Ball joint front end

tgodber · Post by **tgodber** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:53 pm

If you go to dune-buggy.com buggy talk and do a search for "soften front end" in the "search" and in "search archives" you will find a lot of info. Your arms need to attach to a full stack of torsion leaves so you need to replace solid leaves with split leaves or cut some of the solid leaves and leave the pieces at the ends.

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:50 pm

I plan on cutting the leaves to leave them at the end. I'm not reall sure how much, but that's the plan. I still have to get it apart and check it out. Thanks tim.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:21 am

Dave, Whatever you do, don't weld on the torsion leaves at all. Rob and I recently rebuilt the front end of a sand rail that had sections tack welded in place, and several of them were broken! The heat from the welding must have weakened the leaves considerably. I think Bruce recommends epoxy to hold the sections in place. I personally went with the "replace some solid leaves with split sets" method myself. Works great!

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:03 am

Thanks for the heads up. I'm not much of a welder so I should be ok. I have some extra leaves from my spare beam but I would probably rather keep them together. I'll take a good look at everything when it's pulled apart. Thanls for the input everyone.

tgodber · Post by **tgodber** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:13 am

I cut and turned my ball-joint beam because it was too high. The stock VW shocks were not long enough. I did not soften the ride, just lowered it. Will softening the ride get your front end down enough?

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:58 pm

I think it will. I also have no welding skills so I see this as a good option to try before I turn to a pro. There is no weight on the Towd's front end. No gas tank....nothing. I am not entirely sure that is the whole problem though, something could be binding or unlubricated. It has been like this for a while though with the previous owner. I should take a picture of the 2 15" cast iron weights they had welded to the front beam?

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:23 pm

Did it sit for a long period of time before you got it? Also did the suspension work with the added weight? It is possible for the shocks to sieze well enough to hold spring tension if exposed to the weather too long . You should be able to move the front end up and down a couple inches (or more)with one hand on the front bumper.

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:34 pm

I can stand on the front end (200lbs) with no shocks attached and get 3" to 4" of travel. It is still very tight. The car was used of and on over the last few years. It's in good shape.

5150bossman · Post by **5150bossman** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:15 pm

When I purchased our F/G buggy, the front end was stiff as a rock. I could put all my weight on it and it would barely budge. I lubed the heck out of the beam and took it on a run. By the time the weekend was over, it was like a whole different beam. I could now put my weight on it and almost push it down 4"! Best I could tell, no one had lubed the front end since the thing was first built back in '78!

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:48 am

ya know what Mike, I am going to try that before I pull it apart. Thanks, I'll just have to clean out all the grease that I just shot in there, but it is worth a try. Can't really run it around for a day though, but i'll flex it out good.

5150bossman · Post by **5150bossman** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:40 am

"I'll just have to clean out all the grease that I just shot in there, but it is worth a try." ? I just shot grease in all the beam zerk fittings (4) until it started to push out each end of the beam at the joints. Nothing special. Maybe you should just keep it together until you get it running. Then you could take it for a test run then lube it again before checking if it moves any better. If not, then you could pull it apart. :2cents:

Siggymanx33 · Post by **Siggymanx33** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:17 pm

It's not going to be together until everything gets rebuilt and painted. As it sits, the suspension is completely maxed out and I am pretty sure it could benefit from loosening up the front end.

CoKev · Post by **CoKev** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:55 am

Hi Dave, I'm looking to do the opposite on my Towd. It has a piece of allthread for lack of a better description, in the lower tube. My suspension is very nice and soft, but too soft for the trails and roads I run on. If this isn't needed for a week or two, I'll try to get some pics of the setup. It would be awesome for the street, but I need more clearance!

Found a pic! It must have square ends for the arms. If you want it I'll send it to you when I pull it.

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:23 pm

It looks like the all thread goes end to end and the LCA's are retained by a nut and washer?

CoKev · Post by **CoKev** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:25 am

Fubar, I'm not sure. I have to pull it to find out(it came on the towd) and there is a baja taking the towds spot in the garage. Anyone else seen one?