68-69 front shocks

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skin daddio
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Post by skin daddio » Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:18 am

anybody using new bilsteins on front of an earliest bay? folks at bilstein and their online retailers are saying 68 and later are all the same part number, same fit, same application.

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Post by busdepot » Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:38 am

static wrote:
skin daddio wrote:bret, i read in a samba thread that ron likes to advertise things as german if the company has orifices in germany; if they're actually made in another place, that's not his problem.
I do not believe that ugly rumor.

Regarding the shocks, the Boges are the best available these days for the '68-69. And no, those particular ones are not German made, they are made in Boge's Mexican factory. I have many more options for '70-up (Koni, for example, and not one but two different types of German made Boges) but they don't fit the early Bays. That said, I have used the '68-69 Boges myself and they are quite good. I don't think you'd be disappointed, especially for the price.

Regarding country of origin, in these days of global manufacturing, with many products it can literally vary box by box. I've already received a pallet load of the identical part from a German manufacturer and there were 3 different countries of origin among the stacked boxes. This makes it nearly impossible to specify with certainty where a part is made, even from the same shipment much less one day to the next. Therefore, in the interest of complete disclosure, I put a note on the bottom of every BusDepot product page basically warning you that even a German brand may ship a non-German part.

The same situation applies no matter where you buy the part, but not all vendors are as candid about it. I have seen certain products listed on another well regarded vendor's website as "Made in UK" or ""EEC" or ""Germany" when I know for an fact that they are Brazilian. The vendor is reputable and I don't believe the deception is intentional; rather, the vendor bought the product from a UK or German supplier and just assumed it was UK or German made. Nevertheless, regardless of intent, claiming country of origin with that kind of certainty is risky and can mislead the consumer. Another vendor who will remain nameless goes much further and, in my opinion, intentionally misleads their customers. They take Chinese made parts made by Chinese companies that have nothing at all to do with Germany, and tag them "German Quality" on their website, sometimes even giving them a German sounding brand name. Funny, when you google the brand name, there is no such manufacturer.

I am often asked whether it's still worth paying extra for German brands, given that these days the actual product may be made elsewhere. In my opinion, the answer is often "yes." Even when they produce offshore, the major brands have a reputation to uphold. Having spent decades building that reputation, they are uninclined to risk it all by slapping their name on the cheapest piece of cr*p they can find. (That isn't to say that the part will always be quite as good as it is when it was still German made - although it may be - but that's a moot point because we can't turn back the clock.) By comparison, if you buy an off brand part, the supplier has no reputation to protect and often no commitment to the market. If they don't make enough money selling Bus wheel bearings in the U.S. this month, they'll just sell tractor parts to the Phillipines next month. Therefore, as a general rule (and there are exceptions) they are more likely to build to a price.
- Ron Salmon
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skin daddio
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Post by skin daddio » Fri Sep 25, 2009 2:55 pm

if i were you, knowing the shocks are most likely to be not-german, i would specify that way. if and when i was fortunate to get german made, i'd add it to a price list; perhaps i'd put it down as a special on a specials page. that'd be enough for me to briefly look away from my beloved retailer in the county.

regarding the hunt and bilsteins: the shocks-only etailers, including folks at bilstein were positive the 68-79 transporters shocks would do me right. this came in recently,
I have finally received the information in this.

These shocks are not a direct bolt on for the models with the shorter pin. Bilstein's recommendation on the vehicles with the shorter pin is to add a spacer that is approximately 8mmbetween the mount and the nut on the end of the pin.

Thanks,
Kevin Foote
Sales
www.Allshocks.com  www.Allsprings.com  www.TurnerMotorsport.com
kfoote@ allshocks.com/turnermotorsport.com
(978) 388-7769 x160

why they would suggest a spacer on something that has a shorter pin? the diameter is the same, just the length is diff. right?

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Post by skin daddio » Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:07 am

i got an alert from t/s because i was looking for a german damper for exhaust. i long ago got that part but left the alert up. this morning i was flipped an ad for an nos steering damper with two german boge heavy duty nos front shocks for 68-69.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=851867

checked out the thread on them, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=375948 - got phone confirmation from the seller regarding part number confusion, and struck a deal. turns out they came form an estate from his factory trained mentor. stoked. now i need a re-run of this for my other early bay.

so it goes.

one more bit of miracle is my computer was in the shop much of last week, and has to go in tomorrow. timing is everything!

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Post by skin daddio » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:03 pm

all was going well until the lower bushing on the second shock coming off was rusted tight. i managed to get the shock off with a tiny puller. ten percent of the rubber came undone in the process of vice gripping/pb blaster attempts. does anyone recommend heating vs. cutting the bushing. heating will burn the rubber and stink, cutting could take all day and threads are at risk. how do the pros do it. i'm suspecting the metal bushing is soft and would come undone in an hour with various saw blades. or i could cave, take it to a shop and pay. another huge set back is learning i can't see up close very well anymore.

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Post by Westy78 » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:09 pm

I used a pair of vise grips and started twisting back and forth. Eventually it started to pull off. Getting a good grip without slipping is the key. Try a pair of grips with some fresh sharp teeth.
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skin daddio
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Post by skin daddio » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:18 pm

Westy78 wrote:I used a pair of vise grips and started twisting back and forth. Eventually it started to pull off. Getting a good grip without slipping is the key. Try a pair of grips with some fresh sharp teeth.
roger that. i read a bit so far and while its soaking overnight i'm gunna return armed and dangerous with the entire range of destructive forces in the morning. with the rubber attached it appears heavy monkey wrench is battling leadoff where vice grips failed. as tight a spot as it is from the ground it could be worse.

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Post by hambone » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:48 am

I've noticed my KYBs have been getting bouncy lately. Not enuff to shake yer teeth but noticeable, especially at slower speeds and coming to a stop, a rhythmic bouncy bounce. The bus is unusally empty since I'm not camping.
What is the lifespan for a set of well used shocks? Are KYBs typically bouncy?
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Post by Amskeptic » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:05 am

hambone wrote:I've noticed my KYBs have been getting bouncy lately. Not enuff to shake yer teeth but noticeable, especially at slower speeds and coming to a stop, a rhythmic bouncy bounce. The bus is unusally empty since I'm not camping.
What is the lifespan for a set of well used shocks? Are KYBs typically bouncy?
Typically, no shock absorber is "bouncy". It takes a a few minutes to remove the upper shock bolt and nut, remove the lower nut, pull a shock off and then manually extend it and compress it. It should give you good resistance throughout the travel. A "rhythmic bouncy bounce" sounds like your shocks are shot.
Colin

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:39 am

Thanks Colin.
What's better quality, non German Boge or KYB? Coin toss?
Alas with a '69 I'm limited. Probably go withe the Boge.

Looks like Bus Depot has Non-German Boge for the front and German for the rear for a '69. Hopefully that is correct, I'm not fond of returning parts.
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Post by Amskeptic » Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:34 pm

hambone wrote:Thanks Colin.
What's better quality, non German Boge or KYB? Coin toss?
Alas with a '69 I'm limited. Probably go withe the Boge.

Looks like Bus Depot has Non-German Boge for the front and German for the rear for a '69. Hopefully that is correct, I'm not fond of returning parts.
Well, you fell into a very broad net over in the other thread regarding the ubiquitously parroted phrase "heavy bus" and their tires, but I will try here before some voice in the past comes in and cackles at me about ironic inconsistency.
Your bus, loaded up with your Hambone camping crap, weighes less than the average modern four-door mid-size car by a couple of hundred pounds. It does not want too firm of a shock on the front, because in fact, it has a very light front end( have you ever backed a bus down a steep dirt road????) , and stiff shocks will make you lose traction on bumpy surfaces. You do want a firm shock on the rear to handle the large amplitude motions of the rear-engine weight bias. I liked my KYB Gas Adjust shocks a lot. I got them in the late 250,000s and exchanged them for the red Konis in the early 500,000 mile era. People will say that shocks made their bus handle like a whole new day, people will say that new tires made their bus handle like a whole new day, people will say that the stiffer stabilizer bar made all the difference. I can only say that replacing worn parts with fresh parts does indeed make YOURS a whole new day.
Colin
(go ahead Mr. Moderator, you know what you have to edit around here! I'm rogue)

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:35 pm

Interesting. I'm sure I don't have 250k miles on them, but a lot of the miles are on terrible roads. They still look like new actually, but the rubber is starting to crack.
Do the Boges have a stiffer ride? I do kind of like the cloudlike KYBs.
How do they sell the KYBs for '69-78 if the front end is difffernt in '70?
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skin daddio
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Post by skin daddio » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:15 pm

prolly a different part number.

shocks on, i peeled away what rubber i could and got the vice grips that really work. felt like opening a difficult can of tuna; now we've all had our difficult tuna. it was easy with additions of more pb blaster. that stuff..

i decided to hold off on the nos w.german dampner that came with the shocks. chances are i'll rebush the one shock and put both on the doublecab, though the double cab is getting an engine this spring/summer and its own improvements are around the corner. so the quest for low-cost premium shocks continues.

hard to say initially on a short test drive but i'm happy with german boges so far. certainly need more data.

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Post by Amskeptic » Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:06 pm

hambone wrote:
Do the Boges have a stiffer ride?
I do kind of like the cloudlike KYBs.
How do they sell the KYBs for '69-78 if the front end is difffernt in '70?
Boges are the Cadillac.
KYBs are pretty firm. (yours are shot, remember?)
Don't know the availability question. . .
Colin

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Post by Bleyseng » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:21 pm

I have to agree with Colin, too stiff a shock in front doesn't help. I ripped out the KYB's in front as they rattled my teeth and installed Boge's. In back fresh GR2's for a fairly controlled ride but wish I had adjustable Konis...
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