Listees,

I have a baffler in that I am unable to store the spare tire in the tray
under the front of my 84 Westfalia.

After removing the spare tire, the tray and the spring, to clean and to
lube the shifter linkage under the shift lever, I have been baffled by
the reinstallation of the parts to store the tire. Same spare tire, same
parts, not any different pieces, with all parts present and accounted
for.  It appears s if the springs are not interchangeable. That is, they
appear not to be  able to to be switched, in error, from one side to the
other.

I went to the VW dealer, obtained a print-out of the parts
descriptions/numbers, reinstalled the spring and the tray according to
my interpretation of the placements, and I am still not able to store
the tire.

The tire is "bowl"up, that is the inner portion of the rim faces the
"box" in which the shifter linkage is situated. The "springs" are placed
with the cotter pins toward the center of the tray fitting,  with "bows"
(outer circumference) of the springs facing the front wheels of the van,
as one faces the van from the front, and, yet, the tray will not close.

Comments, and a solution, would help me restore the spare tire to its
proper place and free the space on the floor of the van behind the
driver and the passenger seats.

Thanks,

Tom Hanlon
Palm Springs, CA
84 Westfalia