Protecting Coilovers

[James28]

Just wondering is it a good idea to put some kind of grease on your coilovers to prevent them from seizing up from dirt and such like when they're on the the car?

Is there a specific type of grease which would be best?

 

[Rob]

FK supply a specific coilovers spray with their silver line coilovers, if it were me I'd use a silicone based spray, can be bought at most motor factors.

 

[Da]

I clean mine every time I have the wheel off.

But as said use a dry silicone spray, if you use copper grease or similar every bit of crap/dirt will stick to the grease.

 

[rich-6]

I covered the threads on mine in Vaseline and wrapped them up in duct tape, Tip off one off a lad i know well into his rallycross, Still nice and clean a year later

 

[maynard]

When fitting mine today, we used a quick spray of wd40 on the coilovers. Should be reet.

 

[James28]

Is this what you mean for a silicone spray?

I'm putting them on today, so don't want to duck tape them up immediately, as I'll probably need to adjust them when they settle, so thats why I want to keep them in good condition so they're easy to adjust.

Oh and another thing, they're second hand, so would it be alright to clean them with a bit of water and toothbrush before I put them on?

 

[ipodsandguns]

I use the FK spray my self although tnothing iv found is brilliant to be fair.

 

[James28]

Yea, Mine are Vmaxx so I'll just stick to that one above for now.

Gna clean them up with water before I put them on

 

[Jonny1*2]

make sure you grease up the threads before adjusting mate. and try not to get too much water to rest inside the adjustment collar as it will probably sit and rust.

 

[James28]

Right just trying to fit my Vmaxx's (Non-sport),
I've wd40'd the rear adjustors before putting them on, and will use the silicone 3in1 stuff above for the fronts.

Now another amateur question lol:
Can I just clarify Im putting the rear shocks on correctly?

The black line is the the car, so the green rubber goes on first, sitting on the red bit, then put it through the hole in the chassis, then the blue > yellow > finally pink, from inside the boot?

The red bits are adjustable, do I need to touch them or leave them as they are? They are as far down towards the white bit on the shock as possible?

Thanks for any help.

 

[James28]

Anyoneee pleasee lol

 

[Fred@BTM]

there's a marine grade aerosol spray called rocol (maybe rocal) i'd be using that!

 

[James28]

Ooo right, can someone tell me if I'm fitting the rears right lol:

I'm guessing the blue and yellow on the Vmaxx go together to make the same shape as the blue bit on the old shock, but it's just there's another rubber bit (green) which I don't know where it goes?

 

[bennyball]

the blue bits on the original shock are the mounts, you should have two of the blue bit from each shock. cant really tell from the small pic but pretty sure the blue and green are the mounts on the coilies

 

[James28]

Turns out that the old shock I photographed is missing one of the other blue rubber bits, which is why I wasn't sure.

Given up on the fronts now, too hard

 

[sideways danny]

there's a marine grade aerosol spray called rocol (maybe rocal) i'd be using that!

rocol do all kinds of greases and oils, cutting fluids etc



White grease sprayed on should work fairly well. Just jetwash it off before making adjustments to clean off any grit that's been picked up, and re-grease afterwards

 

[James28]

Another question! I'm trying the fronts and I'm a little wary about it, I do have spring clamps, but I would just like to be sure what I'm doing before attempting anything.

Basically I was under the impression from the guides you just need to loosen the top mount in the photo below, and undo the two bolts holding the strut to the hub and I'd be able to work the strut free:

However after trying this I found I couldn't get the strut free. I undid the top mount bit fully, and found this bolt underneath, so am I meant to completely remove the top mount bit, and the nut underneath is the one the guides are talking about loosening a bit, before undoing the two bolts on the hub?

 

[Fred@BTM]

no DO NOT undo that nut!

 

[James28]

Don't worry I'm not going to undo that nut completely lol.
That's what I mean about being wary of them, and asking before doing,
having read all the posts about firing springs and such.
Could you just clarify which bolt it is Im meant to loosen which will allow me to take the strut out?

 

[JCC]

The pic you put up of the V-Maxx rear struts is correct, from the top down nut,washer,rubber,car,rubber,washer.

In response to the pic above, you do not remove that other nut to remove the shock absorber from the car, the only thing holding it on should be the 2 bolts at the hub and the top nut with the rubber attached to it which you've already removed.

The other nut you see holds the rest of the top mount onto the shock absorber, you remove that once the shock is off the car. Don't do it without spring clamps or you may end up with metal buried in your face lol

 

[Android]

i wish i had cared lol !

mines are siezed to fuuuuck

 

[Slammed172]

Could you just clarify which bolt it is Im meant to loosen which will allow me to take the strut out?

3 bolts to undo, top, and two on bottom of strut. Place something under the disc so it doesn't drop though. nothing to loosen !

 

[James28]

Thanks for your help. What I meant was in Fubar's guide:

He says 'do not remove the bolts all the way; simply make sure they are loose'
I interpreted this as meaning the rubber top mount bit, but in order to take the strut out I would need to remove the rubber bit in his photo, which was what confused me.

So was just wondering which bolts he was referring to as the ones to loosen, but not fully remove?

Edit: just seen reading on in his guide, that he says "You can now fully remove the top cap from under the bonnet which you loosened off earlier". He just loosened it before jacking the car up!

Sorry for scaring anyone lol. How do I got about removing the strut once the two bolts and top cap are off? Do I just push the strut upwards so it detaches from the hole, then pull it down through and off at an angle?

 

[Fred@BTM]

jesus christ you like asking questions! LOL

lower 2 18mm bolts, undo and REMOVE

top cap remove

remove strut from car

done

 

[James28]

lol I like asking the experts!
I like to be absolutely definite before doing anything.
So I don't just blunder in and do something wrong and potentially dangerous.

Thanks for all your help, I'll give it a go tomorow.

 

[Fred@BTM]

be careful on the passenger side you don't pull the driveshaft out the box!

oh and when removing the struts push the lower part of the strut towards the steering arms (track rods)

 

[James28]

Yea will be carefull.
I've just changed the clutch over the past weekend, I think you may have commented on my other thread about it, but through doing that Im wary of pulling the driveshafts out lol. It was quite an achievement for me!

One last question, well for tonight anyway
I've put the coilover rears struts and springs on, but just want to clarify how tight I do them.On the pic below the rubber bit below the silver washer is really squashed, I guess its meant to do that a bit, but I don't want to overtighten them?
I think they can go a bit tighter than that, are they meant to go as tight as i can physically get them?, or only untill it compresses the rubber a bit or something? Do they need to be exaclty equal on both sides or is roughly okay?

Ok so maybe that was a few questions haha. Please be nice, Im learning

 

[James28]

I need help again pleasee lol.

I've got the front shock off, and removed the top bearing bit,
I'm just not sure what bits go on the coilover strut? Do you take the blue bit off the coilover? Then how do the other bits go on?

 

[James28]

Someone pleaseee help I'm trying to do it right now?

Actually I've been looking and does the blue bit stay on top of the coilover, then the bearing, then the rubber bit, then the nut?

Do I undo the nut that holds the blue bit on, then put the bearing/rubber bit on and then put the nut back on?

Or do I leave the nut on the blue bit and put the bearing and rubber over the top then use the original nut off the old shock to hold the rubber down?

 

[Fred@BTM]

take that big nut off the coilover and bin it, its just a transport nut

you keep the blue bit

then the oe bearing (make sure you put it on flat side down)
then rubber doughnut
then spacer
then nut

back on car
top cap on

done

 

[James28]

Thank you soo much.

Do I use spring clamps on the coilover, coz when I take off the transport nut obviously the blue bit comes off, and I'm having difficulty forcing it back down enough with the bearing on it to allow me to screw the nut on?

 

[Fred@BTM]

lower the platform down (the blue bit at the other end)

 

[James28]

Yeaaap just worked that out lol.

 

[W111ALG]

I've completely covered my front coilovers in waxoil should keep them shiny and sto pteh onset of corrosion!

 

[James28]

Just wanna check rele quickly,

I am supposed to screw the nut on the rear dampers on as tight as I can?

 

[Fred@BTM]

na, just about enough to squash the rubber a bit, measure one side, and do it the same the other, done

 

[Craig.M]

be careful on the passenger side you don't pull the driveshaft out the box!

oh and when removing the struts push the lower part of the strut towards the steering arms (track rods)

I did this, and believe me you really need to be careful, gearbox oil will go everywhere and then you would have the effort of tryin to put it back in, and if your really unlucky, you have to try and get the gaitor back on properly and get the clip on as well.

but anyway dont loosen that bolt, just tack the the two nuts off the bottom, you should be able to lift the shock out. Then get some spring compressors, two either side, compress the spring until loose from the top mount, then you can loosen that bolt off. You need to do this as you will the top mounts on the original shocks for the coilovers.

Oh and if you want to how tight everything really should be (and i know i might get slated for this) get a haynes manual (that is the right one for your car), it should tell you all the torgue settings in nm (newton meters), and get your self a torch wrench as well.

 

[James28]

Right one last amateur question. Please don't slate me for this!

Basically is the gap between the rubber and the chassis too big, is the rubber meant to sit touching the black of the chassis?

Someone pleaaaseee

 

[Ollie82.]

Is the car back on the ground? It sits like that if so. It'll only touch the top of the strut top when you jack the front of the car up.

 

[James28]

Yea I thought that might be it.

Yea it is on the ground. I've done it as tight as I can with the 21mm ratchet.