Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:25:07 -0400
Reply-To: Bryan Belman <dieselwesty@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bryan Belman <dieselwesty@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Front Suspension Blues (Got the Squeeks)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Thanks Shawn for a GREAT explaination of how to change the front end
bushings. I will take the easy way out and take the stuff to a shop for
pressing out and in. I will file this artical with my tech tips folder.
Thanks
Bryan Belman Pt. Pleasant, NJ
1990 Audi 200 Turbo (Money Pit)
1982 Westy 1.9l NA (In process, can almost smell it now)
1970 Type1 Std. Beetle (This one is done)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Wright" <swright@SLS.BC.CA>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 3:10 PM
Subject: Re: Front Suspension Blues (Got the Squeeks)
> On 15 Aug 2001, at 1:59, Bruce Anderson wrote:
>
> > Hello All!
> >
> > Brand new to the list! I'm driving a blue '87 GL Westy-
> > nicknamed "Bear" by my almost five-year-old son, due to the way that it
> > "growls" when we climb a hill..........anyway, I've been having a "bear"
> > of a time with the front suspension- after 150K miles, every dip,
> > pothole, and undulation in the roadway creates squeeks, groans, and
> > squeals, to the point where I'm just a little fed up. (It's funny, I had
> > a '72 that made almost the exact same sound!) I've had my head under
> > there while I had a friend jumping up and down on the bumper (don't try
> > this at home- it looks plain silly) and as far as I can tell, most of
> > the racket is coming from the upper control arm bushings. (BTW, I'm
> > assuming that the bushings are pressed in?) The shocks are also looking
> > a little ragged, and all of the rubber is still "original", so I'm
> > looking to replace the rubber on the sway bar and trailing arms as well.
> > What I wanted to know is........before I pull out the spring compressor
> > and get to work on those bushings, are there any veterans out there who
> > have battled the same problem? Any "common" problems with squeaking
> > Vanagon front suspensions? Pitfalls to avoid? Secrets? Hot tips?
> > (Already out of WD40)
>
> Just did the driver's side on mine, and did the other side last year. You
> won't need a spring compressor. You can check that the noise is from
> the A arm bushings by disconnecting the upper ball joint, and moving
> the A arm by hand - this should produce the noises you're hearing, at
> least it did on mine. The manual says the bushings need replacing if
> the inner race allows the bolt head to contact the outer casing, but I
> can't see this ever happening. Mine has 365,000 kms on original
> bushings and they showed no signs of collapsing, they just hardened
> and made noise. (lots of it!).
>
> The A arms are easy to get out, about 5 minutes to do, just remove the
> ball joint, then hang the caliper with a wire to spring so it doesn't fall
> over, then remove the A arm bolt and pull it out.
>
> The bushings are pressed in, and spot welded if original, so cut the
> weld off then either press out or start hammering. I used a large socket
> (34mm I think) as a drift to get the first bushing out, then used the old
> bushing to drive out the remaining bushings. Hammering can take
> anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes (no kidding) and work up a real sweat,
> so if you're not into this, or don't have a solid vise to hammer against,
> you may want to take them to a shop to have pressed out/in.
>
> Pressing in new bushings is a bit quicker - I was able to start them
> straight using a vise - it's a bit hard to keep them straight at first.
Once
> started, use and old bushing to drive in, which should go quicker than
> removal (but still a lot of pounding).
>
> Squeaks are now gone on mine, but I still get a clunking/rattling noise,
> even after doing the sway bar bushings, upper ball joints and shocks,
> so I suspect it must be the steering rack, since everything else seems
> tight.
>
> You will need an alignment after the job, of course. Speaking of which,
> can anyone recommend a good alignment shop in Duncan or Victoria,
> BC? I tried to have it done while in Calgary, but the shop claimed my
> camber was out and it was non-adjustable, even though the Bentley
> clearly shows how to do it...
>
>
>
> ========================
> Shawn Wright
> Computer Systems Manager
> Shawnigan Lake School
> http://www.sls.bc.ca
> swright@sls.bc.ca
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