"How-To" Spring and Shock install - 90 Vanagon

[bud90807]

I was able to find a thread for a shock install but not for the whole deal so I thought I would post this up, here goes.

Disclaimer: If you get hurt doing this, its your own fault, springs can be dangerous. Vanagons are also very heavy if they fall on you. Blah Blah Blah and yada yada yada....

I also did this without spring compressors as they did seem to fit very well on the front springs and just looked easier to do without them.

Start at front. Look to see what it looks like now, it should look like this when you are done.

Remove wheels, jack up front and set on jack stands as high as you can get them. Remove shock by first removing the nut/nuts from the top (along with the bushings and washers) of the shock and then the lower nut and bolt. The shock should fall out the bottom of the lower control arm if you have the van high enough. If not you might have to raise the van or jack up the end of the lower control arm a little. Next, remove the 2 bolts from the small end of the upper control arm (8mm hex blots). You need to support the brake rotor/hub to prevent too much strain on the brake hose or disconnect the brake line (face it its time to bleed the brakes anyway). Disconnect the sway bar from the lower control arm. Next disconnect the bolt at the inboard end of the lower control arm. This bolt wont just pull out as the spring is binding it in there, put the jack under the control arm to take the pressuse off of it. You should now be able to remove the spring, takes a little work but it should come out. As Haynes says installation is the reverse of the removal proceedure, lol. Pretty easy though. The factory springs do have a top and a bottom. The spring straightens out on the bottom of the spring, very subtle. Take the rubber "cap" off the top of the old spring and put it on the new one, making sure the rubber "stop" is locked in at the end of the spring. Install the spring, making sure that the end of the spring on the bottom is on the "stop" bulit into the lower control arm. Do the bolt at the inboard end of the lower control arm next, this is the hardest part as you need to put pressusre on the control arm to get it to go back in (use the jack). Now attatch the sway bar, use the jack to move the lower contol arm up high enough to reattach it, then do the 8mm hex blots and install the shock.

The rears are cake/pie compared to the front. Remove the shock (one bolt at the top and nut and bolt at the bottom). You did loosen the lugs, jack it up, remove wheels and put it on jackstanks right? The shock "holds up" the rear assembly when off the ground so the jack will be needed again to get the bolts out. Get friend to stand/put weight on the drum to move it down. The spring will come out with a little coaxing/rotation. Put the new one in, jack up the control arm so you can get the shock back on and you are done.

Our 90 Subie powered Westy went from stock Camper GL to stock Carat springs and Bilsteins, WAYYYY less body roll.

[r39o]

So what are the center of the wheel to lower lip of the fender well measurements?

My 89 regular van is 15.5 inches every where.
My 85 camper is 18 in the front and 17.5 in the back with the standard Westy lean.
I'll be shimming the lean out with aluminum spacers as soon as I fix up my custom bumpstop as the left one clean broke off.

Do you get the lean, still?

[bud90807]

[westylife]

Will this procedure work for a 1983.5 Westy? I just ordered some VC springs with the GW custom Bilstein shocks. I've never attempted suspension work before. I WILL be using a spring compressor for safety reasons.

Thanks!

Westylife
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1983.5 Westfalia Bostig RG1

[erikgundy98]

[erikgundy98]

Wd40 did it. Soaked it last night- turned right off this morning
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'90 Multivan Westfalia