i have pulled the rear spring plates off and moved them up two notches to lower my bug ,i did all the right things like marked everything etc should there be much slack play in the arms now and also one seems to be sitting a little different to the other, i have read one end of the torion bar has 40 teeth and the other 44 ,how would i start resetting the bars from scratch ,does anyone know of any tech article,s i could check out and do i need to get shorter shock absorbers
dave:o:o
p.s. i tried wes's thread but the file would not open

[Edited on 13-4-2003 by david]

The kombi workshop manual specifies the angle that the torsion bars should hang at when the car is off it's wheels, and I expect the Beetle manual would do the same. You don't need to know the stock setting though.....

The kombi manual also illustrates how to measure that angle, as well as listing the procedure to adjust it, using an spirit level designed to measure the angle from horizontal. I bought a cheap one of these for $9, but a better quality one was available for $44. I'm happy with the $9, it does the same job. I would buy one if I were you.

Basically you can pick which side sits at the best height for your personal preference, and then adjust the other to match.

To open Wes's file, download the .exe file and save it to your desktop, then rename the file so that it actually ends with .exe

Then download the .dll file and save it to your C:\WINDOWS\system folder. You should then be able to run the program by double clicking it on the desktop.

if you can get your hands on a digital level go for it. My dad is an engineer and when we reset my last kombi he couldn't belive how much easier it made it.

inner splines are used for more specific adjustments hence the more teeth on the inner end. trying jumpin up and down in the car maybe they just need to be settled down!!!
cheers
rhys

you may already have this but it's handy for those that don't.

Try these sites

http://www.geocities.com/aussiebug1970/rearaxle.html 

http://oldeskool.org/tech/tech.html#rear 

When I did mine the first time I was extremely cautious to keep a track of where the original position was.

I realised that wasn't necessary, all you need to do is make sure that they both end up at the same angle. Make sure you measure the angle with the weight of the spring plate supported (not hanging unsupported).

it is rather daunting when you first pop the arm of and it scares the shit out of you but after looking and checking a heap of times i think it is alright ,if i am lowering it two notches is it right that it does not have any preload on it when i put it back on, i have not bolted it all back together yet but i hope i am doing it the right way
cheers
dave the apprentice :o:o

[Edited on 14-4-2003 by david]

have put it all together and jumped up and down but still uneven ,bugger ,so back to the drawing board turns out it would be a bit low any way, have to do a bit of fine spline adjusting hope to get it right to drive to sydney on friday
david:o:o

Make sure when you put it all back together to check the height that you haven't got the shock absorbers connected. When I did mine last time (with the body off) the shockies contributed to a false "reading".

A good spot to measure from is the lip that stops the spring plate from dropping too far. Use that lip as the reference point on both sides.