As I was installing my teins...my koni perch goes..uh oh!

[02SilverSiHB]

I'm kinda pissed. I've heard numerous times about this happening to the perches on the koni rear shocks. See..the perches that come with the shocks aren't welded on like the stock ones...they just slide on top and this small, thin piece of medal keeps it from going down...this is supposed to hold all 27XXlbs of our si...yeah, okay (LOL, okay, a little over exagerated, but you get the idea).
So here's a pic..the left one is the one that broke, the right one is fine..so far
The arrow is where it's supposed to be
http://a3.cpimg.com/image/97/2E/24420503-5bc0-02000180-.jpg

A close up
http://a0.cpimg.com/image/A8/2E/24420520-cd36-01800200-.jpg
Thank God I had my stock shocks. So I'm using those at the momment until I get a chance to get the perches welded on. I'm going to contact koni about this..even though I know they've heard of this happening before...peeps on 7thgencivic.com have had the same prob. I unfortunetly threw away two nuts (10X1.25) that go on top of the piston, the stock one, of the shock. So of course they are out of stock everywhere. So I had to use one of the two nuts on each strut tower to hold the piston in...so yeah, I'm riding around with my two back struts held in the shock tower by one nut each...great uh? :rolleyes:

[NamingException]

Damn. That's enough to reinforce straying away from Koni. Definitely let us know what their response is.

[Civicvtec1ps]

yea thats the shitty part. welding is THE way to go on koni yellow.hope everything go well

[02SilverSiHB]

Well, I guess it was my fault. I Did some research and koni does not recommend using skunk2 coilover/sleeves with the shocks in the rear. I guess it adds too much pressure to the center, where as with springs, it puts the pressure in the outer part of the perch, so the medal piece can withstand it. I got a reply from one of the guys...I had to lie, I was afraid he wouldn't send me the replacement parts if I said skunk2 :eek: So he's going to send me the replacement parts soon.
Here's his reply with quoting me

Mike,

>...such a small piece of medal to hold a perch,

When properly loaded, the circlip that is holding the spring seat can handle up to about 10 tons of force. If you notice, the bottom of the perch also has a relief cut into it to surround the cirlcip to allow it to handle more force as well.

>So my question is, what the heck do I do now?

I can get some replacement pieces out to you to replace the circlip and the spring perches that you have on the shocks. What kind of springs did you have on the shocks before? I'm just trying to get an idea of what may have caused the problem that you had. Thanks for writing.

Gordon

[02SilverSiHB]

ah shit, I can't lie, I told the guy the truth, went ahead and replied back saying I used skunk2, I had no idea, nothing warning me about it. I guess I might have to pay for the pieces then.

[02TafWhtSi]

Ouch! Hope everything works out :confused: :)

[YssSI]

DO NOT WELD ANYTHING TO OR ON A STRUT. The gas inside is pressurized and could explode. I have seen this happen. It is a nasty experience.


On the other hand. Anyone with Koni's in the rear on their EP that runs sleeve style coilovers needs to call ground control. Tell them that you have GC coilovers and have Konis. They have a small ring for the Konis that allows for the sleeve to fit flat on the lower cup. It actually replaces the lower slide over spring cup that comes with the Konis.

I just spoke with Frank at Ground-control. They call them Koni Rings. They have no official part number. You can order them through any GC dealer or from them direct. They retail for $12 each. I had them on my Accord before I bagged it. All the Koni struts use the same ring.

Hope this helps

Scott

[02SilverSiHB]

Originally posted by YssSI
DO NOT WELD ANYTHING TO OR ON A STRUT. The gas inside is pressurized and could explode. I have seen this happen. It is a nasty experience.


On the other hand. Anyone with Koni's in the rear on their EP that runs sleeve style coilovers needs to call ground control. Tell them that you have GC coilovers and have Konis. They have a small ring for the Konis that allows for the sleeve to fit flat on the lower cup. It actually replaces the lower slide over spring cup that comes with the Konis.

I just spoke with Frank at Ground-control. They call them Koni Rings. They have no official part number. You can order them through any GC dealer or from them direct. They retail for $12 each. I had them on my Accord before I bagged it. All the Koni struts use the same ring.

Hope this helps

Scott
thanks for the info...definitely good info for those that have sleeves and plan on using konis.

[EP33]

glad that didn't happen while you were in a turn.

[Suk02Si]

Originally posted by EP33
glad that didn't happen while you were in a turn.


yeah no kidding. :shockm:

[02SilverSiHB]

Well koni is going to send me the parts I need for free :D Koni is a good company, they are taking care of the customer.
Here's his reply:

Mike,

>...I had skunk2 coilovers/sleeves with them.

I thought that might be the case. That would explain the tape wrapped on the body of the shock and the tell-tale paint scrap marks towards the top of the shock where the insert would slide and hit the body.

>...that koni does not recommend using coilovers/sleeves with the shocks in
>the rear.

Not exactly. It's not that we don't recommend using coilovers but you have to make sure that you mount everything correctly. The problem that you had was that the spring perch that we include was not designed to support a coilover sleeve like that. What ends up happening is that the circlip on the body of the shock gets loaded unevenly and then can fail as the sleeve won't sit centered on the spring seat.

It is completely possible to use a coilover sleeve but you must make sure that you have an adapter ring made for the coilover sleeves and the Konis. Skunk2 is a little hi-and-miss with adapter rings as I have seen them on the internet and I've heard otherwise from other people. At the moment, the only sleeves that I know of that are made for the Konis are Ground Control (which uses an adapter ring) and our own sleeve (but doesn't come with a spring or upper spring seat). These are designed to properly go over the circlip of the shock and center the sleeve correctly so that there are no problems.

>So I guess I have to pay for the pieces?

No, don't worry about it. The order is in today and should ship out today as well. Since you have a set of factory shocks on the car already, I'm just sending it UPS Ground since this isn't keeping the car from driving or anything. I would also recommend that you use the other of the two ring grooves on the shock as when that circlip fails, it will sometimes round off the bottom edge of the groove in the shock. It's just a little extra insurance.

As for welding the perch on (I saw the thread on 7thgencivic), PLEASE don't do that. Welding on a shock, any shock, is not a good thing. At the very least, the heat needed to weld on the body will not do the seals or the oil of the shock any good. That's not to mention that the shock, at least with the 8041 series, is gas charged and is under pressure. We never weld on a shock body unless the shock has been taken completely apart. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thanks.

Gordon

[YssSI]

Can I get the email addy of the guy you have been dealin with at Koni?? He seems to know what he is doing. I have a set of Koni's from my Accord that I want to warranty out for a set on the Hatch. Cant seem to find a good Customer Service Guy at Koni who will help me out.

Scott

[02SilverSiHB]

Originally posted by YssSI
Can I get the email addy of the guy you have been dealin with at Koni?? He seems to know what he is doing. I have a set of Koni's from my Accord that I want to warranty out for a set on the Hatch. Cant seem to find a good Customer Service Guy at Koni who will help me out.

Scott
pm'd ya :)