I live in San Diego...very dry here. All there was was a little dust and dirt.

The top nuts on the front I actually got loose by hand. It was only single nutted. I probably should have double nutted the new ones but I didn't see the benefit of doing it. I'll keep an eye on it.

I went with Monroe Gas Magnums for $43.99 at O'Reilly's.

I bought the Van a year ago and had suffered all this time with the bouncing and lack of control. I should have done this sooner but didn't think I had it in me. What a joy now though...the ride and the satisfaction.

 

I'm also in San Diego too, but my Van has seen a few NE winters, and been driven on the beach in Baja Florida and Oregon, so I just hit every bolt/thread with PBblaster and a wirebrush before attempting removal.

Amazing how much of a difference shocks make, even between brands. I installed a set of sensa tracs and returned them the next day

 

All the time I had the van I thought the worst case was possible. I mean, I had thought it was leaf springs or coil springs or sway bars and ball joints or something complicated. Amazing it was only the shocks.

Glad I found this forum. Thanks for the help.

When I get around to it I'll ask about exhaust fumes in the vehicle but that will be in a different thread.

 

[quote= I installed a set of sensa tracs and returned them the next day[/quote]

I have these on my van now. And I think my front end bounces to much over dips. On the rear, I have the coil over. The rear feels fine. What would you recommend me getting for the front?

 

Many years ago, Back before I really knew how to work on my van, I had a shop install some KYB Gas a Justs. Turns out they installed too long a shock, and after 4 years of the shock bottoming out before the suspension hit the bump stop it finally sheared off the H bracket on the bottom, late at night, In Tijuana while searching for the other border crossing.

The next day, just over the border I bought the Sensa tracs and installed them, noticing that they were shorter than the KYB's I took out.

I instantly hated the bouncy, removed from the road feeling, on the drive north. I found my receipt and the original garage installed the correct size KYB Gas A Justs free of charge. Kragen took the Sensa tracs back.

The correct sized KYB's rode even nicer than the earlier too long models, and shortly after I got some for the rear too. They really tamed down the bouncy feeling my air bag helpers induced.

Bilstein shocks have a good reputation for maximum dampening and longevity