Boomer the Quadravan 4x4 Camper
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- Start date
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Designs and prints parts at home, labels with a sharpie...
Front Shocks.
Back a number of years ago I had replaced the original shocks (Monroe's I think) with the Rancho RS5000 recommendation from what used to be Pathfinder 4x4 Vans. The RS5000's were certainly better than the dead yellow things I pulled out, but they were never "great". Time and resources being what they are, I just lived with it. Last fall before DRAM2 I decided it was time for an upgrade. I historically have found the RS5000's to fade very quickly when I'm on dirt roads and I really wanted to get something better/larger in control of the front end before last years trip.
Well that didn't happen.
So around rolls DRAM3 and I had the same thoughts on swapping the RS5000's out. This time I was armed with a pair of marginally better and significantly larger RS9000XL's with 9 position adjustments. I've been running 9000XL's in the rear for years and they have done well, so it seemed fitting to upgrade the fronts with the same. Would I like to have a nice set of Sway-Away custom valved remote reservoir shocks? Yes, yes I would. I've even contacted them and have quotes for the job. I will do it eventually, but not today.
So I pulled the old RS5000's out and it was clear that the 9000's are quite a bit larger...
18mm shaft, 2.25in body diameter. Unfortunately I can't fit anything more than a 6" travel shock in the stock upper shock bucket, but there are lots of other pieces in the front suspension which act to limit the axle travel significantly (engine crossmember being offender #1). I've done my best to free up clearance during past suspension rebuilding exercises, but some parts of the assembly just can't be improved without really drastic changes.
So 6" of travel is what I've got. When I first broke into the front shock swap last fall I was convinced that I'd need to modify the upper buckets to allow clearance to the larger diameter body of the shock. Once I got back in there over this past weekend I was pleasantly surprised to find that in fact the only modifications would be on the radius arm end of the mounting scheme. Much much much easier.
Out came the plasma cutter to chop off the offending bits of old mount.
Cardboard templates and some spacers to offset the new shock relative to the knuckle and radius arm, and I was in business. I actually had some laser cut tabs from an "accidental" order I'd placed with Ballistic Fab a few years ago, and those were re-purposed to their new job as shock mount tabs.
Welded and Painted.
And with the paint dry, everything was mounted up.
I took a quick test ride with the front setting at 5 (out of 9) and it was a bit soft, but not bad. I'll probably set it at 6 and put some miles on. DRAM3 is in a little over 2 days so once again I test my modifications in a trial by fire.
There is no other way, right?
That should be it for modifications for 2015. Boomer gets put to bed after DRAM for the long winter's sleep. I have a few odds and ends I'll likely be addressing over the winter so check in periodically.
And of course, DRAM3 should be generating a pretty good report in the month ahead.
SG
Back a number of years ago I had replaced the original shocks (Monroe's I think) with the Rancho RS5000 recommendation from what used to be Pathfinder 4x4 Vans. The RS5000's were certainly better than the dead yellow things I pulled out, but they were never "great". Time and resources being what they are, I just lived with it. Last fall before DRAM2 I decided it was time for an upgrade. I historically have found the RS5000's to fade very quickly when I'm on dirt roads and I really wanted to get something better/larger in control of the front end before last years trip.
Well that didn't happen.
So around rolls DRAM3 and I had the same thoughts on swapping the RS5000's out. This time I was armed with a pair of marginally better and significantly larger RS9000XL's with 9 position adjustments. I've been running 9000XL's in the rear for years and they have done well, so it seemed fitting to upgrade the fronts with the same. Would I like to have a nice set of Sway-Away custom valved remote reservoir shocks? Yes, yes I would. I've even contacted them and have quotes for the job. I will do it eventually, but not today.
So I pulled the old RS5000's out and it was clear that the 9000's are quite a bit larger...
18mm shaft, 2.25in body diameter. Unfortunately I can't fit anything more than a 6" travel shock in the stock upper shock bucket, but there are lots of other pieces in the front suspension which act to limit the axle travel significantly (engine crossmember being offender #1). I've done my best to free up clearance during past suspension rebuilding exercises, but some parts of the assembly just can't be improved without really drastic changes.
So 6" of travel is what I've got. When I first broke into the front shock swap last fall I was convinced that I'd need to modify the upper buckets to allow clearance to the larger diameter body of the shock. Once I got back in there over this past weekend I was pleasantly surprised to find that in fact the only modifications would be on the radius arm end of the mounting scheme. Much much much easier.
Out came the plasma cutter to chop off the offending bits of old mount.
Cardboard templates and some spacers to offset the new shock relative to the knuckle and radius arm, and I was in business. I actually had some laser cut tabs from an "accidental" order I'd placed with Ballistic Fab a few years ago, and those were re-purposed to their new job as shock mount tabs.
Welded and Painted.
And with the paint dry, everything was mounted up.
I took a quick test ride with the front setting at 5 (out of 9) and it was a bit soft, but not bad. I'll probably set it at 6 and put some miles on. DRAM3 is in a little over 2 days so once again I test my modifications in a trial by fire.
There is no other way, right?
That should be it for modifications for 2015. Boomer gets put to bed after DRAM for the long winter's sleep. I have a few odds and ends I'll likely be addressing over the winter so check in periodically.
And of course, DRAM3 should be generating a pretty good report in the month ahead.
SG
The lights are from eBay....just do a search for "96W 9" LED Light" and you'll find them. They are knock-offs of the ARB Intensity lights at around a 80% discount. I would never suggest that they are as good as ARB, not by a long shot. For the amount I use off road lighting though, they will be fine.
SG
SG
I've been using rancho shocks since 1980 and I have no idea why. The piston shafts begin to rust almost the instant they are installed, and the bodies aren't all that far behind. Otho, I had a set of bilsteins on a superduty with close to 100k on them and they looked great. Getting wore out, but looked good. I've got some fox shocks on my van now and I'm happy with those so far as well.
To make a short story long, I'm not a huge fan of the ranchos. I think their longevity is not up to par.
Mwilliamshs
Explorer
Been let down by Rancho myself but have run KYB on several vehicles now, my van and a CCDRW F350, plus some lighter duty stuff, and been very pleased in both performance and longevity.
DRAM 3 finished up last weekend with a successful thru-navigation from the New Hampshire boarder to the Quoddy Head light house in Lubec, Maine. It was an exhausting trip but to finally complete the route felt like a great accomplishment. Boomer once again did exceptionally well, but in ways different than the performance of last year's DRAM trip. No rock crawling this time (thank God!!) but significantly more higher speed travel on medium to good quality dirt surfaces. Last year I really had a hard time taking Boomer much over 35-40MPH on any sort of dirt, mainly because the jarring ride and a very decided loss of steering around corners when crossing any sort of rocky or washboard sections.
This year was much different. The Rancho 9000XL shocks make a world of difference at both high and low speeds. What most people don't know (at least right up until this second), is that I led DRAM this year with a confirmed re-herniation of my L5 disc in my back. This fact nearly cancelled the trip but I'm pretty pigheaded so we pushed on. With a combination of the new shocks and a consistent dosage of Ibuprofen I wasn't in too much discomfort over even the worst sections. Now, I do understand that Rancho does not have an excellent reputation over the long haul so I can only share my experience that the 9000XL's I've had in the rear of Boomer for the last 8 years still look excellent with no appreciable rusting of either the can or piston rod. They also continue to adequately control the rear end, even with the airbags. What this experience has led me to is not necessarily that Rancho shocks are the end-all-be-all, but that improving your dampers can have a drastic affect on ride quality off road. Of course we all "know" this, but to experience it so drastically was a bit enlightening. What I have my sights set on now is some custom tuned dampers, but before that I'll be replacing both the front and rear springs. I'm probably going to do front springs in the next week actually, and save the rears for the spring.
The reason for swapping the front springs first is that I actually had a little problem with one of my brandy new front shocks somewhere along day 3 which resulted in complete annihilation of the passenger side unit.
Little pro tip here. ALWAYS USE NYLOCK NUTS ON YOUR SHOCK BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From the looks of it, I lost the lower retaining bolt on high speed washboard and the shock pretty much just bounced around for the rest of the dirt trip, and then all the way back home on pavement. I had some VERY strange handling on my late-night run back to town and this of course explains it. Strangely enough I didn't hear anything, but Boomer makes a racket so this isn't exactly shocking...ha!. The piston actually moves in nearly a full stroke and didn't lose gas pressure, but its toast. The can is smashed in on one side and the mounting eye is ripped. The 9-way adjuster is sheered off as well, so the only reasonable thing to do is order up another one. The reason I want to order new springs is because I want to make sure that these shocks are still adequate from a travel perspective when the new springs are installed. I'm expecting at least an inch of lift due to the sag of the 30 year old existing units. That part wouldn't be a problem...the only thing that would require a change in shock specs is if I get more droop from the new springs, as I'm nearly out of rebound travel already.
The new lights were excellent and were utilized a couple times over the course of the DRAM adventure. I need to spend more time aiming the "big boys" as they seemed to dump more light in front of the rig than farther out. This could also be partially the effect of the clear covers which the lights came with....they seem to scatter the beam a bit but I didn't try it without covers. Overall, for the money, they are excellent. If I'd paid $1000 for them (AKA, The ARB option) I think I'd be disappointed, but for $160 shipped you really can't go wrong here. In the dark of the woods, especially when it is raining or otherwise wet, I actually could have used a 2nd set!! Trees have a remarkable way of sucking up light, and even with everything on up front I was wanting for more. Of course, that's ridiculous and I'm not going to add a second pair of 9" spot lights.
The other small item I need to address this year is a driveline vibration which appeared only on the way back home last Sunday night. I get it only when accelerating at nearly any speed. If I let off the gas or coast, it goes away. I'm about 90% certain this is u-joints and I've been meaning to replace all the u-joints for years. They are original to my purchase of the van in 2007 and the grease nipples are long since gone, so I was expecting this. I got home just fine and honestly it didn't slow me down much, but it is annoying and would eventually be dangerous.
So I thought I was done with projects for 2015 but not quite.
As you've all likely figured out, I won't be writing the DRAM 3 trip report this year due to other time commitments. I've left this responsibility in the remarkably capable hands of Nick, AKA Mass_Mopar. With that said, I'll leave you with a few pics of DRAM 3 that I particularly like...
Maine is an awesome state to explore and trips like DRAM 3 really drive this home for everybody who participates.
Mass_Mopar secretly was taking video throughout the trip and forwarded this to the team a couple nights ago. I'll leave you with this little teaser which should whet your whistle for the trip report.
DRAM 3
Stay Tuned!
SG
This year was much different. The Rancho 9000XL shocks make a world of difference at both high and low speeds. What most people don't know (at least right up until this second), is that I led DRAM this year with a confirmed re-herniation of my L5 disc in my back. This fact nearly cancelled the trip but I'm pretty pigheaded so we pushed on. With a combination of the new shocks and a consistent dosage of Ibuprofen I wasn't in too much discomfort over even the worst sections. Now, I do understand that Rancho does not have an excellent reputation over the long haul so I can only share my experience that the 9000XL's I've had in the rear of Boomer for the last 8 years still look excellent with no appreciable rusting of either the can or piston rod. They also continue to adequately control the rear end, even with the airbags. What this experience has led me to is not necessarily that Rancho shocks are the end-all-be-all, but that improving your dampers can have a drastic affect on ride quality off road. Of course we all "know" this, but to experience it so drastically was a bit enlightening. What I have my sights set on now is some custom tuned dampers, but before that I'll be replacing both the front and rear springs. I'm probably going to do front springs in the next week actually, and save the rears for the spring.
The reason for swapping the front springs first is that I actually had a little problem with one of my brandy new front shocks somewhere along day 3 which resulted in complete annihilation of the passenger side unit.
Little pro tip here. ALWAYS USE NYLOCK NUTS ON YOUR SHOCK BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From the looks of it, I lost the lower retaining bolt on high speed washboard and the shock pretty much just bounced around for the rest of the dirt trip, and then all the way back home on pavement. I had some VERY strange handling on my late-night run back to town and this of course explains it. Strangely enough I didn't hear anything, but Boomer makes a racket so this isn't exactly shocking...ha!. The piston actually moves in nearly a full stroke and didn't lose gas pressure, but its toast. The can is smashed in on one side and the mounting eye is ripped. The 9-way adjuster is sheered off as well, so the only reasonable thing to do is order up another one. The reason I want to order new springs is because I want to make sure that these shocks are still adequate from a travel perspective when the new springs are installed. I'm expecting at least an inch of lift due to the sag of the 30 year old existing units. That part wouldn't be a problem...the only thing that would require a change in shock specs is if I get more droop from the new springs, as I'm nearly out of rebound travel already.
The new lights were excellent and were utilized a couple times over the course of the DRAM adventure. I need to spend more time aiming the "big boys" as they seemed to dump more light in front of the rig than farther out. This could also be partially the effect of the clear covers which the lights came with....they seem to scatter the beam a bit but I didn't try it without covers. Overall, for the money, they are excellent. If I'd paid $1000 for them (AKA, The ARB option) I think I'd be disappointed, but for $160 shipped you really can't go wrong here. In the dark of the woods, especially when it is raining or otherwise wet, I actually could have used a 2nd set!! Trees have a remarkable way of sucking up light, and even with everything on up front I was wanting for more. Of course, that's ridiculous and I'm not going to add a second pair of 9" spot lights.
The other small item I need to address this year is a driveline vibration which appeared only on the way back home last Sunday night. I get it only when accelerating at nearly any speed. If I let off the gas or coast, it goes away. I'm about 90% certain this is u-joints and I've been meaning to replace all the u-joints for years. They are original to my purchase of the van in 2007 and the grease nipples are long since gone, so I was expecting this. I got home just fine and honestly it didn't slow me down much, but it is annoying and would eventually be dangerous.
So I thought I was done with projects for 2015 but not quite.
As you've all likely figured out, I won't be writing the DRAM 3 trip report this year due to other time commitments. I've left this responsibility in the remarkably capable hands of Nick, AKA Mass_Mopar. With that said, I'll leave you with a few pics of DRAM 3 that I particularly like...
Maine is an awesome state to explore and trips like DRAM 3 really drive this home for everybody who participates.
Mass_Mopar secretly was taking video throughout the trip and forwarded this to the team a couple nights ago. I'll leave you with this little teaser which should whet your whistle for the trip report.
DRAM 3
Stay Tuned!
SG
Last edited:
So....bad transmission-end U-Joint then?
There were NO NEEDLES in the upper 1310 U Joint on 2 of the 4 caps...not a single one. The opposite 2 caps were perfect and the axle-end 1350 U Joint was fine. I just ordered a new pair of joints and will clean the driveshaft up properly and give it a good coat of paint while it is out from under Boomer. I'm grateful that finding the vibration was so easy...I really didn't want to start tearing into pinion seals or into the transmission....
SG
There were NO NEEDLES in the upper 1310 U Joint on 2 of the 4 caps...not a single one. The opposite 2 caps were perfect and the axle-end 1350 U Joint was fine. I just ordered a new pair of joints and will clean the driveshaft up properly and give it a good coat of paint while it is out from under Boomer. I'm grateful that finding the vibration was so easy...I really didn't want to start tearing into pinion seals or into the transmission....
SG
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
not surprising really.
A good Spicer joint will go thousands of miles in such shape, without much fuss, noise, or vibes.
Ive replaced quite a few in such shape. Remarkable that they simply do not explode first.
Ive never seen one explode. Ive seen some bad enough to lose a cap all together, but the joint was still able to limp the vehicle off the road. The caps held.
Age and mileage dries out the seals. Then moisture enters, corrosion sets in, and the bearings literally go to DUST.
Always good to replace them though:sombrero:
And more reason to get under the rig every oil change to wiggle and spin joints.
A good Spicer joint will go thousands of miles in such shape, without much fuss, noise, or vibes.
Ive replaced quite a few in such shape. Remarkable that they simply do not explode first.
Ive never seen one explode. Ive seen some bad enough to lose a cap all together, but the joint was still able to limp the vehicle off the road. The caps held.
Age and mileage dries out the seals. Then moisture enters, corrosion sets in, and the bearings literally go to DUST.
Always good to replace them though:sombrero:
And more reason to get under the rig every oil change to wiggle and spin joints.
It has been on my list of "I really need to do that" items for a couple years now, but as with all things you don't really get to it until you truly need to. From the looks of it, and to IdaSHO's point, the joint has been bad for a long time. For the last couple years I've been getting a strange driveline vibration but only at a certain speed (~55mph). I suspect this was related to this joint going bad all this time. I'm pretty excited actually to see how everything feels once this is all sorted. I think I'm actually going to take the driveshaft to a local shop this week to have it cleaned up and balanced....might as well, right?
And on a separate note....it seems Boomer has just been awarded a 5 star thread rating by the Expedition Portal fans!!! Thank you all for this....truly. I just do what I do, regardless of whether anybody else takes anything away from our adventures, mistakes and triumphs. Its nice to know the community appreciates the work that goes into both the modifications and upgrades, as well as the time required to document it all.
SG
And on a separate note....it seems Boomer has just been awarded a 5 star thread rating by the Expedition Portal fans!!! Thank you all for this....truly. I just do what I do, regardless of whether anybody else takes anything away from our adventures, mistakes and triumphs. Its nice to know the community appreciates the work that goes into both the modifications and upgrades, as well as the time required to document it all.
SG