You need ot be concerned abot why the link broke. I have an early 85 and my
link wan broken when I got it. Infact the link was missing.It was a missing
link in in getting my Vanagon past inspection ,too.

Turns out ,in my case, a bad rubber bushing at the strut bar(radius rod)
allowed excess or abbey-normal motion in the suspension.The strut bar had
been worn half way through,by the frame, as a result of the bad bushing.The
frame had the strut bar hole widened from 1 inch , to two inches.The lower
ball joint was destroyed from this, too.

All in all, a disaster. Total front suspension rebuild at 154K.Or was it
154K costs for the rebuild? Same difference, it sometimes seems.

I saw a similar problem such as mine and yours , here on this list a few
months ago. Turned out to be a loose front shock. Lets hope this is causing
your problem. That owner complained of a thumping or other loud noise when
braking.

Go bounce your front suspension by standing on the bumper and see if you
can hear the problem(ha ha). Should be able to find something more specific
that way.Good luck.

                              Roger Sisler
                              Ebay Vanagon parts store
                              http://stores.ebay.com/rdsrds123
                              Contact me first before buying, for 10
                              percent discount