Date:         Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:56:14 -0500
Reply-To:     JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Front-end workout
Comments: To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CAFnDXk3++cKMdp=L3mB8xeSMpbR7sK-C_sb4OOMEoywbbnTpww@mail.gmail.com>
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Wonder what a rebuild like this would cost if done in a commercial shop?
Any ideas - ball park?\\

John

On 9/19/2013 6:54 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
> Just finished up a nearly week-long marathon of front end work. Replaced
> the brakes, a caliper and line,  bearings, and all bushings right down to
> the steering rack with polyurethane and on the inner ones, Flennor OEM
> style rubber. Also complete all-around spring replacement with two GoWesty
> front springs. New metal sleeves on the anti-roll bar drop links (NLA,
> almost didn't find any, mine came from Canada) and the whole enchilada.
>
> There is nothing on a vanagon I have not had out in my hands now except for
> the five-speed transmission. This front end work is the most extensive,
> painful and and exhausting things I think you can do by yourself (I did
> call upon the wife  twice to put force on a along prybar) on a Vanagon. It
> makes a new engine R and R look downright trivial, cost is not all that
> much different either. Even painting the car did not take so long.
>
> Whew. Tomorrow I will bleed the brakes and see if it was worth the effort.
> I could not have put it off anyway, I was beginning to hear metal on metal
> at 3479000.
>
> I tried some poly bushings on an MGA restoration some years back and didn't
> care for them all that much. But the stuff that is sold by T3 Techniques
> for the Vanagon was irresistable. If you replace nothing else with poly,
> shuck those rubber radius arm bushings and go with the T3 Techniques setup.
> Genius.
>
> http://t3technique.com/
>
> They have about everything you ever dreamed of for suspension, etc. Bus
> Depot had the best buys on brakes, shoes, etc. GoWesty had the springs I
> sprang for.
>
> BTW I pulled all of this over last weekend and took the parts around
> several local shops to have the old rubber bushings pressed out and new
> ones in. Got quotes like $250. Went to harbor freight and bought their
> cheapest 4wd joint press for $75.00 and did it all with that in about an
> hour and a half. A total of eight bushings.
>
> Jim
>