had the rear shocks replaced problem is still present shop nowlooking at front sway bar bushings are bad could this cause my problem

 

This might be a dumb question because I am not familiar with that model, but do you have leaf springs?

Welcome to the forum by the way!

 

Some do, some don't Mike..

I would examine the upper shock mounts in the rear-end for a crack before I would proceed to looking at the front sway bar.

 

Thanks, I suspected they didnt. I just fixed my leaf spring clap the other day, thats what made me think that.

 

this may sound simplistic but... where the parking brake cable crosses over the rear "axle" there should be a sponge rubber donut to keep the cable and heavy iron equlizer brackets from banging on the sheet metal "axle"

Joe B

 

Good thought Joe:
I had to re-arch the bracket that holds the cable so it didn't "clunk" on my '07 Uplander. I also moved the rear hatch rubber bumpstops out a bit because the tailgate would rattle when I hit a bump too.

 

any updates on this?

 

I dont think you can make the suspension quiet on the uplander . Our 09 has been noisy since new and I think it is the desing. The stiff suspension cannot absord the rough expansion cracks on the roads fast enough and even if you try to keep it quiet you will not succeed. I spoke to severals uplander owners and they all doing it. So we have to live with it? In winter it is even more noisy.

 

This thread was one of a few that popped up and caught my eye while i replace some suspension parts and track down new suspension noises. here are a few culprits and tips from my experiences:
i had the hammering noise show up rapidly a few days after replacing rear springs, spring seats and the rear panhard rod (stabilizer bar). I did the shocks too a few weeks prior. long story short, most of the hammering was attributed to the rear bearing/hub. it did not split in two and let in a bunch of dirt and debris and make squealing noises like the front ones... instead it developed play from the van rocking back and forth on turns. the play sounds like LOUD hammering when moving the steering wheel and it is difficult to pinpoint where it is coming from in terms of front/rear of the van... some of the noise WILL come from the front sway bar end links if you let it go on long enough. the excess sway in the rear wore out my new front sway bar links in about 8 mos. while chasing the sounds i discovered a few other tips:
when checking front sway bar bushings, shine a light thru from the opposite side too IE check your left bushing from the right wheel well and vice versa. i recommend replacing front swaybar end links and bushing all at once. on this vehicle they seemed to all contribute to wearing each other out. you will likely need to re-tap the holes for the bushings.

also the rear exhaust shield was missing some hardware...i believe they were rivets... the rear exhaust shield was bouncing up and down and making racket... i temporarily fastened mine and the sounds stopped. ALSO on the right rear the wire bundle that goes to the hub/bearing can smack against the heat shield and cause more noise too. just get creative with zip ties to remedy that.

and my final tip: DO NOT RE-USE FASTENERS ON THIS VEHICLE
ive done it on other vehicles, no real problem, been lucky, whatever.
DONT DO IT HERE. every one of these i have ever seen at junkyards is extremely RUSTY underneath.
I re-used bolts on my shocks and one split in half and i dragged a shock about 20 ft into a parking lot... it looked fine when i replaced the shocks like 2 weeks prior...

the only fasteners you may want to re-use are the nuts for the panhard rod.
the left side nut has some contraption welded to it... i am not 100% sure what it does, but i believe it is merely to aid in re-installation. i was able to reinstall a bare/regular new nut without issue using an impact....
the right side's OEM nut is significantly heavier and bulkier than the nut you will get from the hardware store. you may want to call your dealer for this nut in advance. i believe i was quoted $8 and a two week wait. i used a smaller hardware store nut. notably the hardware store nut is the same size as the oem nut on the left side, just minus the extra welded-on contraption.

lastly, remember you need these metric bolts to be graded 10.9, which is (approximately) grade 8 equivalent in SAE.
you do NOT want grade 8.8 as that is equivalent to about a grade 5 in SAE. the people at the hardware stores often do not know this and will not hesitate to sell you 8.8's as 'grade 8'

call your dealers parts dept to get fastener specs. parts stores and homedepot are good for small stuff. ace is the place for big stuff (panhard rod)... also if your dealer just closed for the night just call one in california LoL. or if youre on the west coast and they are not open yet call east coast to get your info sooner. ha
thats it for my not so pro tips...

 

OK. I'll leave my .002 on this thread. The rear parking brake cable metal "pronged" connector is hitting the bottom of the exhaust pipe due to bad shocks (in my case the bad shocks linked to the auto-level system). After a period of time when the shocks or system is not repaired the parking brake cable connector will create a hole in the pipe from repeated contact I have a wheelchair van conversion, so your results may vary.