[scottloco]

Hi all! I have a 2005 T&C Limited (180k miles). Recently, it has become very bouncy when driving. I briefly looked at the rear shocks and noticed they appear to be the Nivomats (very large diameter). I don't see any fluid leaking. As many of you know, these jokers are PRICEY to replace. Do I have any other options? I have heard of conversion kits, but I can't find anything for this year T&C. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[marvinstockman]

If you put a couple of good sized adults in the hatch area, will the van level after driving off?

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

Hi all! I have a 2005 T&C Limited (180k miles). Recently, it has become very bouncy when driving. I briefly looked at the rear shocks and noticed they appear to be the Nivomats (very large diameter). I don't see any fluid leaking. As many of you know, these jokers are PRICEY to replace. Do I have any other options? I have heard of conversion kits, but I can't find anything for this year T&C. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

See the details here. This is 1/2 the price of NEW Nivomats and offer a great ride.

I went thru 4 different shock pairs that were heavy duty and top brands. Nothing lasted for even 1 year. Once the Monroe coil-over-shocks were installed, the ride felt like the Nivomats. It's nearly 1 year and the ride is still amazing like the day they were installed.

Monroe 58620 Coil Over Shock for Rear Suspension Upgrade

This provides an amazing ride. Like a dream as others have said. Used Nivomats are no longer found in my area, and forget about buying new Nivomats for a 16 year old van. What are your options then? Monroe 58620 Coil Over Shock Just finished installing them today. I have the old Gabriel...

www.chryslerminivan.net

 

[FabricGATOR]

I have a 2002 with 131,131 miles (easy to remember, I took a picture : )
I was experiencing bouncy bounce and hard "thud" bottoming over the slightest of road imperfections.

I was not going to 'redesign the wheels' BUT I did find Monroe 40201 licensed NIVOMAT shocks 'Load Leveling Suspension System' components on Amazon for about half the price, the next time I checked to write a post about them here, the price had jumped up double within a few weeks. I installed them and I am self leveling again

NOW, esteemed member LongVoyager made a post about being able to get the SACHS oem Nivomats from Rock Auto for about the same price I paid Amazon before the price hike a few months ago.

I enquired with Monroe whether my 40201 shocks had the five year or the lifetime warranty that Monroe advertises and they replied that NO, that neither warranty was applicable. The only warranty they honor is fresh out of the box upon visual inspection, they will replace as needed. WTF???

I DO NOT recommend Monroe 40201 for this reason any more.

Unless you are going to redesign the suspension by substitution, I'd check out RockAuto,com
AND search ToyotaNation for the current Rock Auto discount code, that is where I usually find it posted.

 

[scottloco]

See the details here. This is 1/2 the price of NEW Nivomats and offer a great ride.

I went thru 4 different shock pairs that were heavy duty and top brands. Nothing lasted for even 1 year. Once the Monroe coil-over-shocks were installed, the ride felt like the Nivomats. It's nearly 1 year and the ride is still amazing like the day they were installed.

Monroe 58620 Coil Over Shock for Rear Suspension Upgrade

This provides an amazing ride. Like a dream as others have said. Used Nivomats are no longer found in my area, and forget about buying new Nivomats for a 16 year old van. What are your options then? Monroe 58620 Coil Over Shock Just finished installing them today. I have the old Gabriel...

www.chryslerminivan.net

Thanks for this reply. I did look at those but the fitment note specifically said "not for Nivomat" or something to that effect. I wasn't sure if it was because of a safety issue or what.

 

[scottloco]

I have a 2002 with 131,131 miles (easy to remember, I took a picture : )
I was experiencing bouncy bounce and hard "thud" bottoming over the slightest of road imperfections.

I was not going to 'redesign the wheels' BUT I did find Monroe 40201 licensed NIVOMAT shocks 'Load Leveling Suspension System' components on Amazon for about half the price, the next time I checked to write a post about them here, the price had jumped up double within a few weeks. I installed them and I am self leveling again

NOW, esteemed member LongVoyager made a post about being able to get the SACHS oem Nivomats from Rock Auto for about the same price I paid Amazon before the price hike a few months ago.

I enquired with Monroe whether my 40201 shocks had the five year or the lifetime warranty that Monroe advertises and they replied that NO, that neither warranty was applicable. The only warranty they honor is fresh out of the box upon visual inspection, they will replace as needed. WTF???

I DO NOT recommend Monroe 40201 for this reason any more.

Unless you are going to redesign the suspension by substitution, I'd check out RockAuto,com
AND search ToyotaNation for the current Rock Auto discount code, that is where I usually find it posted.

I also saw the Sachs shocks on rockauto.com for $242 each. That is a bit more than I want to spend for a 2005 vehicle with 180k miles on it though.

 

[scottloco]

If you put a couple of good sized adults in the hatch area, will the van level after driving off?

That is a good question and one that I can't answer. I can tell you that the van even bounces when hauling my 4x8 utility trailer. I don't know if the van is unlevel, but it bounces like crazy over every little bump in the road.

 

[FabricGATOR]

Thanks for this reply. I did look at those but the fitment note specifically said "not for Nivomat" or something to that effect. I wasn't sure if it was because of a safety issue or what.

Well, unfortunately, that is where you are at.
Myself I chose the $550 option and replaced with factory spec where Mopar-MoFun did the research, tried four different combinations, and found this modification that he feels is as good if not better... and likely less expensive.

Because of the Nivomat load adjusting characteristics, the rear leaf spring ( that usually carries the weight ) is specified weaker so that when the vehicle hits road bumps and swells that the Nivomats pump up and level the load.

Adding Nivomats to a standard suspension doesn't work as designed.
Using (most) conventional shock absorbers on a Nivomat designed suspension (probably) won't work well [unless you have someone who experimented around with different configurations and found some exotic combination that works]

 

[FabricGATOR]

That is a good question and one that I can't answer. I can tell you that the van even bounces when hauling my 4x8 utility trailer. I don't know if the van is unlevel, but it bounces like crazy over every little bump in the road.

You could go to Home Depot and buy / have them load 450 pounds of sand in the back (two standard Americans) in the back of your van and then drive around on the highway for 10 minutes, and likely less.. Then go back to Home Despot and return the sand / have them unload it.

If after the drive around, if the van is still sagging arse, the [ jack up ] self leveling feature of the Nivomats are worn out.

I think the bouncing is that the [ shock absorbing ] feature of the Nivomats are worn out

 

[scottloco]

Well, unfortunately, that is where you are at.
Myself I chose the $550 option and replaced with factory spec where Mopar-MoFun did the research, tried four different combinations, and found this modification that he feels is as good if not better... and likely less expensive.

Because of the Nivomat load adjusting characteristics, the rear leaf spring ( that usually carries the weight ) is specified weaker so that when the vehicle hits road bumps and swells that the Nivomats pump up and level the load.

Adding Nivomats to a standard suspension doesn't work as designed.
Using (most) conventional shock absorbers on a Nivomat designed suspension (probably) won't work well [unless you have someone who experimented around with different configurations and found some exotic combination that works]

My only question is whether or not Mopar-MoFun started with Nivomat shocks before trying the different combinations. The model that Mopar-MoFun recommended specifically says it is not for T&C with Nivomat, so I would be concerned about a safety issue.

 

[marvinstockman]

Have someone follow you on a bumpy road, and make sure the wheels remain on ground. Also, are your rear spings bad? One way to check is to measure ride height when standing still. If your height is low, your springs may be bad.

 

[marvinstockman]

From Dr. Google:

What is the ground clearance of a Chrysler Town and Country van?


5.6 "

 

[scottloco]

From Dr. Google:

What is the ground clearance of a Chrysler Town and Country van?


5.6 "

Is that universal to all model years and trim packages?

 

[Road Ripper]

Yeah, the rear height of the vans does vary. Stow N go vans sit higher in the rear, which may be part of the reason why people say they handle worse than the earlier vans.

You don't need to have the weaker rear leaf springs to have nivomats. My 2004 AWD has the multi-leaf packs, and still has nivomats. The rear is pretty solid, especially since I added half-leaf helper springs. My 2000 T&C was front wheel drive with the monoleafs, and also has nivomats. I had previously added those half-leaf helper springs to that, which helped the rear sag and stiffened it up. Towing a loaded trailer, yeah the rear will bounce a little but it's to be expected. Goes right back to normal after unhooking the trailer. This is both on vans with over 200,000 miles on the original rear suspension.

The non-fitment remarks the vendors use are partly because the nivomats use longer mounting bolts than standard shocks. To convert from standard to nivomat, you have to have the longer bolts. Also, check the rubber bushings in the shock eye mounts of the nivomats. I've read of 2 cases on here where people had to replace them because they were knocking or loose/bouncy.

I had a parts van that I drove home that was very rusty and was AWD with nivomats. It DID bounce, but that was because the rusted away muffler was throwing hot exhaust on the one nivomat until the plastic dust shield melted away and the seal gave out, making it leak. Keeping good exhaust on these vans is very helpful to long life of the vehicle and parts.

 

[marvinstockman]

Scott, from dr. Google:

Chrysler Town and Country Ground Clearance (2002 - 2016)

Take on any challenge with a Chrysler Town and Country equipped with maximum ground clearance. Click to see which trim levels and model years offer the most clearance.

www.autopadre.com

 

[Mopar-Mofun]

Yeah, the rear height of the vans does vary. Stow N go vans sit higher in the rear, which may be part of the reason why people say they handle worse than the earlier vans.

I would agree with your statement for OE stock setup.

Those like myself, with the Dayton Add-A-Leaf kit and the Monroe Coli-Over-Shocks now have an impress handling and control of the van. I've owned generation 1, 2 and now 4. gen 2 had that Ford minivan boxy feeling and was awful for handling because of it. I skipped past gen 3 and the gen 2 van lasted a long time. Just didn't trust it in high winds on the interstate and around tight corners.

 

[FabricGATOR]

I would agree with your statement for OE stock setup.

Those like myself, with the Dayton Add-A-Leaf kit and the Monroe Coli-Over-Shocks now have an impress handling and control of the van. I've owned generation 1, 2 and now 4. gen 2 had that Ford minivan boxy feeling and was awful for handling because of it. I skipped past gen 3 and the gen 2 van lasted a long time. Just didn't trust it in high winds on the interstate and around tight corners.

OP asked if MopaMofun had originally had nivomat designed suspension and then replaced them with your recommended monroe and added leaf helper

 

[FabricGATOR]

Scott, from dr. Google:

Chrysler Town and Country Ground Clearance (2002 - 2016)

Take on any challenge with a Chrysler Town and Country equipped with maximum ground clearance. Click to see which trim levels and model years offer the most clearance.

www.autopadre.com

Now when I worked at Sears Automotive we were sent to training on MOOG suspension equipment and they provided us with a hand book that showed not only what the measurement was BUT also included where that measurement was measured

IE. behind rear wheel at the flat spot next to or below this xx feature (in the form of a picture) they had to make it simple for us service advisors and simple to show (prove) this to the consumer.

Somewhere I still have a MOOD tape measure from 1987 too...

 

[jmasters]

I happened to score a set of Nivomats at the junk yard for $25/each. Still need to install them though..

 

[scottloco]

I would agree with your statement for OE stock setup.

Those like myself, with the Dayton Add-A-Leaf kit and the Monroe Coli-Over-Shocks now have an impress handling and control of the van. I've owned generation 1, 2 and now 4. gen 2 had that Ford minivan boxy feeling and was awful for handling because of it. I skipped past gen 3 and the gen 2 van lasted a long time. Just didn't trust it in high winds on the interstate and around tight corners.

Did you originally have Nivomats before you switched to the coil overs? Can you give me more detail on what I would need to do please?