Upgraded rear shocks and sway bar

kmessinger

Active member
What a fun afternoon. I got the shocks and new sway bar in today from the Sprinter Store. I had decided to do this upgrade after our get-2-gether.

I am so darn sore now I can hardly move but it was easy and fun to do the work myself.

I have the pictures, etc. on my blog. I am headed to Monterey tomorrow so will see if the ride feels different.

Regards,

Keith
42 days until Alaska
 

dronsin

Member
Keith, what is the goal of your modification....stability or smoother ride quality or ?
I have issues with 158" wb rocking when the rear axle hits a speed bump diagonally or some other side to side upset. It oscillates back and forth and tosses the rear end wildly. I was wondering if a sway bar would help, or even shocks that are stiffer or lockable. Interested in your test.

I missed the bay area gathering. I am converting an 05 2500 tall 158 to a geriatric touring vehicle....
all electric. now have 3 ea size 27 batteries installed in side well behind driver. 345 amp hours total.
Dale
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
Keith, what is the goal of your modification....stability or smoother ride quality or ?
I have issues with 158" wb rocking when the rear axle hits a speed bump diagonally or some other side to side upset. It oscillates back and forth and tosses the rear end wildly. I was wondering if a sway bar would help, or even shocks that are stiffer or lockable. Interested in your test.
The Koni's certainly helped me...

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2839

...Others who have done the rear sway bar in addition to Koni's have similar comments.
 

kmessinger

Active member
Hi Dale. I wanted a more stable ride. Those diagonal speed bumps were a problem as were a couple of areas on the freeway were I'd go up, down and up again - I hope with the new shocks just to go up and then down.

BTW, I did not change the factory settings on the Koni's even though they are adjustable. I'll try this setting first. I didn't understand the pictures about changing the settings anyway.

At our get-2-gether motobueno talked about how much the sway bar helped his ride so I (not that I really need any justification for a mod :smilewink:) decided to give it a go.

I'll find out today if I feel any difference. I wish there was technical data to prove the difference instead of just feel as I suspect I will be happy better or not. The mod was not cheap so I have to be happy about it!

Regards,
Keith
 

Goliath

New member
I am highly intrigued by all the reports of dramatic improvements by putting Koni shocks on the Sprinter. But except for this thread here, all I've read are from T1N owners. Is it even possible to do this on a NCV3 2007 or 2008 Sprinter?

At both the Koni North America site (koni-na.com) and at tirerack.com, there are no Koni shocks available for either 2007 or 2008 Sprinters, whether I search under Dodge, Mercedes, or Freightliner.

What gives? I feel like I'm missing something obvious. Is my suspension as good as it is going to get such that vendors don't offer aftermarket shocks?

Thanks, Nathan
 

kmessinger

Active member
I am highly intrigued by all the reports of dramatic improvements by putting Koni shocks on the Sprinter. But except for this thread here, all I've read are from T1N owners. Is it even possible to do this on a NCV3 2007 or 2008 Sprinter?

At both the Koni North America site (koni-na.com) and at tirerack.com, there are no Koni shocks available for either 2007 or 2008 Sprinters, whether I search under Dodge, Mercedes, or Freightliner.

What gives? I feel like I'm missing something obvious. Is my suspension as good as it is going to get such that vendors don't offer aftermarket shocks?

Thanks, Nathan
Well, I don't know about dramatic. I did a 90 miler today over a familiar course. It was my perception that the suspension was tighter. Over angled drives, a 1-2 sway not a 1,2,3. And it seems the tendency to even start a sway is less. Over rises in the road up, down instead of up, down, up, down. All in all, I am very pleased with the change. I may, if I can ever figure out the directions, turn the shocks up one notch. Oh yes, mine is a 2008 NCV3.

The Koni's came from Upscale Automotive in Oregon. I was told no fronts were available but the rear shock part number is 82-2434. I think there is great confusion on the years covered. I think 03-08 should be the same for the rear but I see 01-06 listed as well. Anyway, the number listed above fits and at least so far, works.

The number also is listed in the Koni BTT catalog under Mercedes Sprinter.

Regards,

Keith
 

Goliath

New member
Don't quite know where to put these pics but we were talking about shocks on the NCV3 Sprinters in this thread.

While I had the front mats out getting into the battery box for my trailer install, I found the top mounting for the front shocks.

Left:
P1040778.JPG

Right:
P1040782.JPG


PS: It looks like I have some insulation already installed glued onto the metal under the mats. It came standard with the rear heat package. Does anyone know what this type of insulation is called and how well it really works?


Nathan
 

OrioN

2008 2500 170" EXT
It's a sound deadening material - "styrene-butyadine-rubber- based, pressure-sensitive adhesive-backed, heat bondable vibrational damper". One brand name is called Dynamat, there are more. It's all over our vans, one piece on every metal surface that is between members. Do a search here and on Google for more information...
 

larryccf1

New member
just curious if anyone has tried airbags on their sprinter -

i just put them on this past fall on my toyota tundra dbl cab - as i knew we'd be using it to carry two 4'HX2'WX8'L crates, about 435 lbs each crate to Vegas from Richmond, VA, for annual trade show convention (we exhibit) and man did they make a difference - whether the truck is empty or loaded, they sure took a lot of lean out of it (already had the toyota TRD sway bar upgrade, ft and rear), but the part i noticed was that while the ride was firmer, the harshness was gone - it's like the first increment of compression is soft and it quickly goes to a progressive compression rate -
obviously, when there's no load, i lower the psi on the air bags, - if i leave the psi up at 40 when there's no load, truck rides fine but likes to bounce over speed bumps, but lowered to 10psi for empty load, they're perfect - truck rides flat as a railroad car without any harshness

they sold me (gone thru a ton of koni's and bilsteins in my lifetime, so don't get me wrong, they're great shocks), it was just that the air bags really surprised me how well they performed and how simple they were to install and the ability to infinitely adjust them by simply adjusting the air pressure. In case you haven't seen a set installled, basically you run a small 1/4" dia nylon line to a schraeder air valve stem, like on your wheel, and pressurize them with air. I just put the two valves, one for each airbag, on either side of the rear license plate on the step bumper.

cost wise i think i paid $225 for a set ( 1500 lb rating) for one axle

on the sprinter i'm thinking of going with one of the in cab controlled setups - small compressor with tank gets mounted under van, and you can preset whatever bias you want (front to rear, side to side or both) or set for self leveling. The self leveling feature is for when you throw a heavy load in the vehicle, it will self level. Camping use, they ought to be good for 2 - 2.5" adjustment for leveling the van when parked.
 
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jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
Air Bags?

Click here

and then you'll find a reference to an installation write up found here.

or maybe that's not what you're talking about? Sometimes I get very confused.

-Jon
 

larryccf1

New member
yes - exactly

and like i said, all i've got is a simple two bag system (one air bag or air spring over each rear wheel).
these are not shock absorbers but suspect folks that go for shocks to help control lean and some of the other negative ride attributes they're experiencing are mistaken in looking to shock absorbers for the answer. Shocks, from my knowledge (and i'm not the expert, so if someone knows better, please chime in) but shock absorbers, 80 - 90% of their true function is to dampen the spring's rate of return (after it's compressed from a road bump).

Best way to explain, when axle hits a pot hole or speed bump, it's the spring, whether coil or leaf, that allows the axle to move away from the load - once the spring has compressed as far as it's going to and the load (bump, pothole etc) are past, the energy the spring captured in compressing is used to return the axle to it's static or normal state. If the shock does not control that rate of return (rebound), the vehicle will "bounce". I'm sure there are enough folks on board here old enough to remember the cars back in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s - that 12,000 miles from new, when the shocks started to go bad, when they hit a pothole or bump, their car would still be bouncing a half block down the road. At State Inspections, procedure to check for bad shocks was to push down on the fender or bumper real hard and note how many times the car would cycle up & down before stopping - more than 1.5 cycles, car shocks were weak.

Kmessnger described how the original shocks wanted to stay extended where the koni's would compress manually and stay compressed. The original shocks were gas filled, which gives them that "spring" action wanting to return to extended state. In addition to the oil in the shock, that gas in the OEM shock acts in a smaller or lesser way, like an air spring - gas will compress, and in compressing is very progressive in it's rate of compression - ie first increment of compression travel might only take 40 lbs to compress it .25", the next .25" will take 65 lbs, the next .25" 95 lbs, and so on. So the gas or air bag, allow for a real soft initial compression step which takes the teeth jarring edge off the shock load, and then quickly, in progressive steps quickly firms up that resistance.

non- gas assisted shocks - first oil does not compress, so it limits compression on the shock only by being restricted by how much of a passageway it has to pass by the foot of the shock's piston as that piston plunges downward. Think of a old time barnyard water pump with a leather washer at the end of the piston - on the down stroke, when the handle was raised, the leather washer would fold out of the way to allow the piston to travel downward easily, then on reverse stroke it would remain flat and keep it's seal so that water would be pumped. Usually there's very little restriction on down or compression stroke in a shock absorber. The koni does allow for some compression control by the adjustment made by turning the piston (the chrome rod with the threaded end), it's adjusting or restricting those passages to a more restricted state. but on it's return upward, as the spring is pulling it, the return path is usually much more restricted, as it's true role is to control how fast the leaf or coil spring can release it's energy and how fast the axle is returned to it's static or normal position. and the size of the ports or openings in that foot valve plus the viscosity of that oil is what controls that rate of return. By turning the koni to it's firmest setting, the shock has been made firmer so it will affect lean or yaw, sway etc. But it can't do it as nicely as a gas shock or air bag being compressed does. unfortunately, the OEM gas shocks are not adjustable, like the konis, so the konis will have an advantage over them.


I was truly surprised at the ride in my tundra, both with and without wgt, after the air bags - much firmer ride control and yet nowhere near teeth rattling or what you would call uncomfortable - actually quite the opposite.

-i'm actually planning on one of the high end air bag kits with onboard compressor and 3 to 5 gallon tank to allow for automatically controlling side to side yaw or lean as those loads occur, whether from centrifigul force in a curve or high winds when crossing a bridge. Only caution, price on those systems seem to be strong, as high as $2,000+ for a really high end one but i've seen some interesing ones in the $1200 - 1500 range.
 
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kmessinger

Active member
My shocks were set at a minimum. After traveling the dirt roads in Alaska, I am going to set them to maximum and see if I feel any difference.

Regards,

Keith
 
I have upgraded the 2003 140 SHC 2500 and the 2005 158 SHC 2500. I noticed more improvment in hte 2003. the 2005 rides better, but still has the sway. the 2005 is loaded more heavily, close to 8500 GVW most of the time. When I start to pull hte trailer, I expect I will visit the Sprinter Store again and get the heavier leaf springs.
 
Maybe because of the different ride heights :hmmm:...

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1766

Hopefully you used different shocks (p/n's) for the front if you changed it out.
I have changed the rear shocks only, not the front shocks. On the 2003, I upgraded the shocks/sway bar at 30,000 miles. By then I had 2 sets of rear shocks replaced under warrenty. Just before the 30,000 mile upgrade, I drove to Portland. The van was almost dangerous to drive. When the upgrade was done, one of the rear shocks was leaking.

On a different note, in July or August I was in Portland. I looked at new 2008 Sprinters. I did not drive one. I did note the doors closed much nicer, & I did not have to slam the doors. I need another Van for the new guy, but I just cannot justify $38,000 to $40,000 when I can get a used HiTop Ford for $12,000. For $26,000 difference, I can buy lots of gas.
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
On my '02, I had to replace the rear shocks at 40k miles because they both lost almost all their oil. I replaced them with the std issue purchased from the dealer. I did the work myself and they are still good 110k miles later. My '02 is a passenger, so those originals were installed in Germany - go figure. Both the old and new looked the same from the same maker.
 

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