Dialling out ‘Westy Lean’

[bluerallye]

Hi,

I have done a forum search on the above and found some useful info, however a couple of outstanding points that I couldn’t get to the bottom of:

1) I have about 15mm of lean, assume this can be dialled out but what am I looking at wrt turns? 1/2, 1, 2?

2) The lean is pretty consistent F/R, should dialling our on the front address the back or is it possible the rear springs have aged and would benefit from changing after dialling out the front?

3) I expect the dialling in can be done with weight on wheels (unjacked) or is it better to jack/dial/unjack and assess/repeat?

4) How many gallons of WD40 are recommended prior to attempting this

TIA

 

[bxl_lad]

I'm watching this with interest - I've noticed a lean on mine (seems to be towards the kitchen side, which would make sense), so to find how it goes will be good...
Pictures and running commentary please!

 

[bluerallye]

Same here, to the kitchen side. Common issue by all accounts. I’ll be tackling in next couple of weeks so I’ll keep you posted

 

[sidepod]

Good timing, I'm about to embark on a complete set up of my suspension.

I've dialed out the lean quite successfully.
How much will depend on your patience and van loading/set up.

The best place to start is by parking the van on the flattest surface you can find and have a good look at it and establish roughly how much you need to raise the front left corner by.

The correct way to measure your starting point is to measure the distance between the damper mounting bolt centers. There is VW data for different vehicle groups




This is a good starting point but it will depend on whether your van has been lowered?
Once you are sure both sides are the same then you can go from there.
I can't recall what one turn of the (27mm nut) is in terms of height but you will need to move the van back and forth after each adjustment.

There is not much you can do with the rear to help with the lean other than add shims under the springs. The gap will be fairly small.

Regarding WD40, it depends on the state of the adjusters. Give them a soaking with WD and leave it for a few days. Repeat. You will need a BIG breaker bar and deep 27mm socket.

I wouldn't attempt to adjust the height with the van on jacks! If the nuts are relatively free then maybe but, in my experience you really need to put some force into it!

Obvs once you've tweaked the lean then you'll need to re adjust the camber/alignment.

Good luck.

 

[Sleepyboy]

I've not noticed significant lean on mine as yet - having said that, its inevitable now that I will see it as soon as I look at the van.

I remember fitting some specific "Westy" shims to the springs of my old California to cure the lean on that - they came from Brickwerks. I wonder if the rear shim from a T3 would fit the T4 spring?

 

[sidepod]

Anything will do for the rear they’re just big rubber doughnuts. Without measuring corner weights it’s aln impossible to work out what’s required. An old heavy duty rubber footwell mat is good for making shims.

 

[bluerallye]

I've not noticed significant lean on mine as yet - having said that, its inevitable now that I will see it as soon as I look at the van.

I remember fitting some specific "Westy" shims to the springs of my old California to cure the lean on that - they came from Brickwerks. I wonder if the rear shim from a T3 would fit the T4 spring?

It’s not immediately apparent on mine. When the van has been sat for a week or so I notice it. Maybe I should just drive the van more!

 

[2into1]

Just empty your wallets of all the cash you've saved having such great vans. It will be perfectly level after that.

 

[sidepod]

That’s a good point, I always pop my wallet in the drivers door pocket

Do the 5/6’s not suffer the same issue?
They’re the same config, kitchen, batteries, water tanks, fuel tanks etc all on the same side?

 

[sidepod]

Right , got in amongst it this morning.
No more Westy lean.

Tweaked both front to arrive at 246mm.
Obvs it depends on rear ride height setting as the front should be set relative to that.

Mine is a touch nose down at the front with the rear at -40mm from stock.

Whilst at it I set the castor to max and camber at -1.9 deg.

 

[Padraic]

Good work. Was it just a matter of winding up or down the torsion bar nut?

 

[sidepod]

Good work. Was it just a matter of winding up or down the torsion bar nut?

Confirm.

 

[Padraic]

What was the height difference from the strut top to bottom bolt before you started adjustment?

 

[sidepod]

Not a huge difference. I added about 6mm of ride height so 240mm and took a couple of mm out of the other side.

It all depends on what you use as a datum.
You can either raise the “lean” side or lower the non “lean” side or tweak both.

 

[Padraic]

It’s a job I’ll look in to after I finish my overhaul of the bushes and ball joints.

 

[bluerallye]

Did mine yesterday, took 10 minutes and no breaker bar needed. Just used a 27mm ring spanner. Needed about 10 turns / 2cm on bolt. Both now settled at 255mm. Dialling out the front has also addressed the light lean at the rear. Happy