Project 1971 Volkswagen Super Beetle - Super Project '71: Part Four

Line up the sway bar with the front mounting points and lubricate the bar where the bushings will be located.

The mounting clamps attach with two bolts and lock washers each and should be tightened with 14ft.-lbs. of torque for 1971-'73 cars and 29ft.-lbs. of torque for '74 and later.

This is the new shiny steering box that will replace the worn out one behind it. You must transfer over the drop arm and universal joint shaft. One or two splines on the drop arm and the roller shaft of the steering box are wider and they must match to install properly.

You must press in the new idler arm bracket bushing and idler arm shaft. The shaft attaches to the idler arm, which connects to the center tie rod on the passenger side of the car.

Once the drop arm is attached to the roller shaft of the steering box (torqued to 72ft.-lbs.), it is important to peen the lower part of the nut until it meshes with the slots in the roller shaft.

The universal joint shaft fits snuggly over the steering column splines. The bolt aligns itself with the notch in the splines, and needs to be torqued to roughly 5ft.-lbs.The new steering damper is bolted to the frame head through an access hole in the trunk. The hydraulic portion attaches to the top of the drop arm in the mounting point closest to the steering box. Don't forget to replace the bushing at this point (and the sleeve if it is damaged).

The most time consuming part of the whole job is getting the retaining ring to fit over the tie rod end boots. It takes patience and determination.

Once the center rod is attached to the drop arm and the idler arm (on opposite sides of the car), the right and left tie rods can be attached with 22ft.-lbs. of torque. The left tie rod is longer than the right.

The outer tie rod ends attach via a bolts to the steering knuckle. It is at these points you can adjust for toe.

Another angle of the inner tie rod ends connecting to the center tie rod.

Checking for proper toe-in can be done simply with a tape measure and a friend. Strut front suspension cars are designed to operate with a small amount of toe-in. Measure the distance between two points on the tires, roll the car forward until those two points are in the back and make the same measurement again. The difference at the rear should be less than 5mm greater than the front measurement.