Cool and nice one. I have a broken leaf on one of the rear springs (LH / our curb side, which is the more commonly damaged side for suspension etc) so will be replacing these and will test the rear shocks too, but expecting to get new. Some of the rubbers on my front shock were completely toast so now have new ones there to install, when the front goes back together. I like the approach and jacking you use but without a tow bar won’t be tackling my rear suspension until I’ve got the front capable of sitting on wheels. At the moment, I’ve got the front drive shaft out (for new boots) and all the front brakes and hubs apart (for new seals and disks) and the van has all four wheels off so largely one end at a time (bar fuel tank and bodywork). Once the front can be lowered on wheels I can then use my hi lift 6T stands but this will be after the bodywork is done. Yes quite a list but hey ho. I bought a 5-pack of ice hockey pucks for peanuts that have been absolutely invaluable as jack and stand pads. I’ve cut out a pinch-seam groove on some using a mitresaw (for cars) and others have various bits removed for specialist support. I’ve two under the stands supporting the front (on the rail supports) and two on smaller stand supporting the rear axle I keep one whole to bolster the pad on my 3T jack, which is fab under the front cross member on the hiace or under its diff etc. I’ve found pucks to be forgiving and indestructible. Keep the fab work coming!
They aren’t standard (factory spec) tyres but every inch counts and it helps by lifting the body in the rear. It doesn’t affect the front at all, I know others have tried winding the torsion bars but I’m not that adventurous.
It’s a generic 2” square hitch from princess auto I modified the sides to fit the offset holes in the frame sides and added tabs on the bottom. There are fine thread metric nuts welded inside the frame.
Thanks! It was a lot easier than I was anticipating, but dropping the tank is key. The hitch is a standard multi fit hitch which I modified to fit the Hiace. No videos of that, making templates fitting and drilling and re drilling holes.. it would have been a boring ass video. But it can be done assuming you have access to some basic fabrication tools or know a shop that does
@@dillonlangdon1061 I’m not sure but it needs to be adjustable or fit exactly on the outside of the frame tubes to catch those 2 fine thread nuts inside the frame. There’s one under as well that I tied into. If you’re doing it yourself get a floor jack and lift it into place to make templates and fit it up. If you know a welding shop that’s reasonable it might be faster to get them to make some pieces for the sides and weld it to the crossbar. What part of the world are you in?
@@dillonlangdon1061 do you know Vanlife northwest in portland? Danny knows a lot about the vans and might be able to point you in the right direction if you don’t have the welder/ fabrication setup
I did do it, didn't have a saws all so fitted a 6inch cutting disc into a 4inch grinder. One of the most dangerous tools I've ever constructed but it did the job, lol
I was told it’s not necessary but obviously it will limit the amount of travel. I’m not sure where you could get longer ones, even these were pretty hard to find in North America. I also considered making some custom extenders or try finding some pre-made online but I can’t remover the hole size off hand. WeiSen Adjustable 1-3" Front Shock/Suspension Extension Leveling Lift Kit Fit Chevy Chevrolet Avalanche/Silverado 1500 Tahoe GMC Sierra 1500 Yukon & Cadillac Escalade a.co/d/a6SG1V9