Nipped up all the lines, lobbed some fluid in the top and gave it a squeeze. Pedal feels ****ty so more is needed, but if you press the pedal you can't move the drums and if you let off the pedal you can so that's SOME kind of win.

This has taken a LONG time to get out, the top of the strut being nicely rusted. but another round of heat, penetrant, and violence got the nut suddenly moving.


That gets us this rotten old bouncy thingy out


As soon as I get some more money I'm going to get new ones that aren't so rusty.
I THINK I'm going gas, not oil as this isn't primarily going to be a load carrying vehicle.

The important question is:

What's that rubber stuff up at the top called because although I can get shocks from loads of places I'm struggling to locate the top hat bush thingy and that should be refreshed too I feel.

Actually bad form but probably this?: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404677052614

Of course I can't get the other side out, but if time got this one moving I expect the same magic can happen on the other side.

Edited 2 October2 Oct by skoda_cat
adding ebay link

I know it's a bit of a postapalooza, sorry.
My neighbour came round, muttered under his breath, whacked the nuts with a cold chisel and a 5lb hammer and it all came undone with a temu rattle gun.

Now my axle is drooping in a sad way and my springs fell out. oops.


I'm staring forlornly at my bank balance wondering how I'm going to get some new shocks and top mount doobies before next month. lol. Projects, what a waste of money. I'm so happy :P

Actually whilst the axle is hanging, I can try and clean up some of the top and give it a squirt of hammerite. Sadly the rest of today is rain.

Got some hose retaining clip things:


so they shouldn't fall out.

Started some wire wheeling and pulled off that 'no jacking' label to find out what the original paint was like.

Some reasonable performance weight savings have occurred.


Wire wheeled it all back as best I could and gave it a bit of a wash and wipe down.


and started colouring it in.

The rubber "thingy" at the top of your strut is the bump stop.

56 minutes ago, HeavyMetalRich said:

The rubber "thingy" at the top of your strut is the bump stop.

Yeh, that’s a combined bump stop/ dust cover thing, but I was really referring to the not-in-shot double wedge rubber guys that clamp the damper to the body and give the swivel compliance.

I also need new boots to go on top but fear I’ll need to mould my own from silicone or something.

Sills ordered.

Got the rest of the axle painted roughly in hammerite black.

It still needs more time to set up, but in the meantime I squitted this out of my tiny cricut as a stencil for the yellow paint I got.


It's sticky backed stuff, so i should be able to slap it on the axle, mash around it and go to town for a few coats of yellow.
Hopefully that will produce sharp enough text to be readable after 50,000 miles. After it's coloured in, I'll shove some top clear coat over it to try and protect it a bit.

Sills arrived and look like they'll fit well and maybe even have enough length to bend over into the returns on the rear end. I offered one up and i see how it has a lip at the top edge that goes in towards the center of the truck...

Does anyone on here know how that bit of metal is on there from the factory? Should I be looking for spot welds along that top seam, or like... where do I cut?! I think I'm out of my depth here :D

Free the bottom edge of the sill, tec screw the new one over the top and cut through both layers? Scab the top edge back together with weld and then tack the bottom back in? I don't have a spot welder or access to one :/

When I fitted a used sill to my Transporter van I offered it up over the top of the old sill and spent a long time making sure it fitted as well as I could make it. I temporally clamped it place and drew round it before cutting. I butt welded the new sill in place. I was glad that I had been forced to use the used VW panel (no repair panel was available then) because it was 3mm thick whereas some repair panels are only 1.5mm or so. The different thicknesses make the welding harder and thin metal is always more difficult for us diy welders because it is so easy to blow it into holes.

When I got the old sill off I was pleased to see the inner sill in great condition so I didn't have to repair that also. If you haven't done a lot of welding my top tips are:

Use a welder which has shielding gas and don't weld if it's breezy.

Prep is vital. Make sure everything is lined up perfectly cleaned up to bare metal (poly wheels on a grinder are good for this) and well clamped in place. Tack it first and then weld a few inches at a time to avoid distortion. Tap home and/or re-clamp before each new weld. Use both hands on the torch whenever possible for steadiness.

Don't weld anywhere near the fuel tank. Be prepared to drain and take it out. Have water, wet cloths and a good fire extinguisher close by. Use a self darkening mask. If possible have mate/spotter because it is certain that at some point (probably many) you will set fire to nearby underseal which can be put out with a wet cloth. Have your spotter also watching the inside of the car and be prepared to take seats out and peel back carpets if necessary. Sparks will inevitably burn holes in your clothes, sometimes not stopping there! Good luck.

The Mig Welding forum is full of great tutorials about all types of welding plus choosing welding equipment.

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by Rheumy

Yeh, thanks. Having welded 'the rest' of this truck I'm fine about the actual welding; it's more that I don't know how the panels on this specific unit are layered up and so exactly where to cut eludes me.