DIY: Stop your Racelands from clunking.

[Alex857]

Hey all! Thought id make a write up since the raceland craze has taken over But first a little history, i kept getting a horrible horrible clunk after the 3rd or 4th autox on these, and i have been wondering what it was. I thought maybe blown strut. Either way, i was tearing into it the other night to find out. What i found was the left front shock cartridge was loose, the nut that threads down in to keep it centered and tight, came loose, causing my knocking sound.

Tools needed:

Long-handled 3/8s and half inch ratchets.
10mm, 13mm, 14mm, 15mm, 17mm, 19mm, and 21mm wrenches and sockets i believe.
3, 6, and 12 inch extensions
Collar wrenches (the ones they provide to tighten and loosen the collars).
Some sort wrench that has the 2 prong things (cant remember the correct name lol)
1/2 inch impact
Centerpunch
Hammer


First and foremost take your wheel off , i didnt provide a pic because im sure you can do that on your own.

Next..using an extension, 14mm socket, and ratchet, take off the 3 tophat bolts that hold the top of the assembly in, once these 3 bolts are off, the assembly will drop down, with the control arm and everything still holding it. :




After that, comes the easy part, 10mm and 13mm bolts hold the brake line and wheel speed sensor wire on the strut, these need to come off.



If you have camberbolts, this is important. If you dont, skip to next step. Take the centerpunch (mine is automatic) and punch in a straight line, the bolt, washer, and on the strut, that way, when you put it all back together and line up your marks, your camber setting will not be changed.



Look at the 10 oclock position on the bolt and you can see my marks



Now that those are marked, take them out, but be prepared! Dont let it flop over, causing your axle to pop, its a bitch to get back in. Tie it up somehow (mechanics wire in my case)



Now that its tied up, and you have the assembly out, clamp it in a vise, careful to choose your spot carefully so you dont bend the mounts.



Unwind your collars (or whatever you want to call them) and take the top nut off. I believe its a 17 or 18mm. (no pic, sorry guys)

Ok great, youve made it this far, now here is what was giving me problems, and potentially dangerous.

As you see, this nut type thing (idk the correct name lol) is loose, see the gap in between, causing the strut cartridge to move all around, not secure.





See the gap? Now unscrew that, mine wasnt even finger tight, and the cartridge will pull right out.



Dont be alarmed if there is fluid in there, its designed as a cushion, and to prevent rust from building up and making it freeze in there.



Now, all i did from here was locktite the nut, and put it in, tighten it down and re asseble the way i took it apart. Make sure you line up your camber kit and you are good to go. Hope this helps! feedback is appreciated, its my first diy, and sorry about the pics they were taken with my bb lol.

[Cheep3]

Nice DIY! I've been curious about how Racelands do in autocrossing. If I ever blow a stock strut they will be my next option. I'm guessing these nuts would be a good idea to locktite on original installation. How well do they work on the track??

[Anrasmor]

Was there any kind of locktite on the threat to begin with? If not, it might be a good idea for any new coilover owners to go ahead and do it before installing. I for one am going to check before installing.

[Alex857]

Nice DIY! I've been curious about how Racelands do in autocrossing. If I ever blow a stock strut they will be my next option. I'm guessing these nuts would be a good idea to locktite on original installation. How well do they work on the track??

They actually worked out really nicely for me! thanks :) i love em honestly, for the money you cant beat em.

Was there any kind of locktite on the threat to begin with? If not, it might be a good idea for any new coilover owners to go ahead and do it before installing. I for one am going to check before installing.

Nope..there was no loctite on there to begin with, i would def suggest doing this before you put them on, saves you from tearing them apart later down the road. also put some kind of antiseize on the threads that the adjustments are on,i put some on mine, and they are smooooooth as new still.

[Anrasmor]

Nope..there was no loctite on there to begin with, i would def suggest doing this before you put them on, saves you from tearing them apart later down the road. also put some kind of antiseize on the threads that the adjustments are on,i put some on mine, and they are smooooooth as new still.

They do suggest the antisieze on their website when installing. So that makes sense, but the loctite on the reservoir of the shock should be done by the factory. I can't think of any coilover I have ever seen that was actually easy to open the reservoir. These open themselves.

[Alex857]

yeah for sure, i would do it before installation. So much easier

[kale's blue ep3]

They do suggest the antisieze on their website when installing. So that makes sense, but the loctite on the reservoir of the shock should be done by the factory. I can't think of any coilover I have ever seen that was actually easy to open the reservoir. These open themselves.

antiseize on what parts of the coilovers?

[whatsvtec]

Was there any kind of locktite on the threat to begin with? If not, it might be a good idea for any new coilover owners to go ahead and do it before installing. I for one am going to check before installing.

Once I saw this it was the first thing I planned on doing once they got to my door :D

[Alex857]

Sorry guys i just saw you have been blowing this up lol..pm me if you have a question, its the easiest way to get ahold of me. I have coil bind out the ass too btw lol. I plan on getting other coils this spring.

[MBaG]

mine has been clunking pretty bad. -__-
so i'm gna try this out. how do i unscrew the gap thingy?

[03Si757]

I tried this and for all the strength in me, I could not get those things loose, Im thinking the noise im hearing has something to d with the top hats some how, Im thinkin about either buying those solid bushing camber plates off ebay, or just holding off and getting new coilovers all together.

[ZoomBoy]

I tried this and for all the strength in me, I could not get those things loose, Im thinking the noise im hearing has something to d with the top hats some how, Im thinkin about either buying those solid bushing camber plates off ebay, or just holding off and getting new coilovers all together.

Exactly, these coils were great when I first got them but they've progressively been getting more annoying lately. I'm always explaining to people in my car what the clunking is. I think in the spring I'll buy a pair of Progress coils and sell these for cheap. They're great coilovers, but man the clunking is ANNOYING.

[MBaG]

"As you see, this nut type thing (idk the correct name lol) is loose, see the gap in between, causing the strut cartridge to move all around, not secure."

i still dont get how you unscrew this?

[gamma6]

"As you see, this nut type thing (idk the correct name lol) is loose, see the gap in between, causing the strut cartridge to move all around, not secure."

i still dont get how you unscrew this?

Bump, i would like to know as well

[PartyPooper]

Bump, i would like to know as well

what i did was put a sstrp wrench around it and gave a few hard wiggles and mine came off... did this diy and it fixed some of the clunking but not all of it still some minor ones... thanks for the diy.