Konis don't fit rear upper mount

[OVERDRIVE]

Suspension attempt number 3, and I got the front all done but the single adjustable Konis I got don't fit onto the upper stud (240). The stud looks original and undamaged, the i.d. of the eyelet on the shock is too small by maybe 6 thousandths, I didn't have my calipers on me. I guess I'm going to have to find a drill bit that is only barely larger than the current size, has anyone else encountered this? I had TC's on before and everyone talks about how those eyelets are too big but never would have thought the opposite would happen.

 

[the_hairy_baboon]

It's also possible that the studs themselves are slightly out of spec. Would a few passes with a round file work? I assume both left and right don't fit? Could you give them a bit of a sandpapering? Also consider keeping the shocks inside where it's warm / hot water soak the heads right before slapping on.

Do the bottom bolts fit through the top or bottom of the shocks?

 

[OVERDRIVE]

It's also possible that the studs themselves are slightly out of spec. Would a few passes with a round file work? I assume both left and right don't fit? Could you give them a bit of a sandpapering? Also consider keeping the shocks inside where it's warm / hot water soak the heads right before slapping on.

Do the bottom bolts fit through the top or bottom of the shocks?

I tried a flat file to help see if the stud was straight, and it is straight with no burs or bends. I didn't check the lowers, I just threw in the towel and put it back together. I also chamfered the i.d of the eyelet a bit and that didn't do anything, It's machined out of spec. I've had a couple rear shocks on this car and this is the only time this has happened. I took a hammer to it too, it's not going on without some metal being removed from either the stud or shock.

 

[dl242gt]

Don't mess it up. Koni will honor replacement of that defect in the shocks. On the flip side drilling it slightly larger shouldn't be to bad. Just need some good sharp bits.

 

[nel621]

Don't drill it. Instead use a mini drum sander on a Dremel type tool. Better control of how much material you remove.

 

[OVERDRIVE]

Okay, I dug out my calipers. Both bottom and upper eyelets measure out to 12mm on the dot, or at least pretty close, a little over. But for the sake of the argument they're 12mm. A thread I found about rear shock specs specify that the upper eyelet should be 1/2", or 12.7mm, and bottom eyelet is 12mm. My suspicion that there was a manufacturing error seems confirmed by this, looks like there's a batch out there with both eyelets the same size. ~0.025" is what I'm going to have to take out, this isn't just a little clean up.

 

[dl242gt]

I measured the upper and lower eyelet of the beat old Konis I have here. The upper was 12.8mm and the lower was 12mm once I removed some crud in the bottom eyelet.

 

[OVERDRIVE]

I measured the upper and lower eyelet of the beat old Konis I have here. The upper was 12.8mm and the lower was 12mm once I removed some crud in the bottom eyelet.

Cool, thank you. 1/2" drill bit should be appropriate. Too much metal to remove with flapper wheel or sanding disk. I'd return them but I just got these shocks directly from Koni and they are both wrong, I suspect the whole batch is bad, and I'd hate to wait a few weeks to get another defective pair. I'll report back after I get them installed.

 

[the_hairy_baboon]

Cool, thank you. 1/2" drill bit should be appropriate. Too much metal to remove with flapper wheel or sanding disk. I'd return them but I just got these shocks directly from Koni and they are both wrong, I suspect the whole batch is bad, and I'd hate to wait a few weeks to get another defective pair. I'll report back after I get them installed.

I assume you'll yell to Koni and tell them of the problem / hassle? Maybe they'll at least apologize and even send you replacements / free swag.

 

[blkaplan]

What part number shocks do you have?

 

[OVERDRIVE]

What part number shocks do you have?

26-1129 Sport. I got them directly from Koni about 2 months ago.

 

[OVERDRIVE]

The shocks are now on. I didn't bother taking photos, it was very straight forward. 1/2" drill bit couldn't have worked better, I just set the shocks down on the curb and did it with a handheld drill, I didn't want to wait until I could use someone's drill press. They fit snug on the upper mounting stud, and need just a couple of light taps to get them fully seated. I'll go ahead and let Koni know that mine were manufactured wrong, but incase anyone else runs into this in the time being it was a 5 minute fix.

 

[rom]

I had the same issue. Just swapped them out with fcp and was good to go

 

[blkaplan]

Now, i'm going to check all the ones on my shelf but I don't think they were made in the batch that you guys got...