2.1 Front Wheels
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This is what the front bearings look like.
I
had never replaced a set before the RedVan project, but it turned out
not to be too difficult. I was able to get them out of the wheel hubs
with 30mm socket and a hammer. Putting the new ones in I did use a
friends 20ton press.
Piece of cake. |
 |
click on the image on the left to zoom.
You can see the big "C"
clip there is one on each side that you need to remove, then push the
bearing out. If you have a press you can actually use the new one to
press out the old one, don;t push it to far as you will need to get
the"C" clip in first to where it bottoms out. |
CV Joints and Boots
click to zoom |
Cleaning and rebuilding your CV joints might seem like a difficult
task, but if you follow the Bentely manual its not difficult. The most
difficult thing is to get the wheel nut off, once you have managed that
the rest is straight forward. I have a 3/4 bar and an extension pipe.
You have to block all the tires, and put it in gear, then lean into it
with all you got. |
CV BOOT |
CV KIT |
2.2 Rear Brakes
The most important aspect of the rear brakes on the Kubvan is the larger
diameter drum used. These are not Rabbit of jetta drums which are normally
180mm.
The brake drums and shoes for the Kubvan are drums are 201.5mm these are from
1980 vintage VW Dasher or 1984 vintage VW Pickup, I note that some of the newer
Jetta's now have a larger 201.5 mm drums but I do not know if they are
compatible. see the parts list at the end of this page.
The Bentley manual is the definitive guide on how to take apart and put back
together these drums.
The skecth on the left is a bit iff the axle stubs don't look like that, and
the back bearing or sleeve seems to be missing but it gives you an idea of the
lay of the land.
If you make note of nothing else, Make sure that if the drum is stuck on you
release the adjustment wedge that keeps the shoes tight. (I will be adding some
pics here for clarity)
This is done by rotating the wheel so that one wheel bolt hole is at a 10:00
o'clock position. Pushing a small flat blade screw driver in this hole
finding the spring,, running up the spring then levering the wedge up releases
it. Sounds tricky but it's not that hard ,and allows the drum to come off with
no struggle.
 |
 |
| Adjusting wedge |
wheel cylinder |
| Here is the brake shoes, springs and rear
bearing (placed on stub, you need to install the bearing in the back of
the drum.) |
Axle stub |
Click to zoom |
Drum installed |
The pictures below show something to watch out for, you will notice on the
inside of the bearing sleeve some residual sand left over from the cleaning
process at the factory. It looks to me like it is sand from sand blasting the
drums after casting, or possibly just casting sand that never got cleaned out.
Needless to say if this was left in it would have likely made short work of new
bearings. Bottom line here is inspect all your parts for cleanliness before
installing.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Note diameter of Drum 201.5mm |
Sand in bearing sleeve |
Sand removed from sleeve |
Clean bearing sleeve |
Rear Wheel Bearings:
2.5 Parking Brake
The
rear drum part of this is standard rabbit gear the factory Number is 171 609
721C, the cable has Gemo 433 566 on it.
Getting it out can be a challenge.
2.6 Parts List
Lordco Part Numbers -
manufacturer Name & Part Number
OEM
Rear Brake drums
BDR 080-1977
Rear drum brake shoes
963-495PG
Rear drum spring kit
759 17241
Carlson 17241
Rear Brake cylinder (piston) BHY 072-8176
Beck Arnley 072-8176
Rear Wheel bearing kit
BBE 051-4165
Beck Arnley 051-4165
Rear parking brake cable
171 609 721
Front Brake Pads
BFR 082-1325
Front Brake rotor
66R 3416
Front Brake Bearing
BBE 051-3851
Beck Arnley 051-3851
Lower Ball Joint
OneSource K9061
Reatainer Kit
759 13168
Control Arm Bushings Beck Arnley 101-3817
2.7 Tire Changing.
One of the best tools I have ever bought is the tire changer as depicted in
my YouTubes below. A
number of versions are available, from your local automotive supplier, harbour
freight or as you can see in the second set of videos, from a bloke in Australia. I
bought the unit I use from Lordco up here in Canada. The lever mechanism for breaking the bead was not
very strong and tended to twist to one side, beefed it up with two chunks of
flat steel, and put an extra foot on the back to stop it from slipping on
difficult tires. I find the aluminium rims more difficult to un-mount than
steels, I think it is because the oxidize on the inside. Steel rims tend to be
painted on the inside and so the rubber slides off easier. The Australian tool
shown in the second video's below looks like a better choice bit it seems like a
long way from here to ship. Since modifying mine it works much better even on
aluminium rims as you can see in the video below. Changing tires and rims is now
real easy and my unit cost me less than a $100 and it has paid for it's quickly.
How many tools do you own that you can say that about.
Here is a cool variation on the Harbour freight tool from Australia, I
especially like the bead break, seems like a long way to ship though.
