The Cal-look Lounge

I bought my cal looker back and wondered why the handling and steering was horrible. I only drove it for about six miles before I stripped the car completely and this is what I found. It was very dangerous , wandered all over the road and very hard to keep in a straight line. I will be buying a set of needle bearings and seals. I wonder how the hell it vanished and serves as a warning. Check yours if you have any!


(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l242/vwhelmot/bfj999b%20rebuild/33942156-CA1D-4D17-86B2-1D300D9B5FF4.jpg) (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/vwhelmot/media/bfj999b%20rebuild/33942156-CA1D-4D17-86B2-1D300D9B5FF4.jpg.html)

(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l242/vwhelmot/bfj999b%20rebuild/54F456AC-CCD6-4A64-AD78-AB06E1C7B64E.jpg) (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/vwhelmot/media/bfj999b%20rebuild/54F456AC-CCD6-4A64-AD78-AB06E1C7B64E.jpg.html)

I would be changing the one on the steering box also

Lee

I will definitely. Who thought they were a good idea?!

Are the needle bearings available?

Shouldn't be a problem.

I used to despise poly, but with age sometimes comes better understanding. You need to use the proper lube with poly, and it makes all the difference. Normal moly lubes are petroleum based, will attack the polyurethane and cause failure as seen in your car.

All the other bushes are ok. So why just the one if it's a case of wrong lubrication? Don't think it's that that has caused this.

I would also check the beam. I am guessing its a narrowed aftermarket one

The beam is the original vw one I narrowed fifteen years ago. The arm seems to be fine but I will check everything .

I probably have  50k miles on mine with polyurethane bushings and no issues what so ever.  I greased them liberally with Valvoline grease and have had no problems.

Javabug is correct, it is not recommended to use Petroleum Grease, it attacks the Urethane, we here at Prothane only recommend using the Grease we provide with our Bushing kits, it is a water-proof, non-melting Teflon and is formulated to seal out water and to lubricate under the most adverse conditions. You can order it from any of our dealers listed on our Web Site, here are the part numbers,

19-1750 (3) 1/2oz packs
19-1751 (1) 14oz tube for a grease gun.

Mr Luppino, is there anything you can do to help us Norwegians with parts from Bugpack?

Best rgs
Karl

The wrong grease has not caused this bush to simply disappear ? It's gone, the complete sleeve is not there.
The other three are still there so I'm wondering what could have caused this.

You can try a company called Hot Shop, they are in Norway or here in the US is Pierside Parts, they ship world wide.

Ok......The only time I have seen bushing fail is when either the wrong grease was used or they were improperly installed. Good luck.

Do you still need to pump it through via the nipples regularly with these inserts or is that for the benefit of the needle bearings?

Is it possible that the outer lip came off and the rest of the bushing "walked" in towards the center of the beam?