TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1984 Vanagon

Sat Jul 12, 2025 7:13 pm

I am thinking about investing in suspension work on my Vanagon that I have owned for 20 years or maybe I should sell it. The body and engine are in good condition, but driving it feels pretty rough on the road. Feel every bump.

I know front and rear end work can involve a lot of cost and work depending on what is needed. Front shocks/struts, Upper & lower control arm bushings, Ball joints (upper/lower), Tie rods (inner & outer), Steering rack (if needed), Sway bar bushings & links. My question is how much smoother will the ride be if I decide to address what is needed?

Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:04 pm

netforest wrote: …how much smoother will the ride be if I decide to address what is needed?
A) “ALL THE WAY” smoother.

:lol: :wink:

First of all, if we’re talking about ”ride”, what tires are you running? My old D rated tires were WAY lumpier & bumpier than my current, lighter LT tires. Unsprung weight makes a difference, as does inflation. Maybe try a slightly lower tire pressure, see what happens? (Within reason, say 5% to 10%.) FWIW: Recommended front tire pressure is usually 5%-10% lower than rear on these rigs. So yeah…what you running?

After that, look at your shocks. What brand are they? How old are they? Do a quick & dirty test by putting your foot on one end of the bumper, drop your weight on it & let it go. If the van bounces back up more than once, that’s probably a bad shock. Test all 4 corners to verify. If indicated, put new in & see what you think.

You can certainly do a visual check of all the suspension rubber bits & related hardware, but that may not tell you all you need to know. With good shocks you should not get any real hard metallic bumps or clunks while driving…if those are present, the rubber bits &/or hardware are suspect. Try to pin down the offending bit & try to see why.

What else? Everything…but start with this.

8)

- Dave

Sun Jul 13, 2025 6:10 am

netforest wrote: I know front and rear end work can involve a lot of cost and work depending on what is needed ... My question is how much smoother will the ride be if I decide to address what is needed?
You will get the biggest bang for the buck replacing your shock absorbers, the rears are dead simple, the fronts require more care: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8604067&highlight=easiest#8604067

When I fully renewed & upgraded my 2WD suspension, my goal was to remove the slop from all the aged/expired bushings. I wasn't expecting the ride to be smoother, just more precise. I went with the poly bushings because I knew I would be spending a lot of time off road. However, now that most/all of my driving is on-road, I might choose stock over poly for a less stiff/harsh ride quality.

While not the simplest job, it is quite doable yourself. I did all the work myself in my garage, save for the final alignment. Just use an overabundance of caution when working with the springs and underneath the vehicle.

As far as costs goes, what I spent in 2017 (with links to the parts) is in the spreadsheet link in my .sig at the bottom of this post. Here's a screenshot of the suspension portion of the spreadsheet, unfortunately these are pre-pandemic/pre-tariff prices:

[ Link fixed, thanks Dave! ]

I like to paint the big parts I touch Tonka Truck yellow. Wirebrushing and cleaning the parts allows me to examine them closely for any damage. Now, whenever I see that familiar flash of yellow under the vehicle, even years later, it always makes me smile and reminds me that, "Yeah, I fixed/renewed that right."

Two items missing from the costs above are a heavy-duty 6" bench vise and a 20-ton press. While the press was not absolutely essential, it proved very handy for many different applications. These tend to be very affordable used and when I was finished with the press, I sold it for $200 more than I had into it, which allows me to buy more fun stuff for the van.

Sun Jul 13, 2025 7:23 am

sanchius wrote: … Here's a screenshot of the suspension portion of the spreadsheet,
unfortunately these are pre-pandemic/pre-tarriff prices:

No pic (inadequate VW content?) but I fixed it:

8)

- Dave

Sun Jul 13, 2025 7:46 am

Just finished an entire rebuild of the front suspension on my 82 hightop. I had already done ball joints, new steering rack and new heavy duty sway bar set up but the squeaks and knocks were still present. Soooo I did all the front bushings: upper control arm, radius rod bushings and lowered control arm bushings and new heavy duty shocks. After the alignment, I could not believe how much quieter and smoother and tighter everything was. I did all the work myself so my cost was simply parts and back pain. :D Well worth it though.

Sun Jul 13, 2025 7:48 am

Duplicate post

Sun Jul 13, 2025 8:02 am

Tires and pressure as dhaavers stated are extremely important.

I rebuilt the front suspension on my 84 Tin-top in 2011/12. However, the mistake I made was not paying attention to the quality of the parts I got. I purchased and never opened the boxes for almost a year. Wow! Most of those famous name brands were made in China. At that point, I was in a hurry and installed them anyway............ less than 30k miles later, most of them needed to be replaced.

Later, I installed OE hydraulic shocks .......... way too soft and tippy when cornering. So, I'm going back to something a little more robust.

These 40+ year old contraptions are tired. But, we can bring them back.

Keep us posted.

Sun Jul 13, 2025 8:20 am

I'd start with the low-hanging fruit... shocks and anything obviously broken or failing.

My Westy was all original when I got it and in the 36 years since the only suspension work I've done has been the shocks, upper ball joints and new boots on the lower ball joints. Seems to ride and handle fine, though rough roads (which everywhere in Tucson) will still feel rough.

Sun Jul 13, 2025 6:28 pm

I just rented a brand new pickup truck from a leading rental company and could barely keep it on the roadway while going down the interstate, especially over concrete sections. The truck was empty except for me and a knapsack, but the tires were pumped up to the full rated pressure, wheras an empty truck needed only half as much.

On my both my '91 with P215/75r14s and my '83 1/2 with 27x8.5r14s I run in the mid 20 psi for my front tires and in the mid 30s for my rear tires when I am not hauling much.

Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:31 am

On my Syncro that I have had on the road for 7 years now, it handles really nicely and it's very planted. It's on 27x8.5x16 (close to 215/65/16), all bushings are in good shape, and it's on Fox suspension. I've taken care of everything. I really enjoy driving it.

The Westy I literally just got on the road this weekend, which sat for 25 years, needs all the suspension work. I've only replaced the rear shocks and the tires (185R14, no mention of the sidewall but they are tiny). Bushings are cracked, front shocks are certainly blown, the front passenger tire looks like it has way too much camber, etc etc... It drives straight but once I hit a bump... oof. Doesn't feel great.

I can tell you first hand, from yesterday, if you replace all your suspension you are going to be blown away with the difference.

Tue Jul 15, 2025 2:16 pm

Rubber is usually the weak link in any system on any vehicle. Suspension bushings fail in multiple ways. Shock and spring rates are a personal preference. On modern vehicles play in ball joints should not exist.

Is your complaint harshness in general or feeling every bump? The Vanagon was designed to be an economy truck with good handling. A soft and cushy ride is not part of the design criteria.

I have done a lot of suspension and steering work through the years. For a long time any Polyurethane bushings were made for the boy racer crowd. They were way too stiff and squeaked like hell.

So I have stuck with with factory or aftermarket rubber for a long time. A few years ago I was so disappointed with the available rubber bushes for Vanagons that I actually tried the PowerFlex poly bushings. Cristopher at T3 Technique assured me that they would not squeak with the "bushing snot" he supplies.

So I gave it a try. I have fitted several vans with the PowerFlex bushings. Each of them has been transformed. The difference is remarkable. They are now much quieter on imperfect pavement. They are much more "comfortable" to drive. I do not know how they will age. But they can't be as bad as the current aftermarket rubber bushings. And so far no squeaks! They obvious downside is that the snot attracts dirt and grit.

My Uber Van with a 1.8t, PowerFlex bushes, big Mercedes wheels and large modern tires now almost feels like a modern vehicle, almost. And it still feels like a precise German vehicle.