I had the same problem as you. Violent shaking when going around bends. I took the car to Pedders who diagnosed the problem instantly. It was found to be the eccentric Bushings that fasten the Control Arms to the Centre Spine. I bought a new Kit, and Pedders fitted the Kit and adjusted everything. Problem solved.
The pitman arm looks like a post 74 version. The steering stops are built into the pitman arm, where as earlier versions had the stops in the idler arm. It may have been changed at some point in its life!
Your shimmy is not due to your steering box. It’s ball joints, tie rod ends, and control arm bushings. Also, your rims cannot be bent-even a little (check them for rim damage). And your tires have to be very round. Out of round tires-even a little out of round-will also cause a shimmy on a Super Beetle. Alignment is necessary, once the above has been completed.
Thanks Michael, I figured it out. I ended replaceing all those parts but I believe the steering damper was the root cause. Never the less, the shakes are long gone. Now I'm on to dealing with a head leak. The bug sounds like a little machine gun.
Checking if a shimmy is caused more by the ball joints, tie rod ends and control arm bushings than the steering box. I've been trying to get the shimmy go away with wheel balance/alignment, tires arm bushings repairs but shimmy is still here...:( Please advise.
Steering box problems would mostly cause too much play in the steering wheel when turning. Tie rod ends, ball joints, and control arm bushings are the primary times to replace when encountering shimmy. However, the rims must have no damage like dents. Check them our for curb damage. Also, the tires must be perfectly round. I had Kumho tires on mine, and they were woefully out of round. I replaced them with better, rounder tires,as well as one bent rim, and all is well now.
I had the same problem as you. Violent shaking when going around bends. I took the car to Pedders who diagnosed the problem instantly. It was found to be the eccentric Bushings that fasten the Control Arms to the Centre Spine. I bought a new Kit, and Pedders fitted the Kit and adjusted everything. Problem solved.
The pitman arm looks like a post 74 version. The steering stops are built into the pitman arm, where as earlier versions had the stops in the idler arm. It may have been changed at some point in its life!
My shake went away when I put disc brakes on.
I understand there are
3 different offsets of the bug wheels.
Discovered that when I put 205's on
Your shimmy is not due to your steering box. It’s ball joints, tie rod ends, and control arm bushings. Also, your rims cannot be bent-even a little (check them for rim damage). And your tires have to be very round. Out of round tires-even a little out of round-will also cause a shimmy on a Super Beetle. Alignment is necessary, once the above has been completed.
Thanks Michael, I figured it out. I ended replaceing all those parts but I believe the steering damper was the root cause. Never the less, the shakes are long gone. Now I'm on to dealing with a head leak. The bug sounds like a little machine gun.
Checking if a shimmy is caused more by the ball joints, tie rod ends and control arm bushings than the steering box. I've been trying to get the shimmy go away with wheel balance/alignment, tires arm bushings repairs but shimmy is still here...:( Please advise.
Steering box problems would mostly cause too much play in the steering wheel when turning. Tie rod ends, ball joints, and control arm bushings are the primary times to replace when encountering shimmy. However, the rims must have no damage like dents. Check them our for curb damage. Also, the tires must be perfectly round. I had Kumho tires on mine, and they were woefully out of round. I replaced them with better, rounder tires,as well as one bent rim, and all is well now.
@@michaeld.3779 Many thanks! Will rule those out and move to a steering box. 👍
you need the new style pitman arm thats all.
Phil, where did you purchase the new steering box that wouldn’t fit at the spindle?
Jbugs.com
Which vendor did you buy this steering box from? I don’t want to end up trying to tack down a different pitman arm, like you. Lol
Jbugs.com
STEERING DAMPER is issue