Due to years of climatic influences, it is not always easy to dismantle all chassis parts without damaging them and not all parts can be reused. If it turns out that the grooves of the steering drop arm become one with the steering box, reuse is not recommended. The grooves prevent play on the steering lever. If you own a Beetle or Karmann Ghia from the years 8.1965 to 1968 (VIN 118 857 239 ), you can use the 1968 steering box (VIN 118 857 240 ) but you will also need to replace the tie rods that correspond to these years of construction. The diameter of the axle was reduced from 10 to 12 mm in 1968 (starting with VIN 118 857 240 ). For the oldest years of construction, we speak of control with spindle and roller. Below is a full explanation of how it works with the corresponding years assembled by Volkswagen.
Types of steering boxes :
With the old Beetle and Karmann Ghia, we talk about control with spindle, which was then changed to roller control. It is important to know what is under your car, here is the full explanation:
Volkswagen used spindle steering for the Beetle until 1965 and for the Karmann Ghia until 1961. The steering box is equipped with a toothed fork (spindle) that rotates around an axis (worm screw) for rotational movement. In the last years of construction, the roller control was used; similarly, only the tooth spindle was replaced by a roller with bearings (worm wheel). Volkswagen did not make this change to all models at the same time, hence the list below of when and for which model of VW which system was used.
Steering with spindle (sector type):
Beetle convertible until 1961 (VIN 3 933 184 )
Beetle for export until 1961 (VIN 4 236 756 )
Beetle for the domestic market (standard model) until 7/1965
Karmann Ghia until 1961 (VIN 3 933 184 )
Roller steering (roller type):
Beetle convertible from 1961 (VIN 3 933 185 ) until 7/1974
Export Beetle from 1961 (VIN 4 236 757 ) and after
Beetle VW 1200, VW 1300 and VW 1500 from 8/1965 and after
Beetle 1302 and 1303 until 7/1974
Karmann Ghia from 1961 (VIN 3 933 185 ) and later
VW Thing 181 all models and years of construction
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