HELP!! - '95 B-250 Shock Replacement

[87MH]

Guys -

I have a '95 B-250 conversion van I picked up with 38,000 miles on it.

One of the things I found on the initial drive was that the shocks were shot.

I plan for this to be a tow vehicle an Airstream trailer (with a weight distributing hitch) as well as a daily driver.

To date, I have installed a Dodge tow bar and Gabriel air shocks on the back.

I purchased a set of Bilstein shocks for the front, but when I attempted to change the front shocks this past weekend I torqued off three of the four bolts holding the bottom shock straps in place. The original shocks are now removed (old shocks had no reaction resistance whatsoever), but I am now faced with removing the three dutchmen from the bottom A-arm.

The bolts torqued off flush with the bottom of the A-arm, so there is no neck left to weld to to attempt to fish them out by the weld-an-extension method.

Do I have any options other than to drill out the bolts or replace the lower A-arm?

Second question - How are the backing nuts for the shocks held in place - welded, forged, or pressed?

I torqued off these metric bolts with a 3/8" ratchet - I'm fat, old, and have arthritic hands, so I would have to believe this is a common occurrence.

I have the vehicle up on jackstands right now, so drilling the remains of the bolts out will not be a cakewalk due to limited access to the underside.

Any thoughts on how I should proceed on the shock re installation?

[Dodgevanman]

I think I'm a bit confused. There should only be two bolts that hold the bottom of the shock absorber to the lower control arm. What four bolts are you referring to?

[bocephus]

I agree with dodgevanman...little confused..unless you're referring to the 4 bolts as a whole..2 per side...if so you should be able to drill / easy out the broken bolts...Take it off the jacks -reposition them under the frame, remove the wheels to give you some more room to work with.

[87MH]

I think I'm a bit confused. There should only be two bolts that hold the bottom of the shock absorber to the lower control arm. What four bolts are you referring to?

See the first post - the question was in the plural - shocks - two bolts on each of the two shocks - torqued off three of the four bolts using only a 3/8" ratchet - if others have had this problem might be an indication for a TSB for this model/year shock mount or bolt production run.

The service manual calls for only about 18 lbs-ft torque (by memory) for the installation of these bolts - could be that the factory went WAY beyond that in driving home these fasteners - or, there exists the possibilities that the production run of the bolts themselves were bad - third possibility is that the bolts were underdesigned and the repeated shock stresses caused cracks to develope in the head/shank area. Any of the above three indicates a factory related fault.

I am WAY at the bottom of the list of "finger pointing deep-pockets liability" but the more I work on Dodge products the more I find shoddy craftmanship and questionable quality control. I had hoped the '95 van would be different.

[Dodgevanman]

I think it may be rust that caused the bolts to seize in the threads. I changed the shocks on my '94 and had to soak the bolts down with PB Blaster before I was able to remove the bolts without incident. When I put everything back together, I coated the bolts with anti-seize compound.

[bocephus]

well...I'll tell ya..I have a delivery business..I run 7 vans..I perform all mechanical work on these in my warehouse..I have owned and do own vans from the big 3 from many different eras from 1980 to 2004. Now they all have their shortcomings, However I have yet to get 400,000 miles from any gas engine from my fords nor chevy's as I have with my dodge's..and as far as from a mechanical standpoint, it's the fords I hate to work on the most, and believe me I see plenty of crappy workmanship on these e series vans

[87MH]

Nate:

Thanks for the reply - I need to use the van for a road trip this coming weekend and was rained out last night, so I took it to a local mechanic for the shocks and the rest of a "major preventative maintenance" work and inspection.

This was a vehicle that was previously owned by a "little old lady who drove it only on Sundays". Lots of items on the list for replacement to preclude on-the-road downtime.

Items to be addressed:


Front Brakes
Spark Plugs
Spark Plug Wires
Shocks - all four corners
Rotor
Distributor Cap
PCV Valve
Oil Change
Change Tranny Fluid and Filter
Checked Rear End Fluid
Change Cooling Fluid
Thorough Lubrication
Air Filter
Windshield Wiper Blades


Am I forgetting anything?

My last Dodge Van was a late '70's model that I owned in the late '80's - put a lot of miles on it - I do remember that the "electricals" needed to be treated as one system - change out the battery, alternator, and starter all at the same time - if one failed the other two were 'fixin' to.

[bocephus]

2 things.....don't skimp on parts...stay away from bargain basement parts..in fact...see if your mechanic will let you bring him the parts..remember oem is just that oem..what is needed to make standards,but not the best by far .by the time he marks up the cheapo parts you can buy the good stuff yourself...it's also a good idea if flushing the cooling system, to pull the 2 threaded plugs on either side of the block...more thorough that way...that reverse flush isn't the best way to go...it's just the easiest for the garage.

[87MH]

well...I'll tell ya..I have a delivery business..I run 7 vans..I perform all mechanical work on these in my warehouse..I have owned and do own vans from the big 3 from many different eras from 1980 to 2004. Now they all have their shortcomings, However I have yet to get 400,000 miles from any gas engine from my fords nor chevy's as I have with my dodge's..and as far as from a mechanical standpoint, it's the fords I hate to work on the most, and believe me I see plenty of crappy workmanship on these e series vans

Bocephus:

I well know that we all have "favorites" when it comes to the "Big Three" - I just needed to blow off some steam from the frustration I was experiencing.

Actually - my family all ran Dodges for years and years - hundreds of thousands of miles on the 225 slant 6's and 318's.

I also have a '97 Ford 150 conversion van. The '95 Dodge and the '97 Ford are about as "alike" as two vans from competing manufacturers can possibly be - almost identical wheelbase, weight, carrying capacity, tow capacity, etc...the conversion kits are very similar.

It is remarkable how different they are when you drive both with some frequency. The Ford with 140,000 miles on it has a much better "ride" and feel - maybe amplified by the fact that there is so much more windshield on the Ford.

Not that the E-150 has been totally trouble free - had to replace the radiator recently and had some brake issues when I first purchased it with 90,000 miles on it - but overall it has been a VERY good vehicle for me.

I don't mind my "ride" being a few years old, so by keeping both of the vans roadworthy I pretty much have my butt covered is one should break down - it's the repairs that you HAVE to do in a hurry without getting repair quotes or comparisons that really eat you up.

[bocephus]

Believe me I know about the need for the steam valve ! ha!..I don't have a particular favorite..Quite frankly I'm an old buick nut...But if I had to compare and contrast, I would say I prefer the longevity of the mopar engine, the ride and tight feel of the chevy 3500, and all the extra gadgets and luxury items the ford threw in..But the thing is I ride my vehicles hard,so It may be an unfair test..but the 5.2 and 5.9 held up best for me, on the other hand these bump-shift chrysler tranny's let me down more that I care to mention....Good luck on the road trip, and keep an eye out for the many morons I see out there every day !!

[Dodgevanman]

Add a crankcase breather to that list. It's on the driver's side valve cover. Make sure whoever does the oil change lubes the chassis...especially those inner tie rods (the fittings are hard to get to)

[ron17571]

Had to add my ten cents.My uncles used a van for their painting buisness and went through models from the big three,the dodges lasted much longer and seemed to resist rusting out the best.I think with older v8 engines the dodge engine is better than chevy or fords,less oil leaks and better valve train.

[B-300]

The inner tie rods are easer to get to with the wheel at full lock.
I would also flush the brake system.

[TiaraRamVan]

Well, i had the same problem with my front shocks last month, bolts broke off.
well, there are many ways to do this, but the way i did mine was with a torch.
ok, this will only work if you have a torch, a helper, a pair of needle nose type vise grips, anti-sieze, and new bolts.
heat up the area around the bolts till they are glowing red, then insert your needle nose vise grips into the shock hole, and grip the end of the bolt visible thru the hole, and turn it out it will ned to keep it glowing hot until the bolts are coming out the bottom of the A-arm about 7/16 of an inch, then, grasp the broken head of the bolt (where it broke off) and turn it out while keeping it hot. mine took about 15 per bolt to get them done ( as the shock hole is so small you can only make little turns with the vise grips) and it worked for me.

now, most important, use new bolts on all of them, preferably stainless steel or grade 8 and be SURE to coat the bolts and bolt holes with heavy coat of anti sieze compound in case you need to change your shocks again later on.

hope this helps

[alloro]

use new bolts on all of them, preferably stainless steel or grade 8

No, no, and no, not stainless steel. The hardness of SS bolts is less than grade 2, such as what you will find in a hardware store. SS bolts are good where you don't want the ugliness of rust showing, but they're for light duty only and should never be used on any suspension component.

[TiaraRamVan]

Yeah you are right, i forgot about how thin stainless steel was when i typed that.
sorry, but ethier way, grade 8 would work best for it anyway, as long as you use anti-seize on them.:)

[87MH]

Wow - I had forgotten about this thread.

Time for an update...I sold the Ford with 165,000 miles on it - nothing wrong with it - just scared of the miles. The only "major" thing to go out on the Ford (E-150 351 cu. in) was the radiator at about 120,000 miles and I replaced the torque converter at about 100,000 miles. I put a $200 detail on it and it looked so good I almost did not want to sell it! Put it on Craigslist here in Houston and had to remove the listing after 4 hours due to so many phone calls - sold it to the first person to come and look at it.

I still have the Dodge van, it is now my daily driver. It has almost 100,000 miles on it. I did have to rebuild the tranny at about 80,000 miles, went back in with "heavy duty" parts and the rebuild (with cooler installation) ran about $2500. Still cheap transportation. It still rides rough, and has a few more clunks and rattles, but it gets me there and back. Bought a 2005 Excursion with the 6.8 liter V-10 gasser engine to tow the trailer, but will keep the Dodge van set up to tow as a backup. I now use a Hensley Arrow as weight distribution hitch.