Assuming that you know that shocks and springs haven't had some huge failure, harshness is almost always worn, aged bushings. For some reason this isn't often recognized in the US. In Europe it's common to have an older car "rebushed". The first offenders are the rubber bushings. As they age, they get hard and brittle; lose most of their flexibility (showroom stock racers who were forced by rules to use stock bushings, used to remove them and bake them in a warm oven for a day or two to advance the aging process. Stock bushings, much stiffer...good for racing). There's lots of rubber in Vanagon suspension that does go south over time. Upper and lower shock mounts, F&R lower control arm bushings, etc. Some of what we perceive as harshness is actally noise created by the slack in the suspension crashing around. Look for this in loose wheel bearings, and loose worn front upper control arm bushings. These are metal-on-metal and cause alot of this harshness when shot. Finally, there are several places in the front suspension where a shaft passes through a mounting point with a bushing on each side (ie: upper shock mount, anti-roll bar mount to the control arm, T/C -caster adjustment strut mount to body). Even when these bushings are new they allow the rod to shift laterally in the mounting hole. This creates a knocking sound when small, sharp bumps are hit. On our '88 for each mount I added an "extra bushing" by sliding a small length of clear vinyl tubing around the strut where it passes through the mount. Just enough to eliminate any play and keep it from knocking. Worked like a charm. For shocks, be careful. Some listed as Heavy Duty or Off Road or similarly are so stiff, that they'll shake your van to pieces. Go with high end quality shocks like Biltein or Boge. Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Mayfield" <paulmayfield@EARTHLINK.NET> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 9:05 AM Subject: ride harshness
> What are suggestions to make the ride > in my '97 westy less harsh? > > I can feel every tiny bump- and a speedbump > is bonejarring- almost like no springs at all! > > stock shocks, Les Scwab LT tires. > > I'm looking for shock and tire recommendations. > > Do Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks fit? anyone > have them? > > Paul |
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