Removing the upper torsion arms

There is a trick to removing the upper torsion arms. The upper torsion arms have a great amount of tension on them from the torsion bars. The tension is focused on the upper torsion stop. The stop must be removed before the torsion bar can be taken away from the beam.

To remove the torsion arms follow the following steps.

1. Take the retaining clips off, from the back of the upper torsion stop.

2. Use a jack (if beam is mounted to bus) or a large pry bar (if beam is not mounted to bus) to remove tension from the rubber stop.

• Using the pry bar, on the notch close to the rubber stop. Move the torsion arm away from the rubber stop. Use a large flat head to pry up the rubber stop. It may stick a bit.
• Using a jack, on the bottom ball joint and jack the linkage up until the upper torsion stop is free of the torsion bar. Use a large flat head to pry up the rubber stop. It may stick a bit.

3. Using a soft hammer start to tap out the torsion arm. Once it gets past the rubber stop "mount" (this is the metal bar protruding from the beam between the torsion arms) the torsion arm will come out easily.

Tip: it may take some amount of tapping to get it past the mount. Keep at it, make sure to use a soft hammer. The arm can be bent if you are to rough. Also hit the torsion arm in different spots to get it to move.

4. Make sure there is plenty of grease in the beam an on the bearings. If the needle bearings or the bushings are dry they will need to be replaced.

Front End Rebuild

Rebuilding the vw bus front end doen not seem like to difficult a proposition. Parts seem plentiful and relatively cheap. My question is can it be improved and how easily. I plan to find out. Stay tuned.

Im looking for a front beam kit. Something to replace all those worn out bushings, bearings, tie rods, etc. But first a power wash is badly needed.

I would like to upgrade the front end to a more modern system. Items below are available but I have not yet done the research to know how well they work.

Camper suspension handling kit is something I want. It's supposed to improve handling. Also considering power steering rack. Not sure if there is a unit that exists OOTB.

I have made some progress on the suspension rebuild. I disassembled most of the front beam, including torsion arms, sway bar, shocks, steering arm and tie rods.

There are several parts I will leave in place including the needle bearings and the bushings. These should be replaced if the bearings or the internal beam tube is not well greased. In other words if you see lots of fairly clean grease the bearings are in good condition. Of course clean and replace grease.
Another thing is to check for play. If play exists it may well be easier to replace the beam.

How to determine the bearings and bushings are in good condition? How to determine if there is to much play? I will cover this in my next Front End post.

The torsion arm ball joints will be replaced and need to be pressed out with a special tool. Also the tie rod ends will be replaced as well as the steering pin that holds the steering nuckle to the beam. Also wheel bearing will be replaced.

I am having difficulty finding replacements for the torsion arm seals.

Removing front and rear beams

Removing the front beam was relatively strait forward. There are a couple of components in the way. The linkage to the break master cylinder needs to be removed as well as the emergency break linkage. Also the steering linkage will need to be removed.

The rear swing axels are easy to remove. The break lines must be disassembled as well as the emergency break cable needs to be pulled out of its steel line. After removing a few bolts a little prying should do the trick.