Sharan/ Galaxy 1998 fitting tow bar tips needed for A Twit !
Discussion
SOS ....-TWIT !!!!!!
Ive realised after fitting a Westfalia towbar to my Sharan that the inner shock- bumper should be also included in the final assembly and not be lying about the garage floor !!! At first i thought it was unecessary, but i see that the outer bumper hasnt got so many of its fixing points . It relied on the inner bumper for stability and holding points.
. So what im wonderering after peeking under a Galaxy with tow bar is how much do i need to dissassemble to do the job correctly?????? For examlple ,does the tow bar itself bolt on after or before the inner moulded bumper gets fitted to chassis.? Either the inner bumper gets trimmed down and cut out to accomodate the new tow bar profile on its inner side( which means tow -bar stays in place OR its outer side, ( which means taking off tow bar again and cutting away sections of the inner bumper to accomodate it?
Complicated to explain but to an expert hopefully makes sense????? Or not???
All tips welcome from folk whove done this job before.
Im anxious that nobody whacks into the back of my car whist i dont have this inner " cushion " bumper.
Thanks in anticipation.
Ive realised after fitting a Westfalia towbar to my Sharan that the inner shock- bumper should be also included in the final assembly and not be lying about the garage floor !!! At first i thought it was unecessary, but i see that the outer bumper hasnt got so many of its fixing points . It relied on the inner bumper for stability and holding points.
. So what im wonderering after peeking under a Galaxy with tow bar is how much do i need to dissassemble to do the job correctly?????? For examlple ,does the tow bar itself bolt on after or before the inner moulded bumper gets fitted to chassis.? Either the inner bumper gets trimmed down and cut out to accomodate the new tow bar profile on its inner side( which means tow -bar stays in place OR its outer side, ( which means taking off tow bar again and cutting away sections of the inner bumper to accomodate it?
Complicated to explain but to an expert hopefully makes sense????? Or not???
All tips welcome from folk whove done this job before.
Im anxious that nobody whacks into the back of my car whist i dont have this inner " cushion " bumper.
Thanks in anticipation.
Can't comment on your particular vehicle, but having fitted a few towbars before I can say that in a lot of cases, cuts wil need to be made to some trim parts. There is usually a diagram within the instructions showing the details of these cuts. To install the towbar on my Mondeo for instance, I bolted up the main frame to the chassis rails, added the cross bar and fully tightened.
The bar that attaches to the cross bar and outward through the bumper needed a small square cutting out and the neckwould pass through that. Very clear in the instructions.
If you are missing your instructions for some reason, does the Westfalia website have downloads available?
The bar that attaches to the cross bar and outward through the bumper needed a small square cutting out and the neckwould pass through that. Very clear in the instructions.
If you are missing your instructions for some reason, does the Westfalia website have downloads available?
Dear Capiv8ted
Cheers for quick reply . Ive got a one piece Westfalia 330- 321 tow bar with detachable vertical automatic click in tow ball. The tow bar i got from a car for sale add in Portugal . The tow hook came from German e bay and electrics from Poland and the caravan is still where i bought it in Holland just waiting for removal from dealer. I can get away with my present method of fitting .Being a fuss pot i know something is not just ok and i couldnt find the fittong instructions again which i found on some site somewhere.You are right i should try Westfalia where i do have a brilliant contact . Its just that i havent bought a thing from them , and theve been so good . Theres a fair amount of cutting to do on this cushion - inner bumper /moulding .ive cut a flap in the outer for tow hook and hinged it .That was easy.The set up is meant to be invisible and maintain the car lines.( all tucked neatly away untill this amazing click in tow arm goes in place.) if i can just cut bits off this bulky hollow inner bumper and not remove the anchorage bolts then im fine. Removing the tow bar and then re- aligning it with the holes to refit is another problem as there are 6 bolts to match up through a hollow box section .i had problems with 2 of them first shot.
But it can wait for just now.I put my feeble efforts on you tube thinking id done a good job .! There you can see a bit of the assembley in crude film. Its under my name Dedebebe01.
Thanks again
Cheers for quick reply . Ive got a one piece Westfalia 330- 321 tow bar with detachable vertical automatic click in tow ball. The tow bar i got from a car for sale add in Portugal . The tow hook came from German e bay and electrics from Poland and the caravan is still where i bought it in Holland just waiting for removal from dealer. I can get away with my present method of fitting .Being a fuss pot i know something is not just ok and i couldnt find the fittong instructions again which i found on some site somewhere.You are right i should try Westfalia where i do have a brilliant contact . Its just that i havent bought a thing from them , and theve been so good . Theres a fair amount of cutting to do on this cushion - inner bumper /moulding .ive cut a flap in the outer for tow hook and hinged it .That was easy.The set up is meant to be invisible and maintain the car lines.( all tucked neatly away untill this amazing click in tow arm goes in place.) if i can just cut bits off this bulky hollow inner bumper and not remove the anchorage bolts then im fine. Removing the tow bar and then re- aligning it with the holes to refit is another problem as there are 6 bolts to match up through a hollow box section .i had problems with 2 of them first shot.
But it can wait for just now.I put my feeble efforts on you tube thinking id done a good job .! There you can see a bit of the assembley in crude film. Its under my name Dedebebe01.
Thanks again
I have found the folowing on the Westfalia website.
First link is to their catalogue for a 95-00 Sharan. I am GUESSING this is the one you have. I couldn't find the model number of your towbar on there.
http://westfalia-automotive.co.uk/volkswagen_towba...
Second link is for the fitting instructions for the above towbar It's in multiple languages, so scroll through it until you find UK / Portugese as needed.
http://www.westfalia-automotive.de/fileadmin/templ...
Hopefully, this will give you what you need!
Cheers,
Nick.
First link is to their catalogue for a 95-00 Sharan. I am GUESSING this is the one you have. I couldn't find the model number of your towbar on there.
http://westfalia-automotive.co.uk/volkswagen_towba...
Second link is for the fitting instructions for the above towbar It's in multiple languages, so scroll through it until you find UK / Portugese as needed.
http://www.westfalia-automotive.de/fileadmin/templ...
Hopefully, this will give you what you need!
Cheers,
Nick.
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