{"id":8803,"date":"2018-04-20T17:02:55","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T21:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kwbugclub.org\/armaturenbrett\/?p=8803"},"modified":"2018-04-20T17:02:55","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T21:02:55","slug":"repair-front-suspension-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kwbugclub.org\/armaturenbrett\/repair-front-suspension-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Repair: Front Suspension-II"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is part 2 of an ongoing article on some work I’ve been doing on a replacement front end for my 1975 bug.\u00a0 In part 1<\/a> ,\u00a0 about a month ago, I suggested we were having an early spring.\u00a0 That hasn’t really worked out well, but the rest of the project has been going ok, despite my poor weather prognostication skills.<\/p>\n

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Last time I mentioned that the steering limit bracket was missing on my new-to-me beam.\u00a0 I was going to have to salvage, refurbish and fit the bracket from the old beam to the new beam.\u00a0 That happened.<\/p>\n

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The salvaged bracket. I had to heat the bracket to free the adjustment bolts, as they were corroded into place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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View from both sides of the bracket\/stop after a short trip through the glass bead machine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The captive nut, and the threaded sheet metal were then chased with a 8mm tap to clean up the threads.\u00a0 I then fit the steering box in place on the rack, and then positioned the bracket in place, so the pitman arm would contact the adjusters on the bracket for each\u00a0 left and right extent.<\/p>\n

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An acceptable job!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I then clamped the bracket as well as I could, which wasn’t real easy. I removed the steering box again, so I would have better clearance while welding. I then brought out the mig.\u00a0 A couple of beads later it’s clear I’m not a fantastic welder, but I’m going to chock this up to more practice needed.\u00a0 I then cleaned up the messy welds with my angle grinder, and the less messy welds were just simply wire brushed to look acceptable.<\/p>\n

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The next part of the work was to protect the bare metal I had exposed on the front end components.\u00a0 In part 1<\/a> of this series I mentioned that I had selected POR-15 to protect the components.\u00a0 Not sure exactly why I went this direction, perhaps that’s what the cool kids were doing.\u00a0 I do not regret the decision one bit.\u00a0 I’m very happy with the products, how they applied, and how they work.\u00a0 Apparently, according to the literature, POR-15 gets harder when damp\/wet which is quite the opposite to paint.<\/p>\n

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(Left to Right) POR-15 Metal Prep, Rust Preventative, rubber gloves, Cleaner Degreaser (behind, foam brush, paint brush)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cleaner degreaser can be mixed with 10 parts hot water 1 part cleaner degreaser. I simply wiped down all the parts with this solution and a clean rag and rinsed with water when done.\u00a0 I highly recommend the rubber gloves for this part unless you would like to look like a lizard man for a few days….say…..<\/p>\n

The next step is the metal prep when applied and rinsed away leaves behind a zinc phosphate <\/span>coating.\u00a0 This is the ideal primer for POR-15 to adhere to.\u00a0 It’s best to use this when you have bare metal.\u00a0 If you are applying POR-15 directly over rust, this isn’t required.\u00a0 I used the paint brush for this step, as it allowed me to push the coating into voids and crevasses .\u00a0 Wear the rubber gloves here too…<\/p>\n

The last step is the POR-15 product. Wear the rubber gloves. This stuff doesn’t come off your car parts or your skin!\u00a0 It applies in a\u00a0 paint-like manner, perhaps a little thin and runny.\u00a0 You need to be careful of the application, as if you apply too much, it will run and sag when you look away.\u00a0 If you manage to see a run or a sag, it is possible to pull the run out by using your brush without causing harm.\u00a0 Speaking of brush, I used a 1″ foam brush for this job.\u00a0 As the product dries, despite being applied with a foam brush, it comes to a wonderful hard protective shine.\u00a0 The manufacturer suggests a second coat when “drag dry”, or if you need to do a second coat at\u00a0 later time, then do a fine 400 grit scratch before applying the next coat.<\/p>\n

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Front beam, control arms, misc hardware. Absent: Spindles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve applied my second coat now, and I can say a few more things.<\/p>\n