hey guys, i got a problem
i went to lower my coilovers after yesterday, got 3 done, then went to do the front driver side, and stripped the little allen key set screw thingy on the collar... that mofo is on sooo tight, i tried for about an hour with different sizes and stuff and its just round and i cant get it out
if it wasnt inset into the collar i could just cut a groove out of it for a slot screwdriver, but its deep in the collar and cant get to it
anyone ever have this happen? whats the best way to get it out, other than drilling it out and retapping it
HELP PLEASE! lol
15.1@90.34mph
screw extractor might work
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
no, wont work.... i dont want to be @!#$ign around with a major part of the suspension
15.1@90.34mph
I'm in the same boat. Last time I tried to adjust them, I stripped some of the bolts.
My plan is to take them off and use one of those screw extractors like Seth posted. Then just replace the bolts.
I emailed Ground Control about this a while back, and someone emailed me back saying he had an easy solution for me that works all the time. Then I never heard from him again.
I sent multiple follow-up emails and just never got a response. It was weird!!
Once I fix it, I'll be using a bit of anti-seize on those bolts going forward. I've never overtightend mine so I was pretty surprised when they got stuck. Hell, I've even got a HowTo on my website explaining how you should never overtighten them! Oh... the irony...
Wild Weasel wrote:anti-seize
BINGO!
Happened on my RK coils. The steel? bolt tends to corrode into the aluminum making it a PITA to get off....or well...impossible.
I ended up ordering new sleeves/perch assemblys and used spark plug anit-seize I had laying around. That should be in the GC/RK instructions.
anyone know the price of like one collar from ground control?
i dont understand why they put stupid ass allen heads on the screws... atleast something thats not easy to strip like a slot, so if you have to, slot screw driver...
i donno lol
15.1@90.34mph
talked to my buddy (deflux) and hes got a spare collar hes gonna send to me
when i get it im gonna take all the bolts out and grind a notch in the heads for a slot screw driver, just incase, and yes, anti seize!
15.1@90.34mph
Are you sure that the one is seized? Have you at least tried an extractor on it?
no i havnt tried to really hardcore get it out.... but jimmy's giving me this one for free, so right off the bat its cheaper than buying a new screw lol.... i guess ill buy the guy a coffee or something LOL
15.1@90.34mph
Well if it's one of the front ones... and you've got Konis... then have you considered that replacing the collar may not be as simple as it seems?
why would it be hard? just cut the old one off and dis assemble everything then slide the new one on and crank it down
or am i forgetting somethign
15.1@90.34mph
It's the "disassemble everything" part that may be the issue. You've probably never tried to pull a Koni insert out of a strut body.
Let's just say it can be less than trivial.
I'm not sure off hand whether the collar can just come up and over the strut or not. When installing them, the Koni goes down on top of the sleeve to hold it permanently in place. I know it's wider than the inner diameter of the sleeve. I'm just not sure about the ID of the collar.
wtf r u talking about? lol..... i just have to take the strut off, mount off, top hat off, then the new one will just twist on from the top
15.1@90.34mph
I'm hoping you're right.
Like I said... the top of the Koni is wider than the inside diameter of the GC sleeve. So you couldn't just lift off the sleeve as you're describing. I'm just not sure whether the Koni is wider than the inside diameter of the collar. Hopefully the collar fits right over it and it's as easy as you're describing.
Let me know as soon as you do it. I'm in the same boat so it'll be nice to know ahead of time how easy or difficult it's going to be.
Hey Dougall....I think this is what WW is referring to:
See the 2 arrows. There is a lip on the strut housing that prevents you from just sliding the sleeve out.
When you take out the strut mount , the spring will come out but you need to remove the Koni red insert from the housing in order to remove the sleeve. Again these are Reds and not sure if they are the same for Yellows or if koni made changes to the inserts after i got mine.
Either way, good luck with it and hopefully you wont have to remove the koni insert from the housing.
Ahhh now I see what you guys are talking about...
I just assumed that he could just thread the collar up and off and put a new one on
Removing the Koni from the housing will be a PITA i'm sure, when we installed them they were used and already assembled so who knows how long that insert has been in there...
I'm hoping he wont have to do this depending if Koni made changes to the inserts after i got mine. If he has to remove the housing lets hope the bolt at the bottom holding the insert is not too rusted in . Once your passed that hurdle, there will have to be some serious muscle used to bang out the insert. I had to remove an insert on mine once and it took a lot of force to break it loose. It's definitely doable but a little more time consuming then expected. Either way let us know how it turns out as I'm curious to see what the outcome is.
I might be running into the same issue in a few weeks when i try lowering my car so I'll try and be extra careful with the allen key and hope i don't strip the screw. Fingers crossed
^ Same here, I am adjusting mine next weekend....
Wild Weasel drilled it into my head when we were installing mine that I need to clean the hell out of them and be careful not to strip the screw so I am always paranoid when I do it
But I have adjusted mine at least 15 times with no issues yet. I have a shredded bearing on the passenger side I need to replace though, if the ones I ordered in November ever show up
Hmm mine don't have that problem?
The insert sits flush with the top of the coilover sleeve.
That might only be a Koni Red issue.
Nice clean setup...definitely cleaner the mine lol.
The problem here is not with the sleeve being flush with the top of the insert. The problem is if you can remove the sleeve without having to remove the koni insert. Looking at your pic it looks like the yellows have the lip as well and yours are holding the sleeve down nicely. I don't believe the sleeve will just slide out in your setup without removing the insert
Yes it will, the top of the insert is flush with the top of the sleeve.
The koni insert sits recessed inside the coilover sleeve. I know this cause i put my spring perches on after i installed my koni inserts.
Thats cool. Thanks for clearing that up. It would definitely be a lot easier this way. Hopefully Dougall has your setup and not mine
He has reds....but i'm hoping he has a revised version of the reds or something
When push comes to shove, you could probably grind down that lip if you're careful so the collar will fit over it.
You'd want to go slow and be careful not to heat things up. I don't imagine it would cause any functional issues for the struts though to have that ground down a bit.
