1303 shimmies :-(

Been there, done that. I replaced a lot of parts on my long gone 1303S and then I realized the wheels were not perfectly straight. Maybe a bump deformed them. It doesn't take a big deviation to cause shimmies.

Karls

You need to replace everything, the bushings are just one part of the deal. Did you change the bushing on the idler arm? How about the ball joints? Steering dampener? Any play in the universal shaft or the steering gearbox? For that matter, what kind of bushings did you use, urethane or rubber? I've been told(can't speak from experience here) that the rubber bushings are garbage unless you get the german ones.

I had the shimmy problem with my 74 super, so I replaced everything about 2 years ago and I have not had a single shimmy since. The only complaint I have is the squeaky urethane bushings, which have defied multiple attempts to be silenced, even with the special grease.

Chris

I only replaced the anti sway bar and track control arm bushings. with squeeky urethane . 6 in total. Nothing else. It does seem tight tho. except the steering nox has about 1/4 inch at the steering wheel.

I got my wheels balanced today (after moving the 'odd' wheel to the back) They managed to balance them but they are not in the best shape. Dings and slight wobbles etc.

It didn't shimmie on the way home - about 5 miles.

I didn't know the wheels were such a big deal ! Will try and find some straight ones if it hasn't cured it.

I wont be getting another super ! (except the 75 I just bought for the empi

8 spokes ! ) with new tyres and a vage ? green engine 125 gbp :-) oh yeah - and the dash is not split !!!

Rich

----- Original Message ----- From: "Hal" Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:15 PM Subject: Re: 1303 shimmies :-(

I'm just putting in the carpet of my 72' 1303 and than I'll be using it as a daily driver. Is there any chance you can make a list of what should be changed out in a perfect world to take away the shimmies. I'm also going to be putting on disc brakes.

Disk brakes should help.

I have some but not fitted yet.

I found these links from an old ramva post - eye opening to say the least !

Rich

----- Original Message ----- From: Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 4:15 PM Subject: Re: 1303 shimmies :-(

There are many things that can cause the "shimmies". New balanced tires took care of my shimmies. Obviously, it may not do jack for you.

Juan

72 SB

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Well its been about a week now since I had the wheels balanced and it seems to be cured. It's still hard to believe you can get that much shaking from an unbalance wheel !

Rich

"Is there any chance you can make a list of what should be changed out in a perfect world to take away the shimmies. I'm also going to be putting on disc brakes. "

I would change everything. Pull the entire front suspension out and inspect. I would change all of the bushings, the idler arm bushing, steering dampener, ball joints, strut cartridges, upper strut mounts(if they are worn....) and if in doubt about its condition, the steering gearbox. Check the universal shaft for play. Replace the tie rod ends and if the center link is worn, change it as well. I would also suggest the strut tower brace that is offered by top line parts. You can get pretty much everything to do the job from topline

Anything else you need can be sourced from wolfsburg west The bughaus BFY obsolete or mid-america motorworks Aside from the urethane bushing 'squeak', my super's front end has been tight for almost two years now. It really isn't a hard job, just take the time to clean everything up, give the control arms/sway bar a coat of rattle-can paint, etc. You might wanna repack the spindle bearings/do the brakes, etc while you are in there as well.

Chris

not to say anything bad chris but .............................DANG!!!!!

How about for those of us on a budget? I have in the neighborhood of

50 - 100 dollars to spare at the end of the month... ok ok I know save up 6 months .... but still!!

"not to say anything bad chris but .............................DANG!!!!! How about for those of us on a budget? I have in the neighborhood of

50 - 100 dollars to spare at the end of the month... ok ok I know save up 6 months .... but still!! "

Well, you can fix it correctly by replacing all of the worn parts at once, or you can chase yourself in circles trying to find the exact bushing or ball joint that is the cause of your problem for that week, or that month. And then next month, something else will wear out of tolerance and cause another problem. ;)

I think I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 on 'stuff' (not including the steering gearbox...ouch! $349 for a new one) and 1 hour of labor(about $70) at the local VW shop to have the ball joints removed/installed, idler arm bushing installed, and a few other minor press operations as well.

Bottom line, I would suggest doing the whole job all at once, even if it means postponing the work to put the funds together.

Chris

Supers are sensitive. I have two 73s. The one with the shimmies has had everything (almost) replaced. All new bushings including the inner control arm one. The part that made the big difference was the steering damper.

Months later the shake came back. Always @ 55 mph. A little poking around and I found the culprit.. STEERING BOX itself. It's got slack. Odd slack the adjustment won't take care of. The adjustment on the box doesn't behave the same as my other super.

New steering boxes are hard to come by these days. I found an original german NOS one for $350 a few weeks ago. I have yet to put it in, but should solve my shimmie issue for good.

SPARE ??. whats that ?

That's that part you had to replace because it broke. :)

Hey Chris

Thanks for the idea. I went to the local vw shop and broke out the jc whitney catalogue. I'll have chrome parts installed while he looks for the shimmie. Instead of christmas in mexico I'm spending my vacation pay on getting rid of the shimmie and putting in new parts on the front end.

After all I wouldn't remember the trip and I'd be broke when I came back. so why no be broke and know where it went!

thanks for the advice. raul