Please please don’t take this the wrong way as it meant in the best possible way but it is awesome to see a regular guy explaining this in a simple way that other bus owners can understand and do themselves. More quality content. Thanks
Thank you both for your comments. I'm definitely no mechanic and I wouldn't promote anything I wouldn't happily take on myself, but I also feel these busses are quite easy to work on if you know which end of the spanner to turn!
The most comprehensive T4 suspension lowering how to, good video John ; ) .................... However, I feel I have to mention to viewers not to do as you did @ 10:12 The securing pin wasn't fully in the locating hole on your jack stand! Please, guys, do double check the locking pins, and on the ratchet types as well. Having just half a locking pin in position will compromise the jacks capabilities, on a 2 ton van even a 3 ton capacity jack will be more than halved! Still gave you a thumbs up though John, as you were just demonstrating ; ) TURK
Lovely vid but just so you know the torsion bars do not effect the opposite side they are connected on the same side so effect the same side. And the pin for the axle stand was not all the way through when you dropped the chassis rail on to it be careful I know someone who died having a axle stand fail. Sorry if this sounds to be funny but just trying to help other people and you self
Very good vid. Just to mention, you will need to sort out your wheel alignment after doing this... Camber castor & track, as the geometry will be different afterwards
Being a T4 newbie, that's a great simple video to explain the process. I do have a couple of questions... With lowering the front, will I need to adjust the camber? And... When purchasing springs for the rear, are straps usually included? Thanks in advance 🤙🏽
@lee Davis - yes get a 4 wheel alignment after lowering ! Also some does come with the straps but some don't , check the description before buying it should said , or buy them separately
Great vid mate! Can you wind the torsion bars while the van is stood? Also what's your ride like now you have it low? I've got the same setup but ride is rock hard.
Good evening I love your van, the bi-color paint is magnificent as well as new beatle. I would really like to show the same on my T4 California van from 2000. what size tire and what load index did you fit? thank you
nice van good vid need to ask how do ii know when is enough to lower the front to match back after putting lowering spring on my t4 if my springs are 65mm what do i need on the front
@t4family, I’ve just lowered mine it’s a coachbuilt so just did the front about 50mm but the offside sits about 20mm higher even with adjusting left hand thread 5mm more and still sits the same. Not too sure what I’m doing wrong to get them both the same height? Vid was really helpful thanks 🤟
Incorrect information regarding adjusting one side will alter height on the other. The side you are adjusting, is the same side it affects. The bars run parralell to the van from adjuster straight forward to hub. They dont cross over
Great video, most informative. Have you only adjusted the torsion bars and swapped shorter springs? Did you also fit shorter shock absorbers? If only torsion bar and springs were done then how is the ride quality on the oe dampers at that lower height? Thanks!
Hi Josh, thanks for getting in touch. So yes, I have just lowered the torsion bars and fitted shorter springs. I did not fit shorter shock absorbers but what I did do was to fit new dampers when I originally lowered the van. We now have Sachs HD Super Touring which are quite an upgrade on the originals, but as you mention they are ideal because of the reduced travel. On the front you can get round this by fitting Scarface Lowrider front shock relocation plates (www.thevdubmonkeys.co.uk/product-page/vw-t4-scarface-lowrider-front-shock-mounts) and shorter drop links (www.thevdubmonkeys.co.uk/product-page/t4-short-droplinks) if you want a better ride when low on the front. This combination will give you more travel in your dampers. The ride quality on our setup is pretty good, not too harsh but you will feel the potholes and the bigger bumps as you hit the bump stops on the front. The rear is absolutely fine though, which I think is because we are using longer springs and lower spring rates (6" @ 950lbs) compared to other T4 owners who have 5" springs at 1100lbs. If I'm honest, where it sits in the video is about the limit you can go to without relocating things and fitting shorter shocks. I think for the summer we might raise the front about 25mm and put the 7" springs back in at the back as the roads this year have not been maintained well. Another thing to consider is wheel size, we have quite chunky tyres on our 17" rims so they absorb a lot of the bumps as well. When we were running low profile tyres on 18" rims that was a LOT harder ride. All the best, John.
T4 Family Hi John. Thank you for taking the time to pass along such comprehensive information. I’m currently weighing my options on my t4 vr6 over here in the states and this provides heaps of help!
@@joshskversky6112 No worries, one other thing you might want to consider is that the VR6 engine and the auto box weigh a bit more than the 1.9td that we have. If you have syncro 4 wheel drive you might also find the rear suspension setup different because you will have a rear axle whereas we only have trailing arms. Best of luck! PS, you might find this website helpful to check part numbers and exploded diagrams volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/transporter/tr/
@@T4Family Lovely explanation, John thanks. I'm going for oversize tyre diameter on my new 6.5" wide 16" steel wheels. Oversizing the tyres means it will affect the speed gearing. The T4's speedometer over-read is approx 4 to 5% depending on standard model tyres size, so oversizing/gearing up by simply selecting the next higher tyre profile size is mathematically logical - and will reduce mileage reading over time! Plus, you're saving on fuel at higher speed cruising. It's like having an extra gear. This obviously affects acceleration, but I don't care. The profile size is the second number of a tyre measurement, and they increment in 5s - it's a percentage of the first number - the tyre's width in millimetres. My brother has done this with his T4. He has massive tyres on his but I wouldn't advise going too big, naturally. My choice of tyre size is 215x65x16. This works out exactly one tenth of an inch larger in total diameter than the largest VR6 specified tyre diameter - well within safe clearance for standard suspension setting and up to minus 50mm suspension (drop) setting. FYI, the rear side, rear tyre to rear bumper clearance on standard springs is quite tight at about four tenths of an inch, but with a lowering of 50mm - about the drop of your van currently - this increases to about 0.95 inches rear side rear clearance. For visualisation purposes, rear side rear clearance is the smallest tyre clearance (of unsteered wheels) to arches of the T4. Play with these websites comparatively: tiresize.com/comparison/ www.willtheyfit.com/ Hope that's useful 😃
Hi what shocks you have a front my caravelle camper 2000 has had Lyn gas and ride harder now although road holding better.been lowered by Garage at front and shocks and lowering springs 60mm at back plus mayb shocks rear,anyway after trip to lakes rear too low so change springs at rear myself to 60mm so clearance better.was thinking boge or Sachs hd super touring short shock be better or maybe b6 .thanks.steve
Hi Jon, good video! Inspired me to lower mine. I can’t seem to find the right springs though. I’ve got a 93 eurovan and all I find is for a 94 and up and those kits come with 4 springs. I’m assuming they changed from torsion to spring in 94? Can you help recommend proper springs
Hi Roy, yeah they take a LONG time to find especially in this condition. I had an eBay alert set up and it took about 9 months to find a set that were in good condition and under £1000. There are a few things you can search for, "VW Orbit" is the official name but also "VW Heritage" sometimes gets you hits. Alternatively find out where your local insurance salvage yards are and get them to ring you if any VW Beetles turn up.
My advice: The jack and stands are not rated for this load, regardless of what the majority will come back with 'it's only one corner'' rubbish! At the dreaded 10:12 bit I actually had to look away! Not only is the pin dangerously and incorrectly seated you're contact point on the chassis is minimalistic.....and that's being kind. Regardless of the content quality this vid should be removed, re-filmed using the correctly rated equipment and demonstrating optimal positioning; thus maximising safety. Sorry folks, not good at all.
Think you are wrong. The front torsion bars.. left does left. And right does the right.. just shows how much you kno... stop doing video clips about stuff you kno nothing about.. thanks..
