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Anon
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Rear Shock Absorbers

Since I have flooded the forum with questions about shock absorbers in the past few days, I thought I should say thank you for all your help by posting a blog with pictures of what I ended up doing.

I got and fitted new shock absorbers on my 1979 CF 250:


Upon advice from Abodator, I decided to give Kayaba (KYB) a try. The rusty shocks pictured above are the original ones. The shiny ones are the KYB 445011, from their Premium series. They are oil shocks, designed as a direct replacement of the originals.

This decision, however, was not made before a massive amount of my own market research to see what my options are. Essentially, my options in this part of the world are very limited. No manufacturer does a gas shock especially for a CF, or at least nobody I know of, with the exception of Monroe.

I contacted KYB and Bilstein directly, asking them loads of questions: 9422

Abodator's list of part numbers on the same thread was extremely useful, both for ordering the shocks I got and also for the market research, so I will repost here:

Rear shocks for CF 220, 250, 280 (76-82) and CF340 (76-> is following:
Size is next a)max open length - 405 mm; b) fully pressed length - 265 mm.
with same size of rings on top and bottom: inside diameter - 16 mm and width - 36 mm.
Suitable...
1. Monroe V2048
2. Kayaba (KYB) 445011/heavy duty/; 444046; 445011;
3. Sachs 101487
4. Quinton Hazel QH 127351
5. Boge 32-802-00
6. Bedford 436445; 7217951; 9103536; 91101976; 91101977; 9961941; 9961942; LP590; P-7658; P-7434;
7. OPEL 436445; 9961941; 9961942; LP590; P-7658; P7434;
8. Rockwell 436445; 9961941; 9961942
9. Armstrong 650910; 933399
10. Gabriel 83228
11. Delphi DG3908


Essentially, the shocks I could easily get were the KYB ones, some made by First Line (cheap all-makes all-models parts manufacturer), and Monroe.

My newer van, a 1983 CF 250 facelift, had the Monroe shocks fitted. I am assuming the V2048:



Interesting things to note on the picture above:

The Monroe shocks are MUCH thinner. I generally dislike Monroe shocks, which is why I didn't get these for my 1979. They are fine at the moment, but Monroes never last, at least not with the kind of use I want them for.

The 1983 has multi-leaf springs!! Generally stiffer. It also has a load-sensing brake valve. This is the sort of looping tubular thingie to the right of the shock.

I personally like the multi-leaf springs, I think they are much needed. I don't like the fact that nobody's ever greased them so they are very rusty. But this is to be sorted when I have more time. I dislike the load-sensing valve. No need for it. The 1979 works just fine without it. One less thing to worry about. Plus, in order for it to do what it was designed to do, it needs to be adjusted.

But, the most important observation is that the shock is mounted as I would expect, having read the Haynes manual: That is, it can be removed simply by pulling it towards the center of the vehicle. Well, this is not the case on my 1979 CF:



Reading the GM manual, I got confused.. It shows this as being the configuration for the Bedford axle.. Well, the 1983 CF has the exact same Bedford axle in.. So, if anyone can enlighten me as to why it is the other way around, it would be awesome..!

What this means, in simple terms, is that the shocks are a ba****d to fit, as they are too big to move once they're wedged against the leaf spring! Instead of pulling them towards the center of the vehicle, you have to pull them outwards. So this means, pull them onto the leaf spring!

The original shocks had two bushes per mounting eye, for a good reason. You put one on each mount, attach the bottom part of the shock while fully pressed, you get it past the handbrake cable, extend it, and tilt it so that the top eye will go past the stud. Easy. Then fit the outer bush, washer and nut/bolt, and tighten to the required torque. 41 Nm, as my wrench is metric.

But damn, was it hard with the KYB shocks, clearly designed with the easy mounts in mind. Well, before I go into details for fitting, the removal:

I didn't remove any wheels, and I didn't jack the vehicle up. It was easy to do all the work with the vehicle sitting on its own wheels. Removed the bottom nut, washer and outer bush. Then removed top bolt and outer bush. Tilted the top of the shock sideways to get it past the stud, and then pressed it in fully, to get it past the handbrake cable. Then pulled it away from the bottom mount. Finally, remove the inner bushes (lever off with a smallish flat screwdriver).

The KYB shocks came with bushes already in the eyes. I decided not to try to find out if they can be removed from the eyes without being damaged, as the parts store said there's no way they can get bushes. So, fitting:

First, primed the new shocks by moving the piston up and down about 10 times each.

Then push the bottom mounting eye onto the mount on the axle, fully in, while the shock is fully pressed. Then get it past the handbrake cable. Then extend the top part, and tilt it 90 degrees, so it is completely flat with the stud, at 90 degrees angle. Get half the bush hole past the stud, and then push hard against the stud while slowly tilting back to where it should be to go over. Then fit washers and nut/bolt. I used a tiny bit of industrial anti-seize grease. Stops rust like nothing I've ever seen, without making anything slippery. (USA-made, specifically for heavy industrial machinery. Not an automotive product. I was given this as a gift by a guy who is building a top fuel dragster from scratch. Not available in Europe unfortunately.)

Tighten with a socket by hand, then fit the other shock. When both are fitted and hand-tight, torque them. At 42 Nm, the bushes form a slight lip, without being pressed too much, as Phil mentioned they should in another thread.

Result:



Driver's side went on fine, no problems at all. Passenger side however seems to actually touch the chassis:



No idea why, as the other one is fine. Maybe thicker layer of underseal there?

No noise when I jump up and down on the rear step, and moves fine. Stiffer than it was, as the old ones were way past it..

Another observation is that the KYB shocks are even thicker than the originals, and about twice the size of the Monroes! So inevitably, they were much harder to fit with this axle configuration.

So, this axle configuration also means that I need to do some major work if I ever need to fit a new axle with the opposite fittings.

Well, job done now.. I'll test drive it in a couple of days and see what it feels like on the road.

----------------------

Wed 10 Nov 2010 @ 22:32 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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I just noticed that Mal (dmj54) asked about the compatibility between two different rear axles. One was the salisbury and one was the bedford. It was mentioned ( 8572 ) that the only problem would be the propshaft flange size.

However, having a more careful look at the pictures, you will notice the shock absorber mounts are not the same! So watch out if you're buying an axle, or be prepared to have to change either the mounts on the axle, or the ones on your chassis. They are very different:

Salisbury:



Bedford:



The Bedford is the same as the one fitted on my 1979.. Lucky I got that one then!
Thu 11 Nov 2010 @ 01:45 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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Also important to note the different spring mounting points on the two different Bedford axles, both mounted under the springs. The difference is that the 1979 CF has single leafs, while the 1983 Facelift CF has multi-leaf springs. Of course, as mentioned above, the shock absorber mounts on the two axles are different:

1979 CF 250, Bedford Axle, 97370:



1983 Facelift CF 250, Bedford Axle, 97370:

Thu 11 Nov 2010 @ 01:53 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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Ive just purchased the same set of shocks from Allparts automotive £112.07 inc p&p dont know if ive been seen off but my old ones are rusted solid so needs must,., All the info on the 2 threads gave me the info i needed to order cheers guys;]
Fri 12 Nov 2010 @ 15:05 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
Anon
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Not too bad. Got mine for 90 pounds through my local motor factors. I guess ordering online does have quite a bit of P&P because of their weight.

Which axle configuration do you have and what year/model is the van? Have fun fitting them!
Fri 12 Nov 2010 @ 20:08 Edit this messageQuote this messagePMQuote this message
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