Did you know that only four bolts hold your motorhomes rear suspension on? Well in this video we replace the leaf springs and the shocks and we get close up understanding of how it all works.
Absolute brilliant video, you both make the best "mechanic" videos. I have changed my brakes and now tackling my rear suspension purely based on your videos. Huge huge thanks !
Very useful video if I ever need to do it to my 2001 B584, which looks exactly the same underneath. There are lots of videos out there with people doing stuff in garages with ramps and other major equipment but seeing you do it on the driveway is inspiring.
Your video reminded me, nostalgically, of a similar situation from about 32 years ago, when I was replacing the leaf spring in the so-called Polish Fiat 126. In the front suspension. Located transversely. The old one was "stacked" and was relatively easy to remove. The new one had a different initial geometry and "tension". I did it alone, and it was torture. I had to use leverage and supports made of ad hoc cut boards. Good heavens, what a job that was! 😂😂😂 Best regards 👍
Really good video, I fitted an air suspension on my Renault Master work van from new with it's own compressor, and it is brilliant easy, comfortable ride, and I can let it up and down 125mm to load heavy goods.
We have a weinsberg carabus Campervan, on insta we’re @vegan.campers. And thank you guys for all your great videos they’re very helpful and encouraging for vanlife 🙏🙏
Great video,👍our Fiat Ducato lunar champ suffers from creaky leaf spring on the near side rear, sprayed mounts with gt85 and cured creaks for about 10 miles 😁, but after that .. creaking again…😳 so I’ve ordered white lithium grease, going to give mounts a good dose of this and see if it helps🤞🏻
Yes, that's what I do, Rob. Try and get a big strong screw driver or crowbar between the leaves and then spray between then where they rub. You don't have to go nuts with the screw driver because you won't separate them, it just helps the fluid spread a bit more
One sure thing, this is typical of 2 people with zero experience at this type of work and very dangerous. You jack the vehicle up, then you put a stand under the chassis so the vehicle is fully supported with the wheel just barely touching the ground and no load on the axle on that side. . Only then do you start doing anything with the spring. One thing doing a video its quite another doing the job the wrong way and giving people the opinion that their using correct procedure.
@@HermanHitstheRoad I've got an Eldiss Autostratus that's already got air bags! I wish I had a Chas near me to do my servicing. I'm in North East Scotland and I have to drive about 15 miles to find a garage that's capable of motorhome servicing. My lady wife still wants a Hymer like Herman. Keep making the vids, I love em! 👍
Air rides are great BUT you will get a very hard ride .We wanted to carry a honda 90 on our MH and once we had a custom tow bar fitted the rear end drooped noticeably even before the bike was on it .We managed to source a second had air ride system but without the bike on the rear it was a hard ride even deflated .A great plus is levelling on camp sites 👌
@@HermanHitstheRoad hi ,perhaps they are different to the ones i had on my 89 Autotrail ? You could individually inflate each side and you got about 4" of difference which meant you could raise the back by inflating them both or either side by inflating one and deflating the other .
I put airbags on the back of my autotrail. Main reason was to up the gross vehicle weight. It’s lifted the back substantially and as a result the rear springs seem to have recovered by not having as much weight on them. I have to keep letting air out to maintain the correct ride height. I started with about 40psi I’m down to about 10psi now 👍🏻
HI HERMAN & YA BUDDY I HAVE A TALBOT AUTOQUEST 320 WAITING FOR A DRY WEEKEND TO REPLACE REAR SPRINGS GETTING THE 6LEAF FROM JONES SPRINGS DO YOU THINK I SHOULD REPLACE REAR SHOCKS ASWELL AS ITS A 1992 AND ITS HAD NO REPLACEMENTS AT ALL GOOD VIDEO NOT TO CONFUSEING CHEERS JIM SORRY CAPS LOCK STUCK ON
If you had dropped the front spring hanger it would have given you enough room to get the rear spring hanger bolt out without being obstructive by the spring hanger mounting bracket. ( just my opinion) If you had put the front in first, then raise the axle to get the back one in, that way it is flattening the spring out in order to fit, again just my opinion.
Hi Ads & Zoe, Hope you get the front nearside suspension unit sorted. Like you say if it has to be removed all the fixings will not be a problem to remove. Just a thought and apologies if it has already been mentioned or considered. Is the front nearside height being influenced by the water content in the main tank ?
I didn't have a choice about make of shocks. The off side went while on holiday in Ireland. The fitter ordered it. I just replicated on the other side when we got home. We've not had a problem with the Monroe shocks at all.
Hi, we are about to purchase a new Mobilvetta K_yacht 90 Tekno line, it doesn't have a ALKO chassis, but Fiats chassis. Would you warn against buying one with the Fiat chassis and hold out for an ALKO, our worry is the squeaking rear suspension and road noise etc. If we went with the Fiat setup, how long will it take before we experience the annoying problems. Great videos by the way.
Hi Mick, I don't know much about the ALKO chassis. I'm not sure what you mean by squeaking rear suspension and road noise. Our leaf spring suspension did squeak for a while but we sorted it by spraying copper grease between the leaves
Hello thanks for your video, question is it easy to find replacement leaf springs for older campers mines a 1995 fiat. I’m from New Zealand but we’re in The Netherlands. Is there an auto shop I should look for? Thank you.
Hi Ads & Zoe. Could you comment on the replacement rear shock absorbers you purchased from Coastal Motorhome. I have just received a pair of replacements know as ref FT11011, they are quite a bit physically smaller than those I have removed from our Hymer B584. I will verify with the helpful Coastal Motorhome, but did you find the replacements slightly smaller ? Thanks Nigel.
Hi Nigel, if they are the same length then you should be OK. I've not had any problems with Coastal, parts or advice. If you are referring to the thickness of the shock then gas filled and oil filled are different. I hope that helps
Excuse me if this question has already been asked 🙄 but l know you have now had air bags fitted to your van .. do you find the ride to be harder or not as im thinking of fitting some myself to my moho 😊 many thanks in advance mike ....
No problem, mikerphone. It is firmer. Less lean and roll when going round roundabouts and overtaking lorries. Have you seen this video yet? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NTDOLzVyAjQ.html
Not sure if helps but did you prime the new front shock before fitting? We had a similar all round suspension upgrade on our Peugeot Boxer 2.8HDI Turbo 2002 AS Executive SE. We also had the Dunlop rear air assisters fitted on the rear which has made the driving a dream!. Definitely recommended. All the work was done by Dave Newell Leisure Vehicle Services for £1,574.24 total.
Hi John, that isn't a bad price. Parts cost us almost £800 and if we add £350 for air bags that's a few hours for labour left 👍. We pumped them a couple of times just to see if they worked.
Fantastic video....but I've ALWAYS been told to not out copper grease/slip on a moving part? 🤷🏻♀️ Lithium grease should of been applied to the bit of the bolt that was in the bush. Then copper grease on the thread, copper grease contains grit and therefore will grind away very gradually at the bush.
Just to clarify! I do genuinely love the video! You cleared a lot of points up for me :) and showed us the order to do stuff so we don't have the same problems of fouling the chassis with one of the bolts! Saves a lot of time and hassle! Also, never thought to use a ratchet strap! :D
gas torch on shock absorber is a real no no folks lucky it didnt explode,made an easy job look hard,undo the top shackle bolt then it will be real easy to allighn spring bolt holes
Not sure I would follow the techniques of your mechanics hitting spanner’s with hammers and cant seem to see any safety precautions safety goggles or even axle stands in the correct places but reminds me of the 80.s when I was a trainee just get on with it ❤
Quite informative but one thing I did notice is that the reasonable expensive camper which you are spending good money on to fix up is parked outside I’m assuming is your hugely expensive house which looks in really shit condition! It’s all about getting your priorities in order!
@@HermanHitstheRoad sorry didn't mean to sound so negative on your videos they are very well executed ,you seemed to struggle to refit the leaf spring looked very much like the rear hanger was seized in the bushing does your van squeak when you go over a speed bump this is a tell tale sign
No problem, MegaDyte 👍 No, there's no squeaking. There was at first but that was the leaves rubbing together which we've now sorted by lubricating them where they touch