Koni inserts

[dannmarr]

I remember seeing a "how to" with photos on preparing the OEM struts for the Koni inserts. Can someone provide me the link? I tried with no results, thanks!

[icingdeath88]

Are you planning to do the full coilovers or just the inserts?

[dannmarr]

Just the inserts for now. I have the old struts and would like to get them ready if needed. They are just sitting in my garage looking sad

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

Just the inserts for now. I have the old struts and would like to get them ready if needed. They are just sitting in my garage looking sad

Once you put the inserts in, you can't exactly get them back out to weld on the mounting rings for the coilovers. At least not easily. Some people (myself included) have used the stock spring perches for the coilovers, but I wouldn't really recommend it. Decide whether you want the coilovers or not and if you do, I'd recommend doing both at once. I can probably do a decent job of explaining what needs to be done either way though. I looked and looked and never found a true how-to on them.

[dannmarr]

I'm not ready for anything now. I just wanted to cut them open, clean them, paint them and store them away.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

I'm not ready for anything now. I just wanted to cut them open, clean them, paint them and store them away.

Ok, then here's what you do. Basically exactly the instructions that came with the Konis.

(As with any how-to guide on the internet, instructions posted by some fool on the internet, must not be assumed to be 100% accurate. Use your own judgement and common sense, and think for yourself. If anything you are doing seems dangerous or unwise, stop and think about it.)

First, get a spring compressor. (Seriously, don't even try this without a spring compressor). I got one from harbor freight's website for like $11 or so, and autozone/advance/etc will let you borrow them. Compress the spring so when you take off the upper mount, it doesn't kill you.

Take off the upper strut mount. There are 2 ways you can do this. The easiest way is with an impact gun, it'll take the nut off pretty easily.
The other way is with a go-through socket for the nut, and a hex socket for the strut rod. If you Google "go-through socket", you'll get the idea. However, that didn't work for me, since the sockets I had were just the wrong length to work, and the nut was just too stubborn. I ended up holding the strut rod with some vice grips instead, while turning the nut. That obviously wouldn't work if you planned to re-use the struts, the vice-grips would completely ruin the strut. But if the struts are already bad and you're planning to cut them up anyway, then it doesn't really matter.

Ok, so now you've got the top mount off, and the spring will come right off. Save all that stuff, and all the hardware.

Using a drill with a small drill bit, drill a "pilot hole" in the bottom, exact center of the strut body. This will let out most, but not all of the oil that's in the strut. Have a container ready to catch what comes out - the oil smells pretty bad. Also, cheap, crappy drill bits won't do so well, the strut body is made of pretty strong stuff. I have some titanium drill bits that did fine.

Next, you will need something that can handle cutting through the cylinder of the strut body. A sawzall would probably work with the proper blades. I used an angle grinder, which worked fine, and will make you feel extremely manly, what with all the sparks and whatnot. Eye protection is a must. I may have started a small fire in my garage due to the sparks hitting a paper towel... Be careful!

Make sure the strut is very securely held down with a vice or something, and cannot go flying anywhere. Where you want to cut is as close to the top as you can, under the cap that the strut rod comes out through. Now, you can't just cut straight through it, you have to rotate it, because the strut rod is in there and that's a bit more difficult to cut through. Also, there will probably be some oil still coming out, so be prepared for that. The oil that's in there will also burn if you get the strut body hot enough with your cutting tool. Once you've cut the top off, the strut rod, and other junk that's inside there will come out, along with the remaining oil. Have somewhere to throw them away.

Now, you will have to clean up the cut that you made in the top of the cylinder (angle grinder did wonderfully here). Just use your best judgement here.

Remember the pilot hole on the bottom? Now, you will need to widen it. Get the bolt out of the koni box that bolts the koni insert to the bottom of the strut, and widen the hole until it fits perfectly through it. If it's not perfectly centered, then you'll need to adjust it a bit when you try and get the insert to thread.

The inside of the strut will undoubtedly be filled with metal shavings and oil, so wash that out. Then you can paint it and whatnot. If you are going to do the coilovers, have the collar for the coilovers welded on, and then paint them afterward.

When you're ready to put the konis in, here's what you do (written as if you're not doing the coilovers):

Always be super careful handling the strut. The shiny, perfectly polished rod will be ruined if it gets all scratched up.

Put the insert into the strut body. Make sure the bolt for the bottom catches and threads and you're putting the strut inside. If you have to adjust the bolt hole, you need to be able to get the insert back out and you can't do that if you get it too stuck. If the bolt isn't long enough to thread onto the insert with the big washer thing that came with the konis, you can start without it, and then take the bolt back off and put it back on with the washer. You can go ahead and torque it down (I think there's a torque spec in the koni instructions, but I don't remember what it is).

It is important to realize that the rear konis are not adjustable once you put the spring and topmount on. So adjust them to where they ought to be before you do that. To adjust them, you compress the strut all the way to the bottom, where you will feel it sort of catch onto something when you turn it. I cannot remember whether which direction you turn them to make them softer and firmer, but it's in the koni instructions (and the rears should be the opposite of the front). Basically, you just compress it all the way and then slowly and carefully turn it until it gets to fully soft, where it will stop, then adjust it to the proper firmness. I am not sure where it's supposed to be for the stock springs, but I'd guess it's just a touch firmer than fully- soft. (maybe 180 degrees?) For reference, with my 450/375 F/R coilovers, I have them a half-furn softer than fully firm.

Then compress the spring and put it back on the perch. There should be a little rubber thing that goes between the perch and the spring. Then, put the top mount on and thread the nut for the strut top. The instructions have a torque spec for that nut. The front struts should be pretty easy to tighten, a go-through socket and a normal socket should do the job very easily. The rears will need a go-through socket and a hex socket, and were kind of a pain.

To adjust the front struts, you just need the adjusty knob that came with the konis, which have the direction printed on them. Again, a bit firmer than fully soft would probably be right for stock springs.

That should do it. If I left something out, lemme know and I'll edit it in.

[dannmarr]

This is where I found photos of the installation:
www.druidhillroad.com/projects/koni