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spring plates, is it possible
kroozzn63 - January 21st, 2007 at 01:41 PM

can i adjust my 63,s springplates while the wheels are on using the wait of the car to measure the height?
i need to raise it slightly
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/bsantry/DSC00043.jpg


xornge666x - January 21st, 2007 at 01:53 PM

no, you need to unbolt the axle tube from the spring plate and pull it out of the way so the spring plate can be removed and reset. You will need to adjust a combination of inner and oute splines to just raise it a little. Doesnt take much to raise it a little.
A nice ride height is with the spring plates so they just line up with the lower lip of the cast torsion housing.


kroozzn63 - January 21st, 2007 at 02:03 PM

thanks heaps im on it ,
Allways looking for the easy way out "never is one aye"


xornge666x - January 21st, 2007 at 03:56 PM

no 'easy way', but swing axle is not bad, 40 mins and you can be rolling a little higher.


shaihulud - January 23rd, 2007 at 05:14 PM

Just in case you aren't aware of the details of how to adjust the spring plates.

Remove the brakes from the spring plate. Mark where they were with a cold chissel so that you can put them back in the right place easily.
Never let any part of your body be in the area where the spring plate will go if it lets go suddenly. It will break your bones. Respect the power of a spring plate. This is a potentially dangerous job.
Remove the cover plate over the end of the torsion bar. Get a big 8 inch steel turnbuckle. Use the shock absorber bolt at the top and a hook in a hole at the bottom end. Using a floor jack to help, take up the tension on the spring plate, lever the spring plate away from the housing and lower it all down.
Mark the position of the spring plate where it stops with a scratch on the housing. Mark the end of the torsion bar and spring plate with a little paint so that you can return to the starting position if need be.
Move the spring plate one notch down on the outer end and mark that position with another scratch. That gives you your starting point and a too much adjustment position.
There are 44 splines on the inner end and 40 splines on the outer end of the torsion bar. One notch on the outer is 9 degrees and one notch on the inner end is 8 and a bit degrees. Now you need to calculate how many degrees you wnat in total.To get a small adjustment you go two or three notches on the inner in one direction and two or three notches on the outer in the other direction, etc. until you have what you want. You need to keep a careful note of what you've done. Be patient and when you get lost, go back to the starting postion and start again.
Before you crank the spring plate up again, put some rubber grease (not ordinary grease) on the rubber bushes and fit the end cover loosely.

That is my most disliked job on a VW, but I've gained some skill at it over the years


bugboymatt - January 23rd, 2007 at 05:47 PM

Yeah not my most fav job but when you've done it a couple times and it doesn't work then you have one more go and it falls into place your stoked.
Good luck man.


aggri1 - January 24th, 2007 at 06:34 AM

Sweet, nice explanation shaihulud. Gotta do my bus some day. A.


vw54 - January 24th, 2007 at 08:09 AM

your best off using a level or protractor as some times you may miss the splines on the inner

While your there you may need t oreplace the torsion bar rubbers as well as they may have deteriorated

Starting with the car level n jack up isa good option as well

If your can not do this job yrself i know a good shop