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Old 03-14-2020, 01:21 AM   #1
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Know a good 4x4 shop?

I have a 2005 e250 Pleasureway that was converted to 4x4 prior to my purchasing it. I don't know who did the conversion and my knowledge of 4x4 mechanics doesn't extend much past driving one. So I would like to find someone in SoCal that could evaluate the setup and maybe let me know what improvements could be made. I pretty sure I need new shocks. I contacted Agile offroad but they said they couldn't "effectively" work on my vehicle which confused me as I thought I had seen other posts here that said they had work done there on similar vehicles. They suggested another offroad shop might make a custom spring pack.
If anybody has a shop or mechanic they could recommend I would really appreciate it.

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Old 03-14-2020, 04:11 AM   #2
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That’s strange that Agile turned it down. Is it a PW Traverse pop-top van or one of the PW full campervans? If the larger van they probably aren’t set up to deal with the larger van size beyond a standard van size. If it’s a Traverse, then yes, they definitely have done those before. The late owner even had one (or more) personally.
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Old 03-14-2020, 04:59 AM   #3
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If you are in SoCal, you might try Jeremy at Weldtec Designs: https://weldtecdesigns.com/
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Old 03-14-2020, 08:08 AM   #4
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Some leaf-spring conversions were done so poorly, there's nothing you can really do to make them better, aside from yanking out the front axle and doing it over. Ditto a bad coil-spring conversion like some TJ specials.

Any idea if it was done by a shop? Or do you think it was a backyard conversion?
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Old 03-14-2020, 09:37 AM   #5
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SoCal is a large place, so how about at least posting what county you are in?





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Old 03-14-2020, 10:07 AM   #6
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So Bay shop

Very knowledgeable shop

https://www.yelp.com/biz/south-bay-t...ve-hawthorne-2
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Old 03-14-2020, 10:15 AM   #7
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It's a Pleasureway poptop. Don't know if it's a Traverse. It on an e250 rb with the 5.4l v8. It has coil springs front and leafs on the rear. The real problem I have is with the front wheels bouncing uncontrollably if I hit a bump just right. Doesn't happen often but enough to know I want it fixed. I think the bigger tire/wheel combo the previous owner put on are to much for the shocks. So I don't really think it's the leaf springs that Agile suggested I upgrade but it could be. That's why I want someone with more knowledge to check it out. And I know Socal is a big place but not so big I can't drive there. I'm in Ventura county btw.
As for who did the conversion I was told it was a shop in Mexico that built 4x4s for Baja.
Thanks for the Weldtec suggestion. I'll check them out.
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Old 03-14-2020, 10:40 AM   #8
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Take some detailed photos of the front suspension and steering and we can probably tell you what you've got and what your options might be.
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Old 03-14-2020, 12:06 PM   #9
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Pics of suspension

Not sure if I did this correctly but here are some pics of my suspension.
Attached Thumbnails
frtsuspension1.jpg   frtsuspension2.jpg   frtsuspensionleft.jpg   Frtsuspensionunderneathjpg.jpg   rarsuspensionleft.jpg  

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Old 03-14-2020, 04:17 PM   #10
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Looks like a newer Javier aka Crows to me... but I'm not an expert. Someone else should be able to weigh in and confirm.

Which isn't great for you, but not terrible. I would definitely have a reputable shop inspect it, and look for weld quality, control arm alignment, brake line droop length, and anything else they see. Check drag link and track bar - they should be parallel. Also check gears.. he's been known to put front axles with mismatched gear ratios.
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