PART 1 HOW TO ADJUST VW MANX DUNE BUGGY and BEETLE SWING AXLE SPRING PLATES

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Күн бұрын

Watch Part 2 How to adjust VW Dune Buggy and Beetle Spring Plates. This is the correct way to set rear suspension height on your Beetle or Dune Buggy and I'm not trying to sell you something. **** I FORGOT! *** When you drive a swing axle or I.R.S. vehicle for about a mile, it settles even lower. Pushing it back and forth three times doesn't do the trick. It helps but, not enough. *** The swing arm angles are now 13.7 degrees on the left and 14.0 degrees on the right. It sits just 1/8" higher on the right side, that's good. The rear wheel camber is just a little on the positive side, where it should be. For 1966 & older,
17 degrees is where the factory set early Beetles when new. Adjustment procedure is the same for I.R.S.
Also, You can move just the swing arm just on the outer spline for major degree changes. Then the inner for minor degree changes, after that. Get a digital angle finder or protractor and take the guesswork out the process.

Пікірлер: 74

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

Suspension Part 2 video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbqbbMV6xJu7dmw.html

@jamesdodson9417 2 жыл бұрын

You never have enough time to do it right the first time , but you will always have enough time to do it right a second time . You have good ethic thanks for the wisdom

@reddmann2216 Жыл бұрын

I appreciate the fact unlike many youtubers you dont throw loud music in...i can set my volume and watch and learn without damaging my ears...I unsubscribed from many others because they dont seem to realize that if I wanted music I have my own...

@davidgrason161 3 жыл бұрын

I LOVE YOU MAN! My friend Todd and I performed this very task on a 1967 Karmann Ghia.....in 1982. Wow, those were the days! Anywho, we learned everything you showed us sort of the hard way but HEY! We got it done. Everything you did in this video, I was calling ahead of time because I've been there. And yes, things will turn out real well. Your instructions are dead on correct! Way to go!

@milomanx6531 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks and make sure to watch Part 2, just below in comment section.

@rogerwenzel1099 9 жыл бұрын

Thank You. Great info presented in a clear easy to understand way.

@Bajabob69 4 жыл бұрын

you are the "Bob Ross" of VW repair. Well done Sir!

@milomanx6531 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I try to be thorough. I will have to see who "Bob Ross" is.

@monica93304 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the explanation. I'm adjusting the spring plates on a customer buggy. The bushings were bad, and it had mismatched torsion bar covers (early style with the access hole). They have 31" tires. They want the tires to sit level when the car is sitting with no load. Even though I know they are supposed to be adjusted as per your video (brilliant), we're going to set them level so that they're happy with the help of some EMPI adjustable spring plates. I'll have to check my measurements again tomorrow before I tinker with it again. But I think I'm pretty close to your suggested settings. Now that I understand in simple terms the way to adjust them, I think it should turn out great. The adjustable portion will just be icing on the cake. Thank you sooooooo much!

@johnpowell7222 8 жыл бұрын

thanks am working on my first bettle an this helped a lot

@chicnwing4519 2 жыл бұрын

Great video with the info I need. THANKS

@6DanceBranam 7 жыл бұрын

You're the only otherperson I know of to do this right. I wrote a manual as a final project in technical writing class as a Mechanical Engineer major in college on how to do this same thing with photos of me doing this on my '67 Beetle, but never shared it with the public.

@Phil-fe7hb 10 ай бұрын

Any way I could get a copy of the manual .

@michaelmacdonald3408 5 жыл бұрын

It is good to have some one who is in the know as i know navigation on minutes of degrees.

@andrewc.usarmyretired8304 5 жыл бұрын

Beautiful chassis

@FLABBYDUCKLING 8 жыл бұрын

Super helpful!!

@dunmahglas 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks Milo.

@rangerfng 7 жыл бұрын

Great video.

@milomanx6531 7 жыл бұрын

James Thanks, Did you watch part 2?

@randyhaney3357 7 жыл бұрын

GREAT video for a "shade tree mechanic" like myself! So, if my left rear dunebuggy tire is slightly rubbing the wheel well, I need to adjust the axle spring in the downward direction? Thanks again!

@The_Disgruntled_Vet 8 жыл бұрын

This is hands down the best explanation I've seen on torsion bar / swing axle adjustment. Thank you for breaking it down like this. You briefly addressed toe-in for the rear end. Do you have a video showing how to adjust rear wheel toe-in/toe-out on the swing axles?

@milomanx6531 8 жыл бұрын

I do the toe-in and toe-out right in my garage. I don't have a video on the tool I made or how I do it. But, now you got me thinking. I recommend people take it to an alignment shop for that. On a Dune Buggy front is 1/8 toe in and rear is 3/16" toe out.

@The_Disgruntled_Vet 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I've done front and rear end alignments on HMMWVs in the shop, on stands, with tape and a piece of rope. I imagine I can figure out my sand rail.

@The_Disgruntled_Vet 8 жыл бұрын

I just wanted to thank you again for this video. I have an Acme Classic 290 by Barrien that sat for who know how long. The guy just put the torsion bars and spring plates in without tension to get it out of his shop. This video saved my hair and probably my sanity. Excellent instructional video. I hope you decide to do the video on toe-in/toe-out.

@milomanx6531 8 жыл бұрын

I will soon make a video of my home built toe gauge. It's cheap and accurate.

@The_Disgruntled_Vet 8 жыл бұрын

Looking forward to it. Thank you.

@petemitsch6346 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks to Milo-I got my sand rail dropped 3" in the rear for a dirt trip I'm taking with it- with the camber taken out I am much less worried about fast cornering off-road leading to a serious barrell roll. Want to keep my roll cage pretty-thanks Milo

@AbdullahKhan-qt3ig 8 жыл бұрын

for lowering will we have to turn the degrees towards the left? in this video he turns it to the right for gaining height? and how much splines did you turn it to the left for that 3"?

@petemitsch6346 8 жыл бұрын

You will turn the splines to the right on the passenger and to the left in the drivers side to lower the vehicle-oooosite to lift-I get 1.5" per tooth-so I moved two teeth

@AbdullahKhan-qt3ig 8 жыл бұрын

In our country we have right hand drive beetles . So to the driver side here we will turn right and to the passenger left , am i correct?! & what is the maximum tooths one can do within limit's and to not ruim the car? . And what are inner or outer splines people say? all i see here is right and left!!!

@milomanx6531 8 жыл бұрын

The number of teeth are unimportant. You want to adjust the angle of the spring plate. Old Beetles, you want 17 degrees, Dune Buggies about 14 degrees. Watch the video again. You need to get an angle finder, to do it right.

@petemitsch6346 8 жыл бұрын

The driver seat position will not change the direction that you turn the splines. I do not have an angle finder however I found that each spline lowered the rear end with only a tube sand rail frame 1.5 inches. I imagine it would lower more on a car that hadn't had the body removed- start with one spline per side- once it's apart the first time it's easier to take apart again! Good luck friend!-I don't have an angle finder and maybe got lucky, still found the video super helpful.

@rangerfng 7 жыл бұрын

I have no idea who put my Baja together, but I am going to start from new. I purchased a 28mm torsion bar because I will be using it at a woods buggie. Im currently running 30 inch tires in the rear with a reduction box. I have 16 inches of clearance. where would you recommend I start with degree wise with a relaxed plate

@LocanStreet 2 жыл бұрын

thank you

@kevincresswell5272 Жыл бұрын

Hello thank you for these videos I have a dune buggy sitting on a 1956 split window frame that's cut the 9.25in.or close. with a steel window frame. the fiberglass body style looks a lot like the one in this video ..the fiberglass is in 3 pieces dash, hood and main body. my question is ? how can i know if it is a Manx Dune Buggy. It is in rough shape and looks very old I am going to restore it as close to orig. as I can regardless this is cool and will be restored . Mr. Manx was a great builder and saddened by his passing..

@curtiscrawford1622 3 ай бұрын

I have a baja bug and someone raised it to where the spring plates ride on the stop all the time in fact I can’t push down on suspension to get it to move. I am assuming that the person that raised it just moved the outer splines to get the hight they wanted with no regard to how stiff the suspension would be. So how would I keep that ride height and soften the ride. Thanks

@bobtomica9614 Жыл бұрын

For a swing axle, how high can we increase the height of the flooring? Can we lift it up to 15 inches?

@shaejohnson4274 Жыл бұрын

Do you build your chassis?

@Phil-fe7hb 11 ай бұрын

where did you get the motor for you buggy

@monkeyfinger7949 Жыл бұрын

Wouldn't you put more tension on the driver side to compensate for the weight of the driver (assuming you are driving alone much of the time)?

@borna430 2 жыл бұрын

would have been nice to see what you have been doing back there

@KanonOC 7 жыл бұрын

you mentioned the lubrication of the wheel bearing on a swing axle. what about the irs? is that just a sealed bearing? cant se it getting lubed the same way. great video! thanks!

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

IRS suspension has two sealed CV joints, per side. They are not affected by lowering the vehicle, but, they will wear faster at increased angles.

@liquidrush4u 6 жыл бұрын

I just bought a tube frame buggy, the rear wheels have a ton of positive camber. Is this the procedure to correct this? Set the plates to about 10-14 degrees? Thanks.

@clandeene 5 жыл бұрын

Cletus McFarland Hell yeah brother. Got mine the same way :/ turning is the worst feeling ever on the street... if yours skips as bad as mine anyways. You have Toyota size rear tires too I’m guessing? I daily drive mine, idk why everyone doesn’t. AZ insurance costs me $37 a year... not month, entire year haha. Normal car would be around $200 a month. Thus (2k)Sunny was born luckily in One Piece.

@earlelkins9086 5 жыл бұрын

Cole, I set my chenoweth framed rail at 10+/- degrees, with standard vw length gas shocks. my axle tubes r now at 3 degrees down, with the car sitting on the floor. I believe factory angles on the axle tubes, on swing axle types, is 3-4 degrees. It rides 'plush' now.. this rail only weighs 900 lbs. Also, Milo mentioned u want roughly a 25/75 percent split on swingarm travel, between the stops, being 25 percent from the bottom arm stop. that's how i ultimately arrived at my settings.

@ImTHATguy... 5 жыл бұрын

My 1968 Allied Fiberglass bodied buggy was maxed out on positive camber when I bought it. Your video made me brave enough to tear into this project since I've never done this on a beetle rear end before. When I pulled off my arms on both sides, the torsion bars came out with them. I put them in with the little "VW" stamp at the 12 o'clock position and from there went 13 splines to the center of the swing arm. This put me at about 14 degrees. I put it all together and drove the buggy and it had basically settled onto the bump stops. I moved two splines down (15 splines from 12 o'clock to the center of the swing arm) and I have just about 25 degrees now. Do the torsion bars need to be inserted in a certain position? Sorry for the long post. Just wanted to be clear on what I had been working with.

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

It doesn't matter where the torsion bars are initially installed. Did you take a degree reading when you initially popped the torsion spring plate from the chassis? A change from 14 to 25 is a drastic change, about 8 degrees. Moving one spline on the outer teeth is a large change, but, when moving the inner only, it is .7 degree. You need to watch my other suspension video. Click on the show more in my video description and read the comments I posted, to learn more. here is the link: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbqbbMV6xJu7dmw.html

@ImTHATguy... 5 жыл бұрын

@@milomanx6531 Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately I did not measure my degrees before popping the arms off. A very amature move on my part. I'll check out your other videos and I'm sure they'll help me get this thing sorted out.

@johnwarfn 6 жыл бұрын

I just sent you one buck! So here's my question: before watching this video I read the Bently manual, made only one mark on by axle tube, and then pulled my transaxle (I'm rebuilding the pan from the ground up). I noticed right away you made two marks on your axle. Am I going to have a problem with alignment when I put the car back together? I'm restoring a 64 Ghia. Love your videos!

@milomanx6531 6 жыл бұрын

johnwarfn One mark on the spring plate that lines up with a mark on the axle, let's you re-install it exactly where it was before, to maintain rear alignment. Often I've seen factory notches made to use as a reference. I made two marks on mine, to be exactly sure. It's probably not necessary. I assume your working on a swing axle and it was either aligned or drove steady in the past. Remember to watch Part 2 And thanks, it's very appreciated.

@johnwarfn 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Milo. The Ghia has been sitting in a barn for at least 10 or 15 years and who's to say the rear alignment is still good after 50 years. LOL. I'll just have to hope for the best until I'm done restoring the car and get it aligned professionally. Thanks for making videos that are well-produced and clear.

@chriswilson6577 5 жыл бұрын

Doing this on an IRS, the Beetle factory setting is 20.3 degrees, what do you set the spring plates for a Dune Buggy?

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

I would try 17.5 to 18.0 degree. it should get you close. Measure pan height before and after, so you can compare degree to height difference. Be sure to drive it a couple blocks before height measurement. They tend to settle in after a short drive.

@chriswilson6577 5 жыл бұрын

@@milomanx6531 Thank you! I will give it a shot.

@milomanx6531 8 жыл бұрын

Link for 2nd video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbqbbMV6xJu7dmw.html ********************************** If this video helped you, please donate $1.00 to paypal.me/MiloManx Click on the link. Thank You Read complete video description above !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have since bought an electronic angle finder. It makes the reading of the angle easier and much more accurate.

@garyb2174 8 жыл бұрын

milo adjusted mine yesterday im building a buggy . no motor on it yet 12 degrees on right 10 degrees on left question it seems tight when i just push down by hand on trans is it because i dont have the weight of the motor on it ,, any help thanks .

@milomanx6531 8 жыл бұрын

+Gary B The weight of the engine will make a big difference. Make sure you roll it back and forth to get it settled down. If you have a swing axle, I feel the degree settings are too loose, you will want 14 degrees on the passenger side and less than 14 on the drivers side. Like 13.5 to 14.0 degrees. If you read all my comments at the top, I set mine this way.

@pacificovw9522 7 жыл бұрын

Why didn't you lose your place in the torsion bar when you pulled it out with the spring arm at the beginning? It looked like it came out a lot and you just put it back in without much worries. It would help greatly if people would say clockwise and counterclockwise when talking about torsion bars "turning this way, and that way" does not cover it IMO.

@milomanx6531 7 жыл бұрын

Pacifico VW When I pulled the swing arm and torsion out at the same time, I had a good reference point of the angle of the arm. I just put it back in at the same general location. Beside, moving the torsion bar just one tooth on the inner or outer is a lot of degrees difference. I thought I explained the rotation of the bars well enough. The left side is turned clockwise to add ride height and the right side is turned counter clockwise to add ride height. Did you watch the second video? Link is just below kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbqbbMV6xJu7dmw.html

@pacificovw9522 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your detailed reply. I just have not done this operation before and man it looks freaky; I will watch your 2nd video.

@AAUXI101 7 жыл бұрын

whats wrong with air ratchets

@milomanx6531 7 жыл бұрын

If you mean to remove bolts, that's fine. If you mean to torque them with an air ratchet, that's no good. Sometimes, I find it easier to work with hand tools, especially in tight areas.

@schnike0073 5 жыл бұрын

IRS?? They all had IRS

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

schnike Of course. I know that. But, people refer to them as Swing axle or IRS. I make these videos to help people, not, to be ridiculed.

@schnike0073 5 жыл бұрын

MILO MANX im not saying anything is wrong with the video. But at the start you say "there is alot of misinformation out there" IRS is one of them. Over in my country we call them double joint rear end.

@milomanx6531 5 жыл бұрын

@@schnike0073 Like I stated, people here in the U.S. say they have Swing Axle or IRS. You and I know, they are all IRS. I like to call IRS, Diagonal arm suspension, Your Double Joint Axle description is good too. The misinformation I was refering to was videos I've seen on KZfaq on how to adjust suspension. Some have no idea what their doing. Thanks for your clarification.

@jamesdodson9417 2 жыл бұрын

Oh gee whizz how will we ever tell them apart now !!!!

@brianchisnell1548 2 ай бұрын

IRS was Volkswagen's own terminology, meaning the two axle shafts move independently, as one unit.