Guys.
VS 2010 build. Swing axel.
when I lift the car the rear suspension can drop enough that the boots get squeeze between the axels and the frame horns to the point they will puncture. Is this a common issue?
i replaced the boots once before I realized that it sittin up on a lift was the actual cause.
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How about adding a rear camber compensator? I'd also add a front sway bar if it doesn't have one already.
I have both.
this only occurs “so far” when I have the car up with the rear suspension allowed to fully hang down.
Try adding some straps that limit the travel of the axle. I use to use chain on my off road car that had a swing axle. I think straps would be better on a speedster.
It seems plausible to me that the axles are too far forward. By this I mean too much toe-in, the 3-bolt housing of the outer hub is slid too far forward on the spring plates.
Either that or the wrong bolts are being used on the frame horns. There are special low-profile bolt heads on those two. Or is the trans mount cradle bolted in backwards?
Pictures would help greatly here...
@DannyP posted:It seems plausible to me that the axles are too far forward. By this I mean too much toe-in, the 3-bolt housing of the outer hub is slid too far forward on the spring plates.
Either that or the wrong bolts are being used on the frame horns. There are special low-profile bolt heads on those two. Or is the trans mount cradle bolted in backwards?
Pictures would help greatly here...
I agree that something seems amiss here. I have a swing axle car and I’ve had it up in the air a number of times. I’ve never had an issue with anything rubbing the axle boots enough to cut or tear them.
Hmmm Alignment is good. Just had it checked toe -0.1deg each side.
Trans mounts are all new, had the same issue with the old mounts. I was changing them when I figured out what was causing me to go through boots..
I do have adjustable spring plates. Camber is set at -2.5 both sides.
As for limiting straps yes I have looked into this option. I have also see an older Bug pack solution that mounted to the spring plate up front basically raising the front bump stop up by the torsion tube to limit down travel on swing arms.
As this bug pack part is NLA I was thinking of adding a small piece of bar stock welded to the frame stop. This would also keep “tucking” from occurring as down travel could be limited to just a few deg of positive camber. (Same concept as limiting straps.)
Danny. cross brace is in correct.
https://www.speedsterowners.co...0#672926315484441150
Its not really a rubbing issue as they don’t turn, but a spring pressure squishing to the point of puncture of the boot between the axel tube and frame horn.
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@GomerP , regardless the cause of the damage, there's a pretty simple way to prevent this if you have adjustable spring plates.
Just wedge a bolt with a half-inch head as shown in this photo before hoisting the car (one bolt on each side). This limits travel of the spring plates, and so, the axles and boots.
If I had to guess, I'd say your axle boots were already old and dried out when you lifted the car.
This trick was shown to me by an old, wizened, VW mechanic who does this every time he lifts a swing axle car. He's probably had to replace a few boots on his own dime after being blamed for the damage ("They were fine before you worked on my brakes.").
A note of caution: The bolts tend to get jammed when you lower the car, requiring some bouncing up and down on the suspension to free them.
Cheers!
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This is what I decided to do. Same as the bolt just kinda permanent... it is solid stock. Flat on top and bottom. Ignore the ugly weld I wanted it to be an easy one to remove in the future. Full droop I have about 3 deg positive camber. I am wondering if the aftermarket spring plates are a bit narrow compared to factory thus allowing more down travel.
@GomerP posted:https://www.speedsterowners.co...0#672926315484441150
Its not really a rubbing issue as they don’t turn, but a spring pressure squishing to the point of puncture of the boot between the axel tube and frame horn.
We know swing axle boots don't turn. Perhaps loosen the smaller end clamp and stretch the boots toward the wheels, then tighten.
Whenever I install a swing trans I leave the inner clamp loose until everything is installed. Only then do I tighten the boot clamp.
Do you have OE style boots or aftermarket split?
I've never heard of this issue, ever.
PICTURES!
