Just like a free lunch, we're all looking for shocks at some point in 
our ownership.  Since i've publicly condemmed KYB's based upon my 
limited experiences 15 years ago, those are not an option for me.  
well, they ARE but i would never tell any of y'all i bought them.  :)

in the Gabriel catalog the correct application for a vanagon (i don't 
remember the year range it covered, but it is at least for an '87):

Front	89867
Rear	89864

neither of these is routinely carried, so... the hunt begins for a 
replacement.  

	extended length	collapsed length	stroke	up mtg	low mtg
Front
89867	14.50			10.12		4.38		--		--

Rear
89864	21.23			12.87		8.36		ES18		ES18

Dennis H. said look at Astro shocks, so....

the specs on these:
Front
G60076	14.43			9.40		5.03		S29		BP7

Rear
G60077	22.79			14.01		8.78		ES18		ES18

the G60076&7 are routinely carried and are a gas light truck/van/RV 
shock.

now the nitty gritty...
upper and lower mounting on the stock front vanagon shock is not 
specified, no data supplied.  the rears match well with an 'ES18' 
mounting configuration.  i looked at the mounting on the G60076 and 
it is the threaded rod on one end and the eared tabs on the other.  i 
believe that is correct for a vanagon but i haven't looked for a 
long time.

anyone want to stake their electronic reputation on whether these 
specs are close enough to count?  the collapsed length on the rears 
is really what bothers me.  the G60077 has about an inch more length 
than the stock shock spec.   will this be a problem with suspension travel?

any words appreciated.

-dan