Custom Volkswagen Parts :: Airkewld.com

Airkewld tutorial on installing rear air ride on a 1949-1968 Beetle and Ghia. The kit can be seen here as a complete kit or purchased individually here.

Disconnect the battery. Raise the car and put it on jack stands. The higher you lift the car the easier it will be to install the kit. Remove the rear wheels.Disconnect the e-brake cables inside the vehicle. (Pic1) Remove the (3) bolts that hold the axle tube to the spring plate. You will need to reuse these bolts. Remove the shock absorber by removing the upper and lower bolts. You will be using this hardware again.With a tie down, (or something similar), swing the axle with the drum attached to the rear of the car and suspend. Do not allow the axle to set on the axle boot, this will wear a hole in it or tear it. (Pic2) Remove the (4) bolts holding the spring plate cap. Please read this entire step before beginning. Be very careful and wear safety goggles! (Pic3 and 4) Using a pry bar, release the tension of the factory torsion bars inside by prying the spring plate off of its perch. (Pic5) Be careful because the spring plate is going to spring down extremely. It may be better if you stand towards the front of the car and pry underneath it. Once removed, remove the torsion bar and the rubber doughnuts and set aside. You will no longer need the torsion bars. Do not damage the doughnuts when removing because you will need to reuse them. This step can be modified to achieve the desired height of the vehicle. (Pic6) With the supplied template, mark the spring plate for notching. You now have the option to go all the way down by cutting it where you just marked with the template or you can just cut a little bit to not go as low. Paint with a flat black paint so it will not rust. Lube up the rubber doughnuts with an axle type grease and install them onto the spring plate. Bolt them up using the original hardware. At this time you can replace them with new rubber versions or you can buy urethane versions. Now your car will move up and down freely. Reinstall the original axle bolts and tighten down. Always use removable Lock-tite when installing the original bolts. This will give you the peace of mind that they will not come loose on you. Repeat steps 4 through 12 on the other side of the car. At this time your car is rid of the factory sprung torsion bars and is able to ride on just the new Air Ride Kit that will be installed in the next few steps. You will now need to put the lower trailing arms together at this time. You will need (2) Heim-joints, (2) 3/4” jam nuts and (2) 3/4” washers for each side. With the Heim-joints in hand, spin the nut all the way on and install a washer after that. Install the Heim’s on both ends of the control arms until they bottom out. Using the 4 supplied trailing arm hangers; bolt one on each side of the Heim with the supplied ½” bolts washers and nylocs. On the other side of the hangers, install a Heim-joint with the ½” bolts, washers and nylocs. This Heim needs to have a jam nut, washer, upper control arm hanger mount, and a 3/4” washer, followed by a jam nut installed. You will now need to install your new Doetsch tech shocks. The new shocks have steel spacers inside the box and will need to be pressed into the shock ends. This will allow the shock to be torqued down but does not allow the shock bushing to become smashed. With the existing hardware, install the upper portion of the shock and tighten. To install the lower shock, you will need to do the following. Take the supplied 130mm bolt (the long one), install a 12mm washer on it, install a Bronze bushing, install the back end of the control arm, (the hole in the trailing arm will be closer to the back end of the vehicle) install another Bronze bushing, take the bolt now and slide it through the lower shock mount from the side of the car, install the lower part of the shock onto it, install a 12mm washer and nyloc and tighten. Grind away the surface paint or undercoating on the torsion housing to allow for the welding of the upper control arm hanger mount. You will need to tack weld this hanger mount about ¼” from the top of the torsion tube. Make sure the mount is level. Once both side are the same, weld in. You will need to sand the back side of the torsion housing next to the shock mount for welding in the next steps. Mount the air bag to the ARK control arm with the supplied 2.25” bolts. Leave loose for adjustments. Install the upper mount to the air bag with the supplied nuts and 3/8” washers. Leave them loose for adjustments as well. Every car is different in the sense that the factory torsion can have different gaps and casting marks in the torsions. So you might have to do some slotting or grinding to the upper mount to make them fit properly. With a floor jack placed under the lower shock mount, lift the rear suspension up until the suspension travel has hit the stops in the torsion. This is where the car will be at the lowest point. Squeeze the bag down until it’s completely deflated and the mount is flush to the torsion housing. Now tack weld it. You can use duct tape over the hole of the bag to keep it at a collapsed height.Check the travel of the control arm by lowering and raising the suspension. Make sure that the air bag does not touch the torsion housing. This will lead to rubbing and may puncture to the bag. Once completely satisfied, remove the airbag and weld in the upper mount. Once it has cooled, paint it so it will not rust and re-install the air bag with the fore mentioned hardware. With the supplied ½” reducers, apply a thread compound or Teflon tape to them and install them into the Airbags. Insert the 90 degree push loc fittings into the previously mentioned bushing and the put Teflon tape onto it. Run your lines to a tee and install the inflation stem and pressure test. If you take the time now to leak test them, you will not have problems in the future. Take a soapy solution and spray around the fittings to see if you have a leak and fix accordingly. Re-install your wheels, tires, E-brake cables and then let down. Make sure you have air in it so you can get the jack out. Now deflate! BOOM! Rock bottom!

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