What have you done to your VWCV today??

[Sunny43.5]

Decided to join the big screen set that we see so often these days in cars 13 inch AINAVI unit with 360 degree camera and so much other stuff that it will take ages to figure out all the features . Fitted SIM card for mobile data /GPS/ built in voice control for various functions/ steering wheel control /bluetooth /wifi / USB connections for external music videos etc . Android auto also that dreaded Apple connectivity LOL
and god knows how much else I will discover . The screen is adjustable up and down in position and tilt on all axis , plus it fitted straight into the original facia with only minimal adjustments which will allow the original to be refitted if desired . I cant seem to upload my video but this will show what I fitted plus I uploaded the vids to Youtube .https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...apt=4itemAdapt https://youtu.be/cMjRfHcMi18 https://youtu.be/4AhOdNcIOTA

[Rebuild]

Replaced front and rear shocks on the bus recently

204K km
front and rear originals are Monroe Gas.
Rear end of the van was getting a little skatey, on potholes and manhole covers. Thought it was loose wheel nuts or suspension mounts.Nope.
Removed a shock and no damping at all at end of travel, and almost no gas. Other side was similar
Replaced the lot with KYB Excel-G. For T5 2004 AXE fronts pt/no 335840, rears 344456
Rears were easy just two bolts.
Fronts were knackered too.
Front struts were a lot more involved. Needed to remove axle nut(30mm 200Nm), wishbone ball joint mounting bolts M14 XZN, rollbar connection and I also removed the steering joint to make it easier on reassembly. I removed the brake caliper and disc, else theres a lot of weight to support as you wrestle it all back together.
Dont take the top thrust bearing apart, unless you want to regrease it or play 52 pickup . There are 52 loose ball bearings.
Also needed to remove the wiper mech to access the RHS top strut nut. Cleaned out all the leaves and spider webs

[Sunny43.5]

Have done our T5.1 twice now , but I wanted the Bilstein B14 Coil Over kit for the adjustment facility for ride height . First set lasted just over 10 years so went with the same model again , admits here they were still pretty good but had developed some rattles as we don't have a lot of good roads here in rural areas around SE Qld . I still have my spring compressors which saves a lot of grief , the worst part is releasing the bottom mount as even after unbolting the clamp its still a bit of hammering to get it out .

[Rebuild]

Getting the bottom of the shock out while still semi mounted was a hammer and drift job. They were tight.
You can see in my pic, i left the chisel in there while i fitted the shock.
I went with KYB because they do good motorcycle suspension too(Yamaha amongst others) and were well priced.Got the fronts on a BF special.

[sueb]

Nice work on tackling the shocks and struts Angular contact ball bearings replacement! It sounds like you really got into the nitty-gritty of it, especially with a van as robust as the T5. Swapping out the Monroe Gas shocks for KYB Excel-G was a solid choice, and it's no surprise the originals were done at 204K km, given the weight and usage these vans endure.