| [ Total Views: 2002 | Total Replies: 11 | Thread Id: 98451 ] |
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 Purple Martin
A.k.a.: Martin
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 posted on August 19th, 2012 at 08:52 PM |
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The wrong way to put adjusters in front beam
This is why you must NEVER cut all the way through the tubes & weld them back together when putting adjusters in the front beam. Welds are not as
strong as tube metal, no matter how good your welding, and a cut beam is a weak beam that can fail at any time. This is DANGEROUS. Yet another
f***-up by the previous owner that I've had to fix, and I'm angry about this one because of how unsafe it is: there is a good reason why cutting all
the way through is illegal. It took me two days and $440 to replace the broken beam with a new adjustable beam.
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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vwo60
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| posted on August 19th, 2012 at 09:43 PM |
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For the beam to fail like that is just nothing more that some clown who thinks he can weld when he obviouly cannot, i am involved with coded welding
in the offshore oil industry and the weld can be as strong as the parent metal, if that beam was welded correctly you could put it in a hydraulic
press and it would bend over the length of the beam without the welds failing, this happens because people in the aftermarket vw industry are not
qualified welders, if the vehicle was engineered the engineer should have picked it up during the inspection, just remember the rest of the car you
drive is welded together as well.
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68AutoBug
A.k.a.: Lee Noonan
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 01:16 AM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Purple Martin
This is why you must NEVER cut all the way through the tubes & weld them back together when putting adjusters in the front beam. Welds are not as
strong as tube metal, no matter how good your welding, and a cut beam is a weak beam that can fail at any time. This is DANGEROUS. Yet another
f***-up by the previous owner that I've had to fix, and I'm angry about this one because of how unsafe it is: there is a good reason why cutting all
the way through is illegal. It took me two days and $440 to replace the broken beam with a new adjustable beam.
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YIKES
that is bad...
Mine was welded by a fitter/welder I wouldn't try doing it Myself...
but I can't see any problem when a ticketed welder does it..
they know what they are doing and difference between a good and bad weld...
although the other type of adjusters are much better..
LEE
- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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vwo60
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 08:33 AM |
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Exactly
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 matberry
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 09:55 AM |
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Yep, nothing wrong with a cut beam when done properly, altho I like to add front end supports to stiffen things up, even stock, the frame heads crack
and break when on rough roads.
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
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nbturbo
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 09:56 AM |
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Sometimes the Engineering thing doesn't work. A few years ago I was in Birdsville and spotted a new Ford Ranger on a hoist at the Service Station
with a broken chassis.The chassis had been lengthened 18inches by welding another piece identical to the original with no fish plates and all the
welds ground back to hide the job. It had been tagged to make it legal. From memory it was NSW rego.
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vwo60
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 10:03 AM |
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It should have failed the engineers inspection as the weld's should not have had the beautifiyer applied leaving the welds untouched. as i said a lot
of vw places that do these type of mods do not have a welding ticket, at the moment any body can do the job and get it passed by a engineer as long as
the weld looks alright.
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Purple Martin
A.k.a.: Martin
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 04:00 PM |
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OK I stand corrected, it seems welds can be strong if done by someone who knows what they are doing. Even so, I'm still feeling angry that the PO did
such a bad job of it.
This is the kind of adjusters in my new beam, Avis, they are welded into a rectangle window (so the beam is not cut right through), the adjusters are
supplied already fitted in the new beam:
http://www.vollks.com.au/store/VW-Beetle-WELD-ON-BEAM-ADJUSTER-Link-Pin.html
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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Smiley
A.k.a.: Daniel Stephens
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| posted on August 20th, 2012 at 04:48 PM |
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The only disadvantage to the style of adjuster that you have in your new beam is they are more prone to failure compared to the other style.
Make sure the teeth are all very clean and they are done down very tight after you have adjusted them. It'd only take a small bit of dirt gumming up
the teeth of a loose nut and they can slip teeth.
You don't want this happening.
I agree with everyone else that you can build a beam stronger enough with adjusters. If you read my build thread you will see that the first beam I
built was not welded well enough and cracked in half. I have redone it to a far higher standard as well as adding beam supports.
I would highly recommend beam supports, even on a stock car that is going to be driven a little hard.
Smiley 
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
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DJB 01
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| posted on August 22nd, 2012 at 02:43 PM |
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That failure looks great! Can you supply a close-up picture of the beam tube face - looks like a shocker of a weld with no penetration to have
failed like that.
I agree with guys here - get a ticketed welder to do any welding, they know how to weld correctly, and none of this rubbish would be hitting the
streets - imagine if that failed going at speed in a corner!
Cheers DJB
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psimitar
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| posted on August 23rd, 2012 at 12:54 AM |
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Try to find Avis/Puma adjusters with square teeth. Much stronger than the V teeth. Also they should just be seam welded onto the tube with a slot cut
for the adjuster screw.
Avis also only work on BJ beams as LP beams have large slotted dimples front and back that are a bastard to internally hammer out and so LP lend
themselves to Sway-a-ways better.
A good weld with full penetration can be ground smooth with little ill effect but the welding MUST be done by someone who knows what they're doing
and with a high enough powered welder to get full penetration. 1mm weld gap with 45 degree bevel is how I've seen many beams done.
madness is in the eye of the beholder  |
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vwo60
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| posted on August 23rd, 2012 at 07:32 AM |
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There is no requiremnet under the current regs for a coded welder to do this work, and this is the problem, to many people think they know how to weld
when they do not. i only tig weld my beams, never had a issue.
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