[T3] Front shocks

[Jim Adney]

On 14 Aug 2021 at 10:02, Keith Park wrote:

> Did the parts book list a T3 specific shock or just  a 111 shock?

The parts book shows only 311 parts, 3 kinds: std, HD (M 103), and 
adjustable. None of these show the brand. I'm sure I've only ever come 
across the std. There are different part numbers for '61-late 67 and late 
'67-'73. Note that this is not a swing axle vs. IRS difference. I don't know 
what else might have changed in late '67 to make this distinction. VW may 
have just decided to change the damping factor at that point.

The situation is similar for rear shocks, except that the changeover is at the 
swing/IRS boundary.

All the OE VW shocks I've ever seen were either Boge or Sachs. For some 
reason I always felt that the Sachs were the better, but I've got no good 
reason for believing that. I may have some new, front, aftermarket, Boge in 
stock here.

In my opinion, lots of shocks get replaced for bad reasons. If you remove the 
shock and push it in and out by hand, you can easily tell when a shock has 
gone bad. Good ones will offer resistance along their full travel in both 
directions. In spite of what you may have heard, shocks do not get "weak". 
They are either good or bad. There's no in-between. If yours are making 
noise, one of them has probably lost some, or all, of its fluid, which will be 
evident when you find that it offers no resistance over part, or all, of its 
travel.

My Type 3s all still have OE shocks. Several have been replaced with 
shocks that I saved out of cars that I parted out. They don't last forever, but 
they are quite durable.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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