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Post by chrisbailey on Jan 9, 2024 21:40:54 GMT
Did you adjust the angle your steering box mounts to the front beam. There are mounting lugs which position it. A beetle has the steering wheel much higher so the angle is more obtuse. I ground out the cut outs on the steering box mount bracket to change the angle without having to grind the lugs off the front beam. My guess is if you have this angle wrong, you will be bending the rubber donut in the steering column. Might make it really hard to turn. My setup is standard beetle and it's not hard to turn. Harder than a car with PAS but pretty usual for a car without PAS.
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Post by soldonkits on Jan 11, 2024 9:26:21 GMT
Hi Chris, The steering box has been rolled round the tube for better alignment and the rubber donut joint has been replaced with a UJ. I don't think any control rods are touching the central tunnel and I'm pretty sure the rotation has not gone too far. I'll check the points you mention again to be certain. With such a simple system its hard to know where the faault lies... unless it's with the usual problem... me!
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Post by terryrob on Jan 24, 2024 23:41:39 GMT
I would suggest as Mark says,jack it up and check it with no weight on it. I had this on my RV, it had been stood for 5 years (again) and the steering was tight, I put it on axle stands and it was still tight with the wheels off the floor. I popped the trackrod ends off the steering arms, the rack was fine as it should be as its only done a 1000 or so miles but all the top and bottom ball joints had gone stiff which were also low milage. anyway I've stripped it all down, fitted new shocks, springs and balljoints and its fine now.
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Post by soldonkits on Jan 27, 2024 16:24:47 GMT
All the steering connections have now been checked and either loosened-up or proved to be OK as they were. The issue appears to be the badly made, new replacement steering box I fitted at the beging of the build. This has now been replaced with a better quality one and the steering has loosened up a bit. The road test will be the pudding proof but it's a little way off yet due to needing to rebuild the steering column after straightening the inner shaft. Are all Beetle steering inner shafts bent? ? I have three in stock and they all wobble at the loweer end when rolled on a flat surface. I think this also contributed to the issue of heavy steering. If it all goes well, the inside trim needs finishing then I'll start looking for the problems I've overlooked or ignored.
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Post by soldonkits on Feb 3, 2024 12:01:31 GMT
OK... a bit more about the build, particularly its slowness and possible future issues if the car ever hits the open road. The car still hasn’t been road tested and now the council has dug up the road outside the garage where the car is currently languishing. Raised manhole covers present a serious danger to a low-slung Eagle. I guess they'll finish the road someday.
On a loosely connected subject, i.e. cars needing help, has anyone fitted a front tow point to their Eagle SS? The most solid anchor point I can see is way back under the front boot section and would probably be the torsion tubes but how would you get a firm and sensible tow point to the front of the car say in the front nose area. As you can tell, my faith in this build has yet to improve and I'm thinking of the car being towed home or at the best, being hauled onto a transporter. This makes me wonder where they could attach straps and avoid damaging the overhanging front section. Any ideas out there?
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Post by chrisbailey on Feb 3, 2024 17:03:56 GMT
If you have a frame under the nose to stop it drooping, you could put a towing eye on that.
I wouldn't try and tow in the conventional way with a rope or bar though. You could maybe get a dolly under the front wheels.
I've had mine on a tow truck, pulled it up using a strap around the gearbox and pulled it up rearwards. The entire rear panel is cut out on mine so it's easy access to the engine and gearbox.
There's a few places you could fabricate a towing frame to mount. The frame horn bolts for the rear or frame head for the front. I'd sign up to a breakdown service and get the car on a proper truck.
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