Try tightening the upper and lower shock bolts,to the point of being
"Extra"  tight. My85 had this problem when I did upper contriol arm bushing
and new shocks. My mechanic friend told me it was most likely the culprit
and he was right.

Stacy
On Jan 28, 2008 10:54 AM, Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@comcast.net> wrote:

> I would take the van to a front end specialties shop and get this
> checked out along with a front end alignment.  You just did all of that
> work and having the front end properly aligned afterward is just part of
> it.  Shouldn't cost more than $80 and if the shop is good they will also
> find your noise while they are at it.
>
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>
> Allan Streib wrote:
> > First significant drive today after replacing my steering rack, strut
> > rod bushings, and upper ball joints.
> >
> > On the initial test runs around the neighborhood, there was a lot of
> > noise in the front suspension, right under my feet, which seemed to
> > settle down after a few turns and stops.  I assumed that it was just
> > the strut rods "finding their place" with the new bushings.
> >
> > Today, while everything was quiet for the most part, whenever I would
> > go over a sudden bump (e.g. parking lot speed bump) I could still
> > hear and feel that creak, almost a twanging sound like a spring
> > stretching.  Can the springs be that noisy?
> >
> > Allan
> > --
> > 1991 Vanagon GL
> >
>