Are there any elements of your Beetle that you look at and think "fail"?
For me, the worst designed part has got to be those damned clips that hold the door cards on. Total fail in my opinion.
Anyone ever had any success with them? 馃槀
helbus 路
I have only ever had a 99.9% success rate with about a thousand cars I have worked on the inner door trims with this type of clip. The few clips I have had problems with were either rusty, the door shell plastic plug they go into was missing, or the door trim was falling apart. The design has never been a problem for me.
DylanTheDubber 路
Never had a problem with them they seem great. Sometimes if there not lined up they wont go striaght on but never got the shits with them. From Dylan
colonel mustard 路
Yeah. Door clips arenot great.
Parts fail?? Parts that you can't get.
trickysimon 路
Engine bay seal and the lip that retains it.
Foam in rear pillars on the later bugs.
Wheel screws instead of studs.
alien8 路
The ''fail" I have had with door clips is with the rubber plugs. I bought some plugs that were really soft rubber and the door card kept popping off when you closed the door. I found some hard plastic ones and have not had the problem since.
As far as design fails goes, the fresh air system in my 72 is pretty lame. Every thing is connected and sealing good but the flow of air into the cabin would not blow out a match.
colonel mustard 路
trickysimon wrote:Foam in rear pillars on the later bugs.
definatly a fail. so much rust caused by this on so many late beetles
trickysimon wrote:Wheel screws instead of studs.
not that much of a fail - it is a much older design that these new "throw away your disc and chuck a new one on with new pads in 2 minutes a corner" deals.
DylanTheDubber 路
Yeah i was going to say that bout the foam in pillars also heater channels when the warm air passes through the cold metal channel creates condensation and rots out. tyre air presure windreen washer.
cam070 路
Agree C-Pillar foam is a defo fail
1303Steve 路
Hi
I get about 1 or 2 door clips that don't want to line-up properly, they are a pain to get aligned at times.
The fresh air box in 1303s, a total rust trap waiting to happen.
The dash board and fuse box layout in 1303s, stupid stupid.
Steve
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Those clips are very annoying, i got mum to do it cause i didnt have the pattience.
beetleboyjeff 路
I have had issues with trying to line the clips up and get them to hold.
Joel 路
just as an experiment years ago when i was young and had more patience one of the door panel sets i made up i designed to use toyota/nissan style plastic clips
they worked well but the extra labour involved in making them fit the door panel wasnt worth it
they need a figure 8 style hole in the door panel which involved to very carefully placed holes
matberry 路
DylanTheDubber wrote:Yeah i was going to say that bout the foam in pillars also heater channels when the warm air passes through the cold metal channel creates condensation and rots out. tyre air presure windreen washer.
Mate, it's not having the heater connected that allows the heater channel to rust out.
greasykitchen 路
I found that the door clips often worked too well on my beetle - you couldn't get them off without damaging the door cards.
Another fail - on my golf I go through window winder cranks regularly cos the brazilian replacement parts are so feeble. It's not helped by the winder mechanisim inside the door being a but stiff cos I don't want to ruin the pristine (and rare) door cards to get inside the door and lubricate the mechanism.
Also on the golf, the vent windows are held in place by being glued to metal parts - including the pivot point and the clip that holds it shut. The glue is notorious for failing, leaving the window in place only through good luck. Doesn't matter how many times I fix it, it comes unstuck. As a result, I never open them in case they fall out. Never had a problem with them on my beetle.
Joel 路
cant beleive noones mentioned one piece windows yet
ive got a set for my bug i never fitted, glad i didnt now after how much hassel they were on my black bug
Joels72Lowlight 路
I just cut my finger on one of them clips.
Not good 馃槵
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Are one piece windows really that bad, i wanna get some on my bug soon.
matberry 路
71-BEETLE-SEDAN wrote:Are one piece windows really that bad, i wanna get some on my bug soon.
YEP
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Why are they, is there any way that they can be made better
Joel 路
they look good from a distance but the door loses it strength cos u have to chop out the inner brace, you have to remove the door check rods which hold them open and stops the hinges getting bent when they fly open to far
the seals are shit and fill the doors up with water not to mention look ugly where they dont follow the line of the door in the corners
and worst of all cos theres no front channel track they rattle alot
you can spend a heap of time and address some of these problems but most people give up and cry about there hacked up doors
the best way to fix the ratteling is to use twin point lifters but these were only in 68 bugs and are very hard to find
i had one in my black bug and it was alot better than the single lift in the other door but it still rattled when it was down
besides, in summer and hot weather smokers windows are the best invention ever if u dont have A/C
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Okay, I didnt realise you have to cut the door up sort of to get em to work, my stock windows leak a sfarir bit but thats cause they arent seeted right but im gunna get onto that when i put my new door cards in.
Joel 路
its not a major hack, just the brace from the inner skin to the outter skin but it wouldnt be there if it wasnt needed
you wont realise how much u miss quarter windows till there gone
found out yesterday my drivers side is speed limited to 145km/h 馃槀
always good fun wjhen they slam shut
matberry 路
In 30 odd years of people trying, dont you think most options would have been tyied???
There is a few problems, the glass is heavier so the regulator ( either already old and worn or new weak as piss) cant hack the strain. The glass is not balanced as the regulator attaches to the lift channel in the center of the old glass which becomes way off center on a 1 pce, so the front of the glass tends to always drop foward. To improove this there is a dual lift regulator that is quite rare that hepls so much I'd say it's a necessity. They allow water into the door as the seals do not seal at each end very well and usually look ugly in that area. Also such large unsupported glass is a big pain when just down a little.
matberry 路
Well done Joel, you were quicker than me with some forgotten points too about the check straps (which is most unsatisfactory altho we used to put in flexible ones that were a so so fix) and cutting the brace.
Just black out the 1/4 window frames and tint the windows....looks good and WORKS. 馃檪
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Ive got tinted windows but when i open the vent window it acts as a mirror cause of the tint.
colonel mustard 路
my quarters close @ 80km's 馃檨
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Mine close at different sppeds, passenger at 60kms and drivers is at 110.
matberry 路
You guys with your late model cars.......cant adjust the tension of your 1/4 window pivot.....ha.
Oops me neither........damn late model rubbish, lucky they have a few other good points.
waveman1500 路
I'll add a new one on here and say all the cardboard parts! Cardboard glovebox, front luggage area trim, even the drain hose for the fresh air box was originally some kind of cardboard. Mine was replaced with a piece of bike tyre inner tube, but the glovebox and all the cardboard trim was gone. Must've been the leaky front bonnet seal combined with rain!
Oh, and the biggest one of all, NO OIL FILTER! It was perfectly fine in the 1950s, acceptable in the early '60s, but by the time my cars were made in the 1970s the lack of an oil filter is completely ridiculous. Can't wait to put on a full flow filter with my next engine build.
ian.mezz 路
Didnt you know all parts are made to FAIL.
If they didnt fail you wouldnt need to buy a new car.
More so these days its a fine art on making a part to fail,
Thats what keeps the car market going And me in A job.馃槉
68AutoBug 路
71-BEETLE-SEDAN wrote:Ive got tinted windows but when i open the vent window it acts as a mirror cause of the tint.
I tinted My windows but never got around to do the 1/4 vents..
Mine never close... I have them both very tight..
they are adjustable....
same as the outside mirrors on 1968> beetles are adjustable for tension..
Lee
68AutoBug 路
djnee wrote:Are there any elements of your Beetle that you look at and think "fail"?
For me, the worst designed part has got to be those damned clips that hold the door cards on. Total fail in my opinion.
Anyone ever had any success with them? 馃槀
originally they were made to be used once... lol..
when the car was made,,,
never had any issues I can remember...
so long as they are aligned when installing...
and they never are.. lol...
the door glass in My opinion... is just luck that it stays in place
after installing the glass in My doors and seeing where the runners are etc... or lack of front runners... lol
the biggest failing was NOT replacing those early wiper blades with proper ones by 1960...
[ My biggest complaint - and I don't own a beetle with those early [non] wiper blades...
as used on 1930s USA cars...
VW always advertised they only modified things if it was an improvement... [but it took until 1966 in Germany- 1968 in Australia]
LEE
LEE
Ollie 路
My antenna goes too far down into the body then I have to use pliers to get them back up - that's a fail for me
Joel 路
if its the standard beetle aerial then its meant to do that
so that little bastard kids cant pull them up and break them off
ur just missing the original key needed to pull it up
looks like this 馃槈
matberry 路
Ha good on ya Joel....therefore not a fail on the arial eh??
64vwmark 路
Those aftermarket urethane steering couplings last 5 minutes....FAIL!
Ollie 路
Haha, no my latest key-ring is a pair of pliers 馃槈
71-BEETLE-SEDAN 路
Ive got only one key cause nowhere round here can cut me a new one so ive got a special break in kit hidden somehwere within my car incase i lock my keys in which ive done many times.
Joel 路
how about vw owner installing parts fail?
check how this breast plate is installed 馃槀
1303Steve 路
And the genny is fitted 90 degrees out
jjwebb123 路
One fail i thought would have been easily fixed if they put a small inspection plate above where the shift rod bushing if positioned.Having small fingers is the only real way to get it through the gear shift hole.and dropping it is not good at all.
t2 路
epic fail,
aussie high roof single cab
mackaymanx 路
I found the the plastic lugs which hold the spring for the self cancelling mechanism on the late indicator switchs were a big fail.
Joel 路
i think standard vw jacks or widow makers are right up there too
