You can change the style the forum displays by selecting your preferred style at the bottom left of the site.
We have made an enhancement so that old threads should now link from search results to the correct thread. This is not yet in place for single post links
When I removed Koni shocks from one of my cars and that plastic sleeve had been fitted on top.
This is where a found the instruction on the plastic sleeve and it show around the base of the shock. but as the instructions are useless I could be wrong Screenshot 2021-11-18 093131.jpg
This is why I hate aftermarket parts, they can be a complete pain in the backside to fit.
Sorry - should have been more clear. On top of the shock housing - just like that. The anti-freeze is to prevent overheating of the shock and is important.
The idea of the anti freeze in the strut tube is (I think) to stop the shock body seizing in place and being a pig to remove, I've never bother with doing that on any of the the car's I've worked on, instead I give the outside of the shock body a coat of WD40 and squirt a bit into the shock housing. That's always worked fine for me, and to be honest I've also put them together totally dry as well when working in a hurry.
The plastic ring is (again I think) to act as a dirt scrapper to protect the seal in the top of the shock, never bothered with those when I fitted my Koni's as they didn't look like they'd help at all, in fact I thought they'd simply act to trap crap underneath them.
The Koni's I fitted to my old S2 were the previous top adjustable type (make's much more sense) and I got them second hand so no instructions to confuses me even further, they didn't come with that sleeve, though they did come with the (IMO) pointless plastic disc's.
I fitted mine with a washer on top (the same one I removed from the old shocks) and as I say no sleeve. My car was a 3B as opposed to ABY, though why that should make a difference as to whether there should be a washer in that location or not truly baffles me.
My RS2 had washers in that location when I rebuilt it's front suspension, so go figure!!!
I've got to pack up some eBay stuff now and head out to the post office, so will be busy for a bit but I'll be back online this afternoon, you seem to be pretty competent mechanically so I'd go with whatever feels right to you if you want to fire everything back together now. Yes, aftermarket parts/instructions can be a PITA!!!
Replacing all four of mine recently, I was surprised to find that the two front shocks had no washer, and the two rear did -I had checked the EPC and saw the listed washer, but eventually came to the same conclusion -not used on 7A or S2.
I'm never going to track the car so I don't see why they would over heat, and on the Bilstein threads they talk about drilling holes in the bottom of the strut to allow any trapped water out, so it all somewhat confusing, why would the Koni overheat and the Bilstein not unless it's down to when you set the stiffness of the shock absorber.
When I dismantled the shock, I don't remember seeing any washers and I don't have any spare ones around. So I'm 90% sure the ABY models don't have one! I think.
Well If I have to remove them and add a washer at some point it would be easy enough now that all the bolts are not rusted solid. What I don't want to do is rush the job & make and **** of it, as it just ends up costing me time & money.
I've got the high build primer to rub down this morning so I have plenty time to think things over.
Sorry - should have been more clear. On top of the shock housing - just like that. The anti-freeze is to prevent overheating of the shock and is important.
That's interesting, good to know the actual thinking behind reason for it.
I'm never going to track the car so I don't see why they would over heat, and on the Bilstein threads they talk about drilling holes in the bottom of the strut to allow any trapped water out, so it all somewhat confusing, why would the Koni overheat and the Bilstein not unless it's down to when you set the stiffness of the shock absorber.
When I dismantled the shock, I don't remember seeing any washers and I don't have any spare ones around. So I'm 90% sure the ABY models don't have one! I think.
Well If I have to remove them and add a washer at some point it would be easy enough now that all the bolts are not rusted solid. What I don't want to do is rush the job & make and **** of it, as it just ends up costing me time & money.
I've got the high build primer to rub down this morning so I have plenty time to think things over.
It's not just Koni. OEM were the same - factory manual advises a small addition of antifreeze. Bilsteins are a different design internally so need the hole drilled. Regarding the washers. ABY S2s didn't get them
The anti freeze in shock tube trick was around in the days of ford dealer team escort mk2 rally cars. I guess thats extreme service but the theory is the same - aid cooling by improving heat transfer from shock to body to atmosphere.
The holes in strut tube for bilstein cars is to let water out. The internal bump stop design of the bilstein shocks means that, if enough water gets in and stays in; the area of shock body which has the bump stop in it becomes hydraulically locked and solid. Your piston and bump stop no longer move and your ride becomes a bit rough at that point!
Now I've thought about it the physics behind antifreeze in the shock housing does make complete sense, as there's no air surrounding the insert the transfer of any heat to the housing will be more efficient. Though any fluid should do the same job, I guess they recommend AF as it's non flammable, won't freeze and isn't corrosive. I've encountered gear oil being used for this purpose a couple of times and as I've said used WD40 myself, though now I've thought about it not sure that's such a good idea, it gets very flammable when hot...
Indeed, I'm going to use antifreeze from now on as directed, you learn something everyday. Though I'm not going to loose any sleep over using WD40 in the past, it's pretty well sealed in once the cap is torqued up and non of my or any of the cars I've used it on have ever caught fire or exploded, though I guess it's theoretically possible. Having had to use massive home made slide hammers (combined with swearing a lot) a couple of times to get seized in place inserts out I just (wrongly) assumed it was prevent that happening.
Koni settings
Assuming they’re the ones you have to set before you put them on the car, and you adjust by pushing the rod all the way downwind turning it.. ( very annoying, it used to be possible to buy “top adjustable“ versions)
On the S2 this works quite well.
Front - 1 turn clockwise from full soft
Rear - half a turn clockwise from full soft
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Comment