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Swing Lever Pin Replacement

Introduction

The swing lever connects the tie rods to the front axle beam and drag link (which is connected to the steering box). The swing lever is also connected to the steering dampner.

The swing lever pivots on a pin that runs through the center of the front axle (bottom tube). It is sometimes referred to as the center pin or pivot pin (or combination thereof). In this documentation, I'll be using the term 'shaft' to refer to the space occupied by the pivot pin.

A worn swing lever pin or swing lever pin bushings (bushes) can result in wandering steering, or 'clunking' during cornering. This is caused by the bushes wearing over time and allowing for lateral movement of the pin.

Installation Overview

Prior to installing a new swing lever pin, you must first remove the shiftrod that runs just above the swing lever - so that you can move the swing lever off the pin.

Also, you will remove the swing lever arm as illustrated above.

Replacing the swing lever pin consists of three primary steps:

  1. Remove or drive out the old swing lever bushings (brass bushes)
  2. Insert or drive in new bushes
  3. Ream the new bushes so that the new pin can move freely without binding
  4. Insert the new pivot pin

Parts and Tools

Bus Boys (and other suppliers) carry swing lever pin kits. These are re-manufactured in Brazil. The procedure as it is documented on this site uses the Swing Lever Center Pin Repair Kit and installation tool available from Bus Boys.

The swing lever pin kit from Bus Boys was about $35 when this article was written. The tool rental was $70 ($35 for the removal and installation tool and $35 for the reamer).

It is possible to use a ball peen hammer to remove the bushings and a brake cylinder hone to ream out the bushings prior to installing the pin. The tools from Bus Boys make the job somewhat easier and remove any guesswork, though if you are familiar with the procedure and tools you may be able to forego the tool rental.

A 1/2 inch ratcheting wrench and 3/4 inch adapter were used to operate the tools.

If you are waiting on tools from Bus Boys (took about a month or so for me), you should go ahead and complete the shiftrod removal and refurbishing. Even if you need to drive the bus while you wait, you should start working on the shiftrod now (or at least planning on this step).

Documentation and Related Articles

Illustrations of the swing lever assembly can be found in the 63-67 workshop manual (V-10 2). The VW workshop manual calls for the front axle beam to be removed from the vehicle prior to this procedure. However, in most cases this is not necessary.

Thom Fitzpatrick who installed a pivot pin into an early front beam and documented the experience in the VintageBus.com How To article, Center Pivot Bushing. Prior to replacing the pivot pin, Thom asked the list members for info on the procedure and received a response from Paul Doubek. Paul's comments are available in the Type2.com mailing list archives. And you can read Thom's comments about the task after he finished in the Type2.com mailing list archives. Thom's comments provides a good overview of the skill level required and procedures involved in this repair. Thom later performed the procedure, and has posted a set of pictures.

If you are into following your own path, read Swing Lever Bushing by George Lyle and Michael Pjetraj. Although I didn't use the techniques described, I found this article helpful.

If you have documented this procedure I would like to link to your page, please let me know.

Disclaimer

This is a documentation of my experience. Your experience may be a little different. I do not consider myself an expert. If you believe you need expert advice, you should seek the advice and services of a certified auto mechanic.

Before you start, you should take proper precautions when preparing for any kind of automotive work

  1. Make sure that your work area is clean, properly lit and well ventilated.
  2. Ensure that your vehicle is secured properly such as:
    1. vehicle does not freely move (such as using bricks to stabilize rear tires)
    2. if the vehicle is on jack stands, make sure that the jack stands are in the correct location (proper load bearing location) and are on a non-moving, non-porous surface
    3. use an additional hydraulic jack under a load-bearing part of the vehicle and spare tire(s) underneath the vehicle in addition to the properly placed jack stands (just in case)
  3. Take proper care and precautions when performing any kind of automotive work - use protective eyewear, gloves, clothing, etc. If you need to verbally call for help, you should have a person nearby who can be responsible for your care.

By continuing to read, you are agreeing that any work that you perform, you do so at your own risk.

Removal of old bushes

The swing lever pin fits in a box mounted to the front of the lower axle beam. (Shown below in the center of the picture.) The box contains a hollow shaft, which contains two brass bushes, one inserted from the top and one inserted from the bottom.

The tool shown below the box is designed to pull the top brass bushing down from the top, then pull the top bushing along with the bottom bushing out of the bottom of the box into the hollow sleeve.

Here's a picture of the bushes after they have been removed (the pivot pin is in the background).

After you remove the old bushes, the pivot pin slips out the bottom of the shaft. When you have all the old parts out of the way, take a few minutes to clean out the pivot shaft to prepare the area for the new bushes.

In the afforementioned article, George and Michael fabricated their own tools for removing the swing lever bushes. I will say however, that even if you can create a simple tool to remove the bushes - installing the bushes properly is much more difficult, and made incredibly easy with this tool. For this reason, I felt the $35 rental fee was worth it.

Installation of New Bushes

After removing the old bushes, you convert the tool for installation of the new bushes.

Shown on the left are the four pieces used for installing the bushes: bottom sleeve, threaded rod and three hat-shaped sleeves. In this configuration, the tool will pull one bushing down from the top and pull one bushing up from the bottom at the same time. [Compare the blueprint illustration shown in the photos to the configuration of the tool.]

A groove in the top hat-shaped sleeve provides for the top bushing to be installed to the proper depth. The bottom hat-shaped sleeve does not have a groove. When the bushes are fully inserted, the hat-shaped sleeves prevent further tightening. You then can unthread the tool and the bushes remain inserted.

The bushes have a "U" groove on the inside, which is used to distribute grease around the pivot pin. It is very important that you understand how this groove is oriented.

The groove intersects the edges of the bushing on one end, and is a closed loop on the other. The closed loop should be positioned away from the center of the pivot shaft. The first picture would put the bottom left of the picture towards the zerk and the top right side at the top of the pivot shaft.

If you were to look directly down from the top of the pivot shaft, you would see the groove as in the second picture, with the bottom of the picture being positioned towards the zerk and the top of the picture positioned towards the rear of the vehicle.

I etched a "U" shaped mark at the front of the bush (the end that was closest to the zerk fitting) so I could ensure that I had the orientation correct when inserting the bushes into the pivot shaft. In the picture to the left, the "U" mark would be at the bottom of the picture. However you do it, this is an important step to ensure that the bushes and pivot pin are propertly lubricated.

The picture below shows the bushes being pulled into the pivot shaft. Note the location of the "U" shaped marks so I can ensure that the groove on the inside of the bushing is facing the zerk grease fitting.

Reaming Out the New Bushes

Before you can insert the new pivot pin, you have to ream the bushes. The reason for this is that they are made of relatively soft brass and deform as they are inserted into the pivot shaft. Reaming will also ensure that there is the proper amount of clearance between the pivot pin and bushes.

Reaming is not required if you have a '68 or newer bus.

The reaming tool fits on the 1/2" wratchet and spun on the inside of the new bushes. Its cutting teeth remove a very small amount of brass at a time. As you turn the reaming 'bit' it will work its way up to the top of the pivot shaft. You'll need to do this several times.

The tool is designed to insert into the pivot shaft far enough that it prevents any 'wandering' before it begins to cut. Though you should still be careful not to apply sideways pressure as you spin the reamer.

After each pass, I cleaned off the reaming tool with a shop towel (not rag) to keep the metal shavings out of the way. At this point you can check the clearance with the pivot pin to give yourself an idea of how quickly your job is going.

When you are done and are comfortable with how smoothly the pivot pin moves in the bushes, its time to get a fresh shop towel (not rag) and clean out the pivot shaft - you don't want any brass debris in there. This will take about 10 or so minutes of poking around.

Install the New Pivot Pin

Go ahead and lube up the new pivot pin before you insert it. Once you have it inserted, you'll want to use the o-ring to keep the pin from slipping out (and it will slip out easily if you did the job properly).

Final Assembly (coming soon)