Date:         Fri, 13 Sep 1996 16:33:12 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         raven@halcyon.com (Mark McCulley)
Subject:      pumping up new shocks

I learned something new about shocks today and thought I'd pass it along to
the lists. Got a set of new shocks for my '74 bus today from Bus Boys, KYB
Gas Adjust for the rear and "stock" for the front. The stock shocks turned
out to be manufactured in Brazil by a company called Cofap. Anyone heard of
them before?

Anyway I took one of the Cofap shocks out of the box to inspect it and
moved the piston in and out to see how stiff they felt. There was plenty of
resistance when I pulled the piston out but none at all when I tried to
push the piston back in. I figured I got a defective shock, but the other
one behaved the same.

To make a long story short, it turns out they had to be "pumped" up before
they would work properly. I stuck a screwdriver through the lower mounting
bushing and held that end stationary with my feet while I moved the piston
in and out. After about 20 cycles, the shocks stiffened up nicely.

Mark McCulley
74 loaf (daily driver)
87 syncro Westfalia (urban escape pod)