Solid cast steel front lower control arms were phased into production
during the 1985 model year for 2wd Vanagons and during the 1989 model
year for
Syncros. The earlier stamped arms used a removable solid steel end piece
for mounting the lower ball joint to the hollow arm. The earlier 2 piece
design allows for replacement of the lower ball joint without as much
disassembly of the front suspension. This was perhaps a greater
advantage on Syncros. My guess is that the solid design was intended to
be more resistant to corrosion over time. AFAIK, the steering geometry
remained the same.

Mark

Shawn Wright wrote:

>Al,
>
>Of course, you are right - I just put a magnet on my '88! I simply assumed the cast
>lower CA was aluminum, as this seemed like a logical move toward improving things,
>whereas cast iron does not. Perhaps there is an improvement in stiffness, given the
>more complex nature of the Vanagon control arm (with the radius rod tie in) versus
>simpler designs like the A1/A2 models. I don't know of any other VW model where
>cast iron supplanted a stamped steel part... I wonder why this was done on the
>Vanagon?
>All this time I assumed it was aluminum - am I the only one?
>
>On 11 Feb 2005 at 10:56, Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@mchsi.com> wrote:
>
>
>