swaying kombi

g,day guys & girls this is my first post ,so here goes. Does anybody no how i can drive down the road in my 74 camper and not fight even the lightest of winds ,its very frustrating.I have all new gas shocks etc but it is still a pain.
any ideas would be appreciated.

Glenn

Welcome Happycamper 🙂 I get the wind battle but only in high-winds at higher speeds (drive a '76 camper). By the way how much did it cost you to have the shocks done?

Check your wheel bearings, balljoints, tie-rod ends & other steering linkages, and adjust the steering box. Also check that there is no lateral movement of the trailing arms. 🙂

Although I agree with all that Simon said about T3 Synchros, I don't believe the front diff is what makes the difference.

Crosswinds create a lateral force on the vehicle. If there is any lateral play in the suspension or play in the steering, then the front wheels will change direction slightly even though the steering wheel remains in a fixed position.

A tall vehicle like a kombi is always going to have some difficulty in strong crosswinds. This is because of the castor on the front steering. Think of a shopping trolley, if you push it sideways, it turns. The front steering on your car is the same, except that you can fight it by hanging onto the steering wheel tightly. Worn components will allow the front wheels to turn regardless of how tightly you hold the steering wheel.

i know this is an old topic but here's something that i think wasn't labored enough.

Quote comes from this web site: www.familycar.com/alignment.htm#Cas

Caster
"Positive caster improves straight line tracking because the caster line (the line drawn through the steering pivot when viewed from the side) intersects the ground ahead of the contact patch of the tire. Just like a shopping cart caster, the wheel is forced behind the pivot allowing the vehicle to track in a straight line.

If this is the case, then why did most cars have negative caster specs prior to 1975 ? There are a couple of reasons for this. In those days, people were looking for cars that steered as light as a feather, and cars back then were not equipped with radial tires. Non-radial tires had a tendency to distort at highway speed so that the contact patch moved back past the centerline of the tire (Picture a cartoon car speeding along, the tires are generally drawn as egg-shaped). The contact patch generally moves behind the caster line causing, in effect, a positive caster. This is why, when you put radial tires on this type of car, the car wanders from side to side and no longer tracks straight. To correct this condition, re-adjust the caster to positive and the car should steer like a new car."

I went and checked and my bus indeed has negative castor, and yes it's very difficult in winds.

Here’s a site explaining caster better: www.ie.net.au/ausrotary/articles/Wheel_Alignment/Alignment.htm

Caster angle is corrected with caster shims.

If you think winds adversy effect bugs (earlyer topic) and kombis you should drive a splity. Lighter and narrower than the later models, it aint much fun in high winds. I dont take the ring road if winds are going to be up.
I do agree with some other posts:
all the wt is up the back
the clearance is high
they are narrow vs width
and they are flat sided:puke

HappyCamper - you've discovered one of the great joys of owning a Kombi. My Kombi would also sway under heavy braking and I foud the solution is to yell "Yeeharr!" I have also used this technique when driving a 3&1/2 ton van into a creek at 70kph+ and hitting a missing piece of road at 110kph in a 4WD - launching it about 10 foot in the air, and found it very effective. If you have the money, there are some areas that could do with improvement in the Kombi's suspension - but you'll find it will still suffer some "wanders" in high winds, like any van.