Precise1

PM sent Martin, and yes, just the socket will do fine. I'll borrow the air gun from work and a compressor from somewhere. I'd drive it to work and deal with it there, but the reg is expired (needs smog) and with my luck I'll get pulled over. Thanks for the suggestions though !! B

Wouldn't that be toe in, using the rope trick FL ?? For camber, a piece of flat stock, some blocks and a level with known graduations will get you there. Plumb bob, ruler and trig is another... Castor I have never messed with. B

Sorry, if you read it all, I have it, just not in the truck and it's not important enough to be a priority to install as I didn't use it when I had it... Oh, forget it... B

Ok, can you lend me one, with a compressor and 36mm impact socket ?? I've seen several standard sockets split without the axle nut budging before... Cool, thanks for the numbers. I've put 250-300 lbs at 16" so far and a heck of a lot more than that with the jack !!! I would prefer not to break this bar, but rather buy the right tool and have both. Yes, anything your friends can recomend, I want to hear !! I've owned VW's before and have removed these nuts 6-8 times, just not on this car. This is the tightest I've dealt with so far... B

Hmm, I wonder if I have one of those and if it works ?? B

For a starting place, I'd split the difference at .9 degrees then see how it feels and read the tires. Odds are it won't make a huge difference anyway, it ain't exactly a sports car... B

With the wheel bearings, do as was recommended. Preload is determined via spring gage, but a simple weight tied to a string and a wheel stud does the same thing. I believe I used a hand sledge (as a weight)... The important thing is to re check it in about 200-500 miles. B

Ok, anyone have any suggestions I haven't tried ? We are talking about a VW (Bug) 36 mm rear axle nut. It is torqued to 250 ft/lbs, then baked, chilled, neglected and rusted for years until it fuses in place, world renowned for being every bit of a nightmare to attempt to remove... Yes, I own one. I have soaked it for days with PB Blaster (repeated applications), hand sledged the nut and axle end several times, used a socket and 18" breaker bar, stood and bounced on it (185 lbs), used an extension tool that acts like a socket (adds 4" to the breaker bar throw and allows for hammering upon), hammered the crap out of it, bounced again even harder, heated it to water sizzling temperature, wedged the breaker bar handle onto a floor jack, jacked up until the wheel was 1/2 way off the ground and the breaker bar was 15 degrees more indexed than I could manage by hand (read bending), hammered on the socket and bar end... Then, called it a day before I hurt myself. This puppy is fused !! Tomorrow I'll try applying Kroil (something the mold maker at work swears by) and a lot of cursing !! Any ideas/tricks I should try ? B

Please do !! There are, of course, a few different ways of reading that... B

Time will tell... Plenty of time for the price to come down to where I'd even consider it... B

Hmm, I had it and almost never used it until I crashed my truck. Now I don't have it, but wished I did in rare occasions. I have all the parts (condensor/lines/etc) in the garage but haven't had the time to put it in yet... I didn't see that category... B

I have to ask why you didn't stop driving or at least throughly inspect things when you saw you had a broken shock ? Hopefully it's an easy fix and the spindle or other components didn't get tweaked. They are not really designed to take load from that direction... B

As long as it was at a reasonable price, well, that tells you all you need to know... B

Just like mws said, but I'd drain more than a few tablespoons though, brake fluid is cheap... Make sure to bleed the farthest wheel first and work closer. B

The clutch is not really difficult, just a lot of work. A lift helps a lot though !! I'm suprised no one has chimed in yet... You are of course providing beer and pizza ??? B

Yeah, I read that but forgot by the time I got down to the back spacing... I'll stick with everything else though and throw in a few useful tools... http://www.mysporttrac.net/calulator.htm http://www.dakota-truck.net/TIRECALC/tirecalc.html B

The boots split due to degredation (caustic fluids, salts, etc), temperature (arctic_mark means cld ?) and tension. Not sure Not sure That contributes, yes Good boots ? What are the conditions you used them in ? What brand ? No, it's not normal for them to give up the ghost in 18 months. B

LOL B

Redneck Siping: *digs out the hacksaw* "Aww Ma, quit yer yellin' at me !!" B

No problem, I didn't think it would be a problem. Yeah, I wonder a lot also... B

Try adjusting the wheel stops... As for spacers, I avoid them on principle... Too much like shims !! *becomes noisily sick* B

I believe the basic rule of thumb for 'normal' sized tires is rim width not more then 4" (not less than 2" than tire width ?) I have 10.5x31" tires on the stock chrome wheels that are 6" and they work fine but are a bit pinched. Therefore the 11.5" wide tires would fit reasonably well on 8" rims. 32" is a good choice; if it rubs a little, it shouldn't take too much to correct. Now back spacing is important... I believe 3.75" is the target but 3.5-4" can work fine also... B

Of course. I just figured I'd do what my GF does to me... B

*Nods wisely* *points out an eagle in the distance* *smacks Red upside the head* B

Sooo true !! Until it fails and you hop a tooth or 8... :o I suspect the idea was that it was to be properly dealt with within prescribed service intervals. One of the reasons I bought a 95 (105k interval) with 110k on it with a receipt for timing belt replacement 6 months prior...