Squeaking driving me insane

[F41XTH]

So every time I drive the van the squeaking sound coming from under the floor between the seats is driving me insane. It's only when the suspension moves, ie a speed bump or uneven road.

I've gotten underneath and bounced the van up and down and think I've located the source to this area.

image

I've hit it with WD40 to see if that would work but no it hasnt. Do I need to replace something? A bush? It's making the noise on both sides of the arm and both sides of the van too

[cobblers]

Front upper wishbone bushes. Very common cause of a very irritating squeak.
Ordinarily I would suggest giving them a good dose of silicone lubricant to shut them up for a year, but yours are visibly in very poor condition so I would definitely just replace them.
No rush - it's just annoying, there's no risk of any catastrophic failure.

Good news is they are quite cheap and it's a relatively straightforward job to change them, however you will need someone with a welder to tack the bush in place.

[F41XTH]

Thanks for your message, just looked up that part and just kampers sell them for pocket money.

Just Kampers link.

The exploded diagram image makes it look very straightforward. Is this something I can do on my driveway with just a socket and wrench? Also why does it need to be tacked in place?

[shepster]

VW T3 / T25 / Vanagon - Upper Control Arm Wishbone Bushing Replacement

The above video explains all, I did mine recently with basic tools.

The most difficult bit was getting the old ones out but I'm sure they all vary.

 

[cobblers]

The bushes are a press fit into the upper wishbone, but because of various tolerances, they're not always particularly tight. Unless you tack weld them in, they could move in the housing and over time it'll cause problems. It's luck of the draw - some people end up with a combo that's a tight press fit and don't need welding, others end up with a very loose fit.

Instructions to do the job are in Haynes and Bentley manual. With the usual "you are one rusty bolt away from misery" caveats, it's a straightforward job to remove + replace the upper wishbone.

You'll need hammers and an angle grinder to get the old bushes out, or maybe even a hydraulic press.

The camber adjustment will be affected when removing the wishbone, so you'll need to get the wheel alignment adjusted after.

Whenever I've done this job I've just bought a spare pair of upper wishbones, fitted new bushes to them and slapped them straight on the van, then sold my old wishbones on to the next guy. They're about £80 a pair new, used ones sell for about £30-40.

[F41XTH]

VW T3 / T25 / Vanagon - Upper Control Arm Wishbone Bushing Replacement

The above video explains all, I did mine recently with basic tools.

The most difficult bit was getting the old ones out but I'm sure they all vary.

 

I literally just watched that video before returning to the forum

[F41XTH]

Whenever I've done this job I've just bought a spare pair of upper wishbones, fitted new bushes to them and slapped them straight on the van, then sold my old wishbones on to the next guy. They're about £80 a pair new, used ones sell for about £30-40.

This is exactly what I was thinking while watching the video. Get spare parts and get it sorted beforehand for a straight swap out when I'm ready to do the job.