this has been covered in the archives time and time again.

the '87 up vanagons have different armrests than the '86 down.  if you
have a '87 up vanagon with the adjustable armrests, you will need to  drive the
pin out before you can access the allen bolts.  squeeze the  armrest with
your fingers and you can see the set pin that holds it to the  shaft.   you
will need a long metal blunt punch (i use a long big fat  nail with point
ground off flat)  and you need a old credit card to put  between the pin and
the armrest when you drive the pin out, otherwise the pin  could rip a hole in
the vinyl on its way out of the hole...  tap it with a  hammer and the pin
will come out.  then you can tighten the loose allen  head bolts.
reinserting the pin and trying to line it up with the  hole in the shaft is a major
PITA i usually use a long skinny nail inserted  inside the pin to guide the
pin thru the hole in the shaft.

this is a job that usually results in much swearing so make sure your kids
are not around :)

In a message dated 3/4/2017 2:15:33 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
ddbjorkman@VERIZON.NET writes:

Hey Dean;

Not at all.  Just getting an inch or two movement  up and down.  I think
it's just the allens that need tightening up/