Rear Beam Rebuilt

[baz205gti 0 1 Cars]

hi,

Just had my rear beam redone (new bearings and trailing arm shafts) the main tube is back on the car and im trying to get the trailing arms back into the main tube, not sure how much of a hammering i should be giving it, not got the clubb hammer out yet but using a claw hammer i have got it to about 30mm to go. Just wanted to check that this is normal and im not about to put my beam back on the fecked pile?

Need a heads up from a person in the know on how much force is required to drive these home??

Edited September 19, 2011 by baz205gti

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Should just slide home without the use of a hammer mate.

[welshpug 1,646]

sounds like you may have damaged the bearings when fitting them if you need to use force to get the arm shafts in.

[Anthony 1,002]

As said, something isn't right - assuming that the torsion bars etc are removed, the arms should ideally slide into the tube/bearings easily, or certainly with nothing more than a few light gentle taps. Needing to wallop it in with a hammer isn't normal or right at all.

 

Given that you mention that it's had new shafts - were these pattern items per chance? I had a beam recently that someone had fitted these to, and gave a very similar issue, and swapping it with a used OE shaft fixed the issue - I can only assume that the new pattern shaft was fractionally out of tolerance or something.

 

More likely that the bearings aren't aligned properly or are damaged/deformed though. Are both sides the same?

 

Oh, and be VERY careful where you're hitting it with a hammer if you're going to continue knocking the arm in - the area around the offset washer on the passenger side arm is very weak and deforms easily, which will cause you no end of hassle when you try and fit the torsion bar and offset washer back in.

[baz205gti 0 1 Cars]

cheers guys, will have to pop the side i started with out and see whats what, i have mircometer, anyone know what the shaft should measure for the bearings ?

[CosKev 16]

Why have you put the tube on the car first?

 

Surely building the beam up on the floor is easier?

 

Then lift it up into position complete.

[welshpug 1,646]

swings and roundabouts, quite a faff getting a complete beam up on your own, whereas its no more difficult to stick it together on the car.

 

dismantling I agree is easier off the car though

[CosKev 16]

Not a sniff I would build one on the car

 

Harder to see whats goin on on the other end of beam,working kneeling down(unless on a ramp of course;) ),

have to lie on back to set up dummy shock etc.

 

Build it on a bench/stands,lift into place with a trolley jack complete

[baz205gti 0 1 Cars]

either way i dont mind, i have a nice big work shop/garage, only ever swapped beams in past so this is my first rebuild

anyway update on whats happening, the shaft goes in really nicely and stops with 25mm to go on both sides, now i put a tape measure in and measured from inner bearing to outter seal (210mm) then measured from the inner end of the shaft down toward the trailing arm and marked the grease at 210mm and low and behold 25mm ish left.

looks like the shaft is stopping dead on the inner bearings ??

any chance these bearing are round the wrong way or does it not matter ??

[jord294 89]

have you used pattern part bearings? as maybe there is more of a shoulder on the outer race. that together with pattern part trailing arm shafts, which may have less of a chamfer on the end, maybe the cause of the shaft not sliding in easy

 

just an idea

[baz205gti 0 1 Cars]

i sent the main tube and shafts away to be re engineered in wiltshire, new original bearring were fitted and my shafts were re engineered and case hardened, the chap is on holiday at min so cant chat with him, really just want to know if someone has some inner bearings to hand whether they are directional fitting or with go in either way round ?

if they are fittable either way round i'll just give it a bit more of a tap, as it will just a bit tight,

[Leet205 48]

The inner bearings are directional, the writing on the case should be facing you

[welshpug 1,646]

sounds like that shaft is too big then, the bearings are sided but will not affect them fitting the shaft

[Alastairh 47]

Perhaps the bearings were damaged when fitted. I've seen that before.

 

Al

[davey sprocket 14]

The inner bearings are directional, the writing on the case should be facing you

 

Hmmm.... There's always something waiting to catch you out isn't there?

 

I'm mid beam rebuild and didn't realise there was a right and wrong way for the bearings, they looked to be the same from both sides and are in place now. I've tried peering down the tube to see if I can see writing on either side but I can't.

 

How much of a problem is it if they're the wrong way round??

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

None at all, bearings are the same both ways as are the seals

[davey sprocket 14]

Thanks Miles!