Narrowed Beam

[Ands1]

I'm pretty good (if I say so myself ) at all things mechanical, I look after everything on my van, servicing, brakes, clutch replacement to name a few jobs I've done.
I've bought a T2D 3" Narrowed beam 2nd hand but in new condition, I'm worried about fitting this, mainly because it's such a major part, I reckon I can do it just a bit aprehensive.
I'm ordering all new wheel bearings, steering rod ends, ball joints & shortened steering rods,
I'll have the tracking set up in a garage properly.
Has anyone else done this for the first time? is it easy? or would you advise sending it to an aircooled specialist?
How long should it take me?

Thanks
Andy

 

[markevo30]

Andy, i'd give it a go if i were you. I took my beam off earlier in the year for the first time and its fairly straight forward. The beam itself is only held in with four bolts each side. It's the stuff you've got to take off/get out of the way prior to dropping the beam that takes the time. There are various wires, the clutch cable and gear shift that go through the beam and therefore need to removed. An extra pair of hands might be handy when you get to the removal/refit stage as it's a bit of a lump.

Good luck with it,

Mark

P.S. There's a bit in my thread showing when i removed my beam if you want to have a look.

 

[66nige]

Give it a go mate, may need two of you as already mentioned. I did mine with a mate, it was pretty straightforward as long as you've got splitters for the ball joints etc. The leaves are a bit of a pain getting them lined up and in but there is a few threads on here that helped me, i used masking tape to hold them together but it was still a fiddly process tbh.Get it up on axle stands further back and use a jack to lower the beam off and raise the new one on, as there is some weight in em. When putting the new one back on put the adjusters in the highest position first because its easier to adjust lower than higher with all the spindles and arms all connected up.

 

[radish]

its easy mate, it bloody heavy though. You will just unbolt stuff and bolt it back together, simples! you can remove it complete with brakes and all just don't forget to undo your hand brake cables though.

 

[Clem]

Hardest part of the job is cutting and redrilling the leaves, if you dont have them already done.

Measure twice, no thrice, before cutting or drilling. You'll need a 1 mm cutting disc to cut the leaves and a pillar drill to dimple them.

 

[Ands1]

Hardest part of the job is cutting and redrilling the leaves, if you dont have them already done.

Measure twice, no thrice, before cutting or drilling. You'll need a 1 mm cutting disc to cut the leaves and a pillar drill to dimple them.

Cheers Clem,

The leaves are in & drilled, will my arms fit straight on ie the dimple in the right place?
Also the previous owner said the leaves knocked the end covers off in what I can only assume he means trailing arms
if these have covers??? will it mean the leaves are marginally to long?

Thanks Andy

 

[*Sam*]

When I purchased my T2D leaves they were drilled to correct position but not cut down, this could perhaps be the case with yours

 

[Clem]

The only end covers as such are the cups that house the grease seals, which wouldnt really get knocked off, otherwise as Sam said, its just the trailing arms.

Do the leaves stick out at all as they are? If they are cut down correctly the trailing arms should just slide on.

 

[Ands1]

Been having another think about this, I'm not after a massive slam job, my van currently sits 3" lower than standard on a stock lowered beam. If I fit this narrowed adjustable beam & set up to about the same height or a tad lower will it be ok with the standard spindles ie don't want the extra expense of dropped spindles.
This how she currently sits

Cheers Andy

 

[paul_q]

Personally I would strip the brakes, spindles and arms off on the bus. It gives you something solid to work against especially if you have stubborn nuts and bolts. It will also make the beam lighter to handle, downside is there's less weight on the beam if it's stuck in place. Take plenty of pictures and label everything thing up. It's also a good time to treat the area behind the Beam if you have the time.