guess. They are no longer available and evry year is a bit different lol
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
If the torsion bar is snapped (highly unlikely) it will besitting HARD at that side's bump stop. Is it?
Pay your debts, CxxT
Has this happened suddenly, or gradually over time. Whe you say there is no bounce, have you tried lifting the front of the car and dropping it again? Does it just drop freely or is there some resistance. You might have to try this with the shock removed.
It could be a sagged torsion bar.
Fortunately, if it is broken (which is indeed highly unlikely) you can get a replacement second hand one from a wreck fairly cheaply. The front end torsion bars and sway bars generally hold up quite well in comparison to the rears.
PS don't be scared, spend $50 and buy the Bentley service manual. The front end of a type 3 is actually very simple: beam, two torison bars, two sway bars and a few bushes and bearings.
[ Edited on 24-9-2006 by PurpleT3 ]
Ain't nothin' like the wind in your hair.
The bump stop is bottomed out on that side. but I can lift it off by hand. The bump stop on the other side is all cracked like when you hit a super ball with a hammer. The other side has about an inch of travel left before it bottoms out
When I pull that side up and let go the car seems to just drop, it is not a hrsh crash but smooth. As far as I know it was sudden. I only noticed the change in steering a a day or two ago. But then my car park has a dip on the LH side front that makes the car look like it has a flat tyre so I would not have noticed
[ Edited on September 24th, 2006 by electricmonk ]
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
Split or cracked bump stops are very common. Just get new ones.
If the loss of height was relatively sudden, it sounds like something has broken. It may be one of the bushes in the beam has snapped. If you are reasonably mechanical, you could try fixing it yourself. At the moment type 3s are very cheap. The cheapest (if you have the space) way would probably be to buy a whole car to wreck for parts. Alternatively, you could buy a complete front beam assembly. If you can get a good front beam, it may be easier to just swap tham over. Keep you old one, pull it apart and reco it. This would allow you rebuild it at your leisure while still having a running car. Then swap it back later.
Ain't nothin' like the wind in your hair.
Didn't think the front had torsion bars, they have torsion leaves don't they? If one or more leaf has snapped, it will create the uneven height. True for a T1 anyway, not sure about T3s though
Thanks for the replies. LOL I don't even have cover to work on the car let alone space for another one. BUT I know there is a Type III squre down at the recyclers. I will have to check the year and if the front assembly is OK. I think the fronts are all the same from 67 onwards.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
Pretty sure type 3s have bars, not leaves on the front. That is why they are so easy to lower and don't require adjustable beams. You just turn the bars a couple of splines.
Ain't nothin' like the wind in your hair.
