Project Van: Suspension Surgery

We’re working on turning this $2000 van into a do-it-all machine that can tow a car to the track, then serve as a mobile workshop and hotel room for the weekend. 

We'll say it: Our van was scary to drive. Empty it wasn't terrible, but hitch up our small enclosed trailer, and every drive became a white-knuckle death wish. And it's no surprise why: After 235,000 miles, our van still sported its original suspension components, which were barely adequate for towing as much as we do before they covered all those miles. Sure, the van had been maintained—the shocks were tired, but not blown, for example—but it definitely needed a refresh. It also needed upgrades to handle the weight of a full trailer, too. Just look at how low it was riding in the rear when hooked up:

So, we started placing calls. Our first was to Hellwig Products, who specialize in making trucks drive better when fully loaded. We explained what we were dealing with, and a Hellwig care package showed up on our doorstep a few days later. Our next call was to Energy Suspension, makers of polyurethane bushings for nearly every vehicle ever made—even our van. They sent a full set of urethane suspension bushings. And thanks to a quick trip to  RockAuto, we rounded the parts pile out with a set of KYB shocks, Moog suspension parts, and a remanufactured steering box. Our goal? Replace all of the tired wear items in our van, and end up with something that wasn't scary to drive, even when towing at its maximum capacity. We laid out the parts, squeezed the van onto our barely-big enough  BendPak lift, and went to work. 

First step: Remove everything. We started up front, where the stock anti-roll bar was the first item that needed to go. Normally it attaches to each swingarm with rubber bushings. Unsurprisingly, ours were completely missing, meaning we'd been driving with over an inch of slop and a metal-to-metal interface. 

No wonder this thing drove so poorly! Once we had the anti-roll bar out of the way, we kept removing bolts, eventually dropping the infamous Ford Twin I-Beam suspension onto the shop floor. 

Next step: Replace bushings. We pressed each of the worn stock bushings out with the press, then pressed the new Energy Suspension urethane bushings in their place. 

We took our time and replaced every bushing in the front suspension. The shocks were worn-out and featured destroyed bushings of their own, so we replaced them while we had everything apart. 

Bushings and shocks done, we moved onto the ball joints and steering box. Rather than take any chances, we replaced everything.

We'll spare you the boring details of truck suspension work, and just say that it's miserable, heavy, greasy work. And our shop floor now sports a permanent crater thanks to a flying steering box that slipped out of our hands.

Once we'd replaced all of the worn-out stock components, we started upgrading. The first Hellwig part we installed was their Front Sway Bar Kit. Larger anti-roll bars are one of the best upgrades you can make to a tow vehicle, and at just over $400 Hellwig's kit includes a gigantic front bar and the necessary hardware and bushings to install it. Even better, it does away with the problematic factory bushing design that left us driving with metal rubbing against metal. It also includes a lifetime warranty, which is great peace of mind for something we plan to continue piling mileage onto.

With the front suspension finished, we moved on to the rear. Here the issue wasn't worn bushings–the stock leaf spring bushings looked perfect, so we left them alone–it was capacity. Our E-250's springs just weren't stiff enough for the weight we needed to carry.

Fortunately we're not the first ones to have this issue, so we once again turned to Hellwig. We installed a set of their Progressive Rate Load Leveler Helper Springs, which bolt on top of the factory rear springs and increase the rate significantly. The price? Nearly $600 with the installation kit, putting them right inline with ordering a set of stiffer replacement springs. We went with the Hellwig pieces for two reasons: One, they're easier to install. And two, they're adjustable, allowing us to dial in exactly the right spring rate for our load. We considered choosing a set of air helper springs, but since this van is only driven loaded, we didn't want the extra failure points or complexity of airbags.

We'd solved our spring rate issue, but had one more trick up our sleeves: Another giant anti-roll bar, this one also from Hellwig. At about $400, their complete rear sway bar kit includes a gigantic bar and the necessary hardware to bolt it on. 

With everything installed, we rolled the van outside, hitched up a loaded trailer, and stepped back to observe: Success! Rather than sag in the rear, the van now rode at the appropriate height, and we've got plenty of adjustment left in the Hellwig helper springs.

 

We took the van down to the alignment shop, and asked them to dial in as much caster as possible up front. Then, we timidly hit the road… WOW! It took a few hours of backbreaking, greasy work, but we transformed the way our van handled, and it's no longer terrifying to drive when hitched to a trailer. 

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