Date:         Tue, 7 Mar 2000 15:15:41 -0800
Reply-To:     harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         harald_nancy <harald_nancy@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Suspension
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

(I've posted this once before.)
My 90 westy did the same.
I think the later models with the lowered suspension
are more prone to the leaning or sagging than the earlier westys.
Things I tried to straighten the van out, but to no avail:
1 Exchange the left rear coil spring with the right one.
   Surprisingly that hardly made any difference at all.
   Still leaning.
2 Installed rubber spring extenders between the coils
   on the left side. That did level the van, but also
   made the left spring much more firm than the right,
   which really messed up the ride.
3 New shocks made the van handle better, but it
   still was leaning to the left.
New springs are expensive. And even with new springs,
a westy will still lean to the left, if fully loaded.
Not a big deal, but can be annoying.
 To fix the sagging or leaning:
All one has to do is install a spacer between the
the upper spring seat and the body, to raise the vanagon.
If you want to raise it more, install more spacers.
Or to level the westy, just install one 1/2" spacer on the
left. No drawbacks on the ride, and it's also easily reversible,
if you don't like it.
I just made some spacers myself from 1/2" thick vinyl board.
I used the upper spring seat as a pattern to cut a few with a very
thin-blade jigsaw.
Any more questions, email me.
Harald
90 westy

Brandt wrote:
> But does anyone have any suggestions on what to do about the sagging
> rear end of my 1985 Westy. I have found some great shocks online and
> want to go for the Bilstien but... Do I need new springs to cure the
> sag? If so where would I get springs I haven't found them anywhere.
>
> This list is great.
> Thanks all,
> Brandt