shock question

Mr. Deuce · 06-15-2007, 10:38 AM

Whats up guys.... i have a dumb question but its bothering me tons.. so here i go..

i just bought koni yellow all round; for the front and the back. After a lot of trouble with UPS i finally got the damn package... but to my surprise all 4 look exactly the same! the bottom end of all four have no loop or brace they are "flat" like the ones in the left of this picture: http://www.pdm-racing.com/products/imag/koni7_web.jpg.

did i get 2 pairs of front shocks or am i just freaking out for no reason??
is one pair supposed to be slightly different from the other??
any help or comments are appreciated.

Thx.

Mr. Deuce

mr2willwin · 06-15-2007, 10:41 AM

My KYB, all had a flat bottom, no loops, they are cartridges only right? they should fit flat instide the strut housing.

Some step by step instructions for switching them out:

Loosen all the nuts on top (3 14mm nuts for the strut mounts per strut, 1 19mm main center piece per strut).

Do that while the car is still on the ground, before you even jack it up. Dont REMOVE the nuts, just loosen them.

Then put the car on jackstands, remove all 4 wheels, loosen the swaybar endlinks (14mm I beleive and you need an allen head wrench to keep the balljoint on the endlink from turning freely so you can actually loosen it) to strut mount nuts and pull the sway bar endlinks out of the way. Pull retaining clip for brake line out of the way and pull the brake line out and clear of the strut, then loosen and remove the strut to knuckle nuts and bolts (17mm) and pull the knuckle out the way, remove the 3 nuts holding the strut on and pull them out.

To seperate them, use spring compressor to compress the spring, finish loosening the center nut, pull the strut mount off, slowly decompress the spring and pull all tension off it.

To undo the gland nut holding the cartridge in, take 2 sockets (like 1/2 inch sockets work) where the strut mounts to the hub. The sockets make it so you can put the thing in a vice and it wont crush the strut housing. So put them in between where the camber bolts go to hold the strut to the knuckle/hub assembly. Stick the thing in a vice and tighten the thing down good. Then use a pipe wrench to get that gland nut off. Use PB blaster and let it sit for 10 minutes before breaking it free and it should make it ALOT easier. New cartridges come with new gland nuts, so dont worry if you ruin the old ones, as long as you get them off.

Use automatic transmission fluid in the strut housing. Pour it in to lubricate the new insert. Slide insert in, fluid level should be about 80 percent of the way up from the bottom of the housing. Tighten new gland nut on.

Put the springs on, compress them (note, most aftermarket springs wont need compressing, you can push down on the spring to get the center bolt on), reseat the strut mount, tighten the center bolt down about about 3/4 of the way (dont tighten it all the way), put struts back up, and install reverse of removal, tightening the main 19mm nuts holding the strut mount down LAST.

And of course once youve done all this you need to have your car realigned.

06-15-2007, 10:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mr. Deuce Some Skills Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 98 Thanks: 11 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	shock question Whats up guys.... i have a dumb question but its bothering me tons.. so here i go.. i just bought koni yellow all round; for the front and the back. After a lot of trouble with UPS i finally got the damn package... but to my surprise all 4 look exactly the same! the bottom end of all four have no loop or brace they are "flat" like the ones in the left of this picture: http://www.pdm-racing.com/products/imag/koni7_web.jpg. did i get 2 pairs of front shocks or am i just freaking out for no reason?? is one pair supposed to be slightly different from the other?? any help or comments are appreciated. Thx. Mr. Deuce

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06-15-2007, 10:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
mr2willwin Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Holladay, UT Posts: 334 Thanks: 15 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	My KYB, all had a flat bottom, no loops, they are cartridges only right? they should fit flat instide the strut housing. Some step by step instructions for switching them out: Loosen all the nuts on top (3 14mm nuts for the strut mounts per strut, 1 19mm main center piece per strut). Do that while the car is still on the ground, before you even jack it up. Dont REMOVE the nuts, just loosen them. Then put the car on jackstands, remove all 4 wheels, loosen the swaybar endlinks (14mm I beleive and you need an allen head wrench to keep the balljoint on the endlink from turning freely so you can actually loosen it) to strut mount nuts and pull the sway bar endlinks out of the way. Pull retaining clip for brake line out of the way and pull the brake line out and clear of the strut, then loosen and remove the strut to knuckle nuts and bolts (17mm) and pull the knuckle out the way, remove the 3 nuts holding the strut on and pull them out. To seperate them, use spring compressor to compress the spring, finish loosening the center nut, pull the strut mount off, slowly decompress the spring and pull all tension off it. To undo the gland nut holding the cartridge in, take 2 sockets (like 1/2 inch sockets work) where the strut mounts to the hub. The sockets make it so you can put the thing in a vice and it wont crush the strut housing. So put them in between where the camber bolts go to hold the strut to the knuckle/hub assembly. Stick the thing in a vice and tighten the thing down good. Then use a pipe wrench to get that gland nut off. Use PB blaster and let it sit for 10 minutes before breaking it free and it should make it ALOT easier. New cartridges come with new gland nuts, so dont worry if you ruin the old ones, as long as you get them off. Use automatic transmission fluid in the strut housing. Pour it in to lubricate the new insert. Slide insert in, fluid level should be about 80 percent of the way up from the bottom of the housing. Tighten new gland nut on. Put the springs on, compress them (note, most aftermarket springs wont need compressing, you can push down on the spring to get the center bolt on), reseat the strut mount, tighten the center bolt down about about 3/4 of the way (dont tighten it all the way), put struts back up, and install reverse of removal, tightening the main 19mm nuts holding the strut mount down LAST. And of course once youve done all this you need to have your car realigned.