Nose up, arse down...

[wendy]

Morning

Can anyone suggest why the front end of my bus is sitting so high compared to the back? There has been no 'lowering' done at the back end but we have done stuff at the front end. We fitted new ball joints, which involved taking the torsion arms off to have the new joints pressed in etc. We put the torsion arms back in ourselves but there only seemed to be one way that they could go in so hopefully it's not that.
We've also fitted a new steering damper and re-built the callipers (none of which I can see would affect the way it sits that much but thought I better mention it as I have no idea really! :mrgreen: )

If anyone has any ideas as to what we've done (if anything!) or is it just the way it is supposed to be or what?
We're getting *so* close to an MOT and it's just one thing after another at the moment

Thanks
W

 

[creationblue]

Looks ok to me, they came out the factory that way, the rear is prone to sagging so may be down an inch or so.....

 

[wendy]

Thank you I'm glad it's normal!!

I can relate to the rear sagging as it's the same age as me

 

[Lee C]

That pic was taken round the corner from my house!!!

You in Houghton???

Not seen the bus before, why not get yersel to the Dun Cow in Bournmoor next Sunday for the local meet????

My Granda!s van was way doon at the back after 30+ years of camping trips, so it's more a case of the back being low than the front being high!!!?

You could lower the front to even things out???

 

[wendy]

Hi Lee
I live in Belmont right now but hopefully moving to Houghton soon. The bus is currently resident in my boyfs's fakker, just so we don't have to work in the wet :mrgreen: but it has been hiding under a cover on my driveway for a long time! Hopefully the elusive MOT will be mine soon so I'll be out and about in it!
I keep thinking I'll go to the meet ups but never get round to it! You never know you might see us there one day

 

[creationblue]

Thank you I'm glad it's normal!!

I can relate to the rear sagging as it's the same age as me

:lol:

 

[Trikky2]

Did you remove the torsion bars from the axle tubes?

 

[wendy]

Hi Trikky

No, we didn't remove the torsion bars, just took the arms off.

W

 

[Trikky2]

Hi Trikky

No, we didn't remove the torsion bars, just took the arms off.

W

Well that blows that theory then :lol:

I have noticed that the gas filled shock absorbers like KYBs tend to lift the front a bit higher than normal but I cant think of any other reason the front of your bus would be higher than it was before you had the ball joints replaced. [puzzled smily]

 

[r73]

it does look a bit too high at the front - they do sit slightly high anyway, but level out as soon as passengers are on board. the back does sag over the years, it could be that it just needs some time to settle down a bit is its just come off the jack.
rather than lower the front, i raised the back!
i just turned the springplates slightly and fitted 195 R14 tyres.

 

[Ryanmck1984]

Looks fairly stock to me. Mines is like that.

 

[69billy]

our's is the same and rides good.

 

[BARKING MARK]

Yep mines the same. Ive been thinking about lowering mine, asked for advice from the masters of drop on here...see lowering advice in technical, then decide for yourself.

 

[yachty]

It's the roof rack. You need to take it off or buy another for the front :lol:

 

[Pickles]

We're the same, sagged at the rear ... thinking of getting it lowered at the front by an inch ...

as regards the torsion bars, if mine were removed at the time the ball joints were done then might this have done this. I ask as I can remember the guy saying something about them being tack welded at the ends and he had to remove this to get them out ... I dont understand the suspension set up and hence my ignorance .

 

[yachty]

I think your guy was referring to the tack welds that join the torsion springs together at the ends to stop the outer springs sliding out. It shouldn't have made any difference, though its weird in itself as I thought VW stopped welding the springs way before bay windows were around, and started to fit end caps to the trailing arms instead. I'm happy to be corrected though.

If you just want to even out the Stance, It's easier and cheaper to re-adjust the rear to match the front. It's a case of rotating the spring plates on the splines to raise the rear suspension. It's a bit trial and error but simple enough. Theres even a chart knocking around that tells you how much raise or drop you get for each spline you turn the spring plates. To lower the front an inch, you'll need adjusters welding into your beam and then it starts getting expensive!

 

[Trikky2]

We're the same, sagged at the rear ... thinking of getting it lowered at the front by an inch ...

as regards the torsion bars, if mine were removed at the time the ball joints were done then might this have done this. I ask as I can remember the guy saying something about them being tack welded at the ends and he had to remove this to get them out ... I dont understand the suspension set up and hence my ignorance .

The reason I asked if the torsion bars had been removed is because if they accidentally get swapped round the suspension can ride higher than before.

 

[Happystamps]

have you driven around with it since doing the work?

sometimes it takes a while for everything to settle properly.

 

[wendy]

Thanks for the replies, it hasn't been driven around other than back and forth out of the factory unit. Hopefully the combination of a couple of passengers the wrong side of 10 stone, a bit of time and a roof rack at the front :lol: will bring him back down to earth a bit! :mrgreen:

I like the idea of evening the stance out a bit at some point but if I suggest that to the boyf right now I think he'll have a fit :shock: It's taking us long enough to get it close to MOT stage without fiddling around with anything extra :lol:

W

 

[squareweave]

If the two rubber bushing on either side of the spring plate (4 in total on van) are worn then you will get a saggy butt like that. Replace them with some good quality new ones and I bet it comes back up.

my 2 cents