Suspension fell ? What the hell is happening ? Help please

[Simon99]

So about two days ago, I heard a massive now in the feont deiver tower, but I only noticed it two days after. It seems that my brand new suspension (Koni Yellow and Sportline) fell down. The adjustement screw is no longer visible and I have no dampening what soever on the driver front side. At first I thought it was my recent,y installed CAI, but when I tried to make my suspension softer, I noticed in horror that the part was gone. Now I don't know how to fix that, nor what can be the damage on the shock/strut for two days (about 200) of driving with that problem. I just hope I don't have to change everything since my setup has less than 2000 km on it. Any help is appreciated and I enclosed picture comparing the working side to the "broken" one

Could my recent strut bar have caused a problem ?.

Thanks TM3

Broken one

http://i.imgur.com/QVMMOlr.jpg

Working one

http://i.imgur.com/1TiAJst.jpg

[Hyperion]

Something snapped. Gotta take it out and get warrantied

[Jackal]

Hope you kept the receipt. Get a replacement through the warranty as Hyperion stated.

[Wes08M3]

You sure the bolt holding the strut to the mount (the one thats now missing) was tight? Bolt could've backed off, then fell off causing the strut piston to drop like that. Either way, the strut is probably mangled now. I'd check the other bolt just to be safe. After that, just take a quick look in the wheel well and see if the piston is snapped.

If you can't get a warranty replacement, bring it back to who did the work and ask them how they could've let this happen.

[Simon99]

Is this a common problem ? Should I go see my mechanic before ordering a replacement from Koni ?

[S.F.W.]

Is this a common problem ? Should I go see my mechanic before ordering a replacement from Koni ?

Not a common problem. I would discuss with your mechanic, perhaps there was an error during installation.

[peterm15]

Not a common problem. I would discuss with your mechanic, perhaps there was an error during installation.

+1.

I would also assume its probably not the safest situation. I would be very careful while driving if you should even be driving it.

[Simon99]

Thanks alot for all the feedback TM3 .. I guess I should go back to the winter beatin sentra for a while .. Do you think such a problem will be covered by Koni ?

[Wes08M3]

Really depends if it was a manufacturer defect or not. If the rod just snapped, you may be able to claim it as a defect. But if the nut just backed off or something along those lines, that's going to be an installation error and should be your mechanics responsibility to fix.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Wow not even sure how that would happen..

[FD22]

I'd guess installation error :s

[The Wolf]

God deleted your shock. That's super weird, he's usually busy doing important stuff like helping the Miami Heat win basketball games.

[stock3]

Looks like installation error. These rods are hardened steel so snapping would be unlikely, but not impossible. Talk to your mechanic and if the thread is good perhaps all he has to do is replace the bolt and torque it properly this time. If the thread is mangled, you have to get a new strut.

[standsideways]

I bet that mount was put on with an impact. Thats likely what caused the snap.. I dont think the tq spec for those is much at all

EDIT: looks like KONI YELLOWS have a track record for the top adjustment knob snapping off..

Lots of em on the interwebs :/

[Simon99]

I bet that mount was put on with an impact. Thats likely what caused the snap.. I dont think the tq spec for those is much at all

EDIT: looks like KONI YELLOWS have a track record for the top adjustment knob snapping off..

Lots of em on the interwebs :/


Mmm thats curious .. I don't want to blame my mechanic for that and i really wonder if it snapped ot what.. Are these yellows warrantied even if tracked (I don't track, but if they are for it, it would be weird for them to not replace them for damage on street)

[Wes08M3]

Q: What is the KONI warranty? How do I go about getting replacements?

A: The KONI warranty is a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser against defects in materials and workmanship for as long as you own that car registered for street use. The warranty does not cover damage to the parts caused by misuse, misapplication, installation, motorsports, etc. The warranty does not include mounting bushings. If you determine you have a defective damper you can either contact the company which you purchased the unit(s) from or contact KONI North America directly at warranty@koni-na.com or 859-586-4100. To process your warranty, we will require a copy of the purchase receipt and a vehicle registration. We will generate a return goods authorization (RGA) and can replace the dampers in advance at your discretion. For more specific information about the warranty see our warranty form.

^ From the Koni North America website.

[Simon99]

^ From the Koni North America website.

Thanks alot man, I'm going to see my mechanic tomorrow and I'll keep you guys posted

[stevenma188]

I would be very very weary of driving the car like that. I would recommend getting it towed to the mechanics. The only thing holding your front suspension assembly together right now is the weight of the car.

[Simon99]

I would be very very weary of driving the car like that. I would recommend getting it towed to the mechanics. The only thing holding your front suspension assembly together right now is the weight of the car.

Does that mean I could try to jack the car at my place and try to align the suspension with the hole and see if I could just put another nut there ? The mecanic is about ~1km from where I live, so I'll take my chances

[stevenma188]

If you jack the car up, you will probably end up with more issues. The force of the spring would cause everything to just come apart.

[peterm15]

Don't jack it up.

Go to the mechanic and bring your stock struts with you.

[Simon99]

Don't jack it up.

Go to the mechanic and bring your stock struts with you.

Struts that were thrown away since they were leaking more oil than my friend's SI ...

Thanks alot to everyone who stepped in to offer their help, I can't thank everyone individualy but I really appreciate it.

[peterm15]

Well If you end up needing struts for a little while let me know.

I have my stock set you can borrow until koni replaces it.

[aris]

Well If you end up needing struts for a little while let me know.

I have my stock set you can borrow until koni replaces it.
He's lives in Quebec lol

[peterm15]

He's lives in Quebec lol

Whoops. Never caught that. Lol.

[Simon99]

Whoops. Never caught that. Lol.

Wow man, I really wasn't expecting such help from a forum I did just join a couple of months ago ! I really appreciate it but unfortunately, like aris said, I live 6 hours away :(

[peterm15]

Wow man, I really wasn't expecting such help from a forum I did just join a couple of months ago ! I really appreciate it but unfortunately, like aris said, I live 6 hours away :(

Ya. A little far. Lol.

If worse comes to worse get 1 stock strut from a wreckers or something. Better then nothing.

[Simon99]

Update: My mechanic was able to put the assembly back up, it seems that the nut is the only thing that was damaged and popped off since the thread on the yellow itself is still intact. The only thing is that my adjustement knob was compressed in the assembly and therefore innacessible with the tool (only pliers). Will it still adjust / did that cause any damage to the shock ? Thanks alot :)

[The Wolf]

Your mechanic is replacing the shock then right?

[Simon99]

No he's not, since I purchased the shocks myself and not through him ...

At least now my car is drivable, I'll just have to contact Koni and see what the lifetime warranty can do for me ..

[Dave_The_BMXER]

I'm fairly confused by this all still.

[Simon99]

I'm fairly confused by this all still.

So am I ... I just don't get how such a thing can happen .. I trust my mechanic and I know he didn't mess the job, he has the same setup and he knows what he's doing ... I don't know if Koni will cover it and if they don't, I don't know where to buy a single shock for the driver side ..

[The Wolf]

My bad, I was under the impression it was due to installer error

[Simon99]

Are any of you guys aware if the sponsors sell single shock / strut or only as a pair ?

[Wes08M3]

So the bolt did back off then? Still seems like an installation error to me. If that bolt was torqued to the proper spec it wouldn't just back off like that. Unless the threads had been damaged somehow, which still seems like an install error...

I doubt Koni would cover that, since to them it would look it falls into the mis-installation and/or misuse category. Don't wanna bad mouth your mechanic but it really seems like he effed up here.

It's pretty easy to just zip those bolts on with an impact gun (which is what everyone seems to do) and not really know if the bolt is properly torqued since the impact gun can't really tell you that.

[Simon99]

So the bolt did back off then? Still seems like an installation error to me. If that bolt was torqued to the proper spec it wouldn't just back off like that. Unless the threads had been damaged somehow, which still seems like an install error...

I doubt Koni would cover that, since to them it would look it falls into the mis-installation and/or misuse category. Don't wanna bad mouth your mechanic but it really seems like he effed up here.

It's pretty easy to just zip those bolts on with an impact gun (which is what everyone seems to do) and not really know if the bolt is properly torqued since the impact gun can't really tell you that.

I get you man, but I know he used hand and a torque wrench, I was in the garage with him when he did since I wanted to know how to adjust the front and back so I stayed there the whole time. Isn't it possible that there was damage or weak thread from factory ? Becausewe checked the other one and checked the torque and it was according to spec... :(

[Simon99]

And even if he did mess it up .. I have no warranty whatsoever because since my car was stored for the winter, it's been longer than the warranty length

[Jackal]

And even if he did mess it up .. I have no warranty whatsoever because since my car was stored for the winter, it's been longer than the warranty length

Did you buy these used?

If new with proof of purchase they have a lifetime warranty. Contact Koni. See post #16.

[Simon99]

Did you buy these used?

If new with proof of purchase they have a lifetime warranty. Contact Koni. See post #16.

It's new with proof of purchase but they say it's an installation error .. I've been on the phone with Koni the whole day (will have a nice phone bill) and not only was customer service more than disappointing but Mason seemed to have more fun playing Minesweeper than trying to warranty the product, let alone give me a discount on a new one.

[peterm15]

It's new with proof of purchase but they say it's an installation error .. I've been on the phone with Koni the whole day (will have a nice phone bill) and not only was customer service more than disappointing but Mason seemed to have more fun playing Minesweeper than trying to warranty the product, let alone give me a discount on a new one.

Keep pushing.

Try and get your mechanic to write a report about what he did.

I know with my cheap coils I had to over torque my bolt. It would keep backing off.

[S.F.W.]

It's new with proof of purchase but they say it's an installation error .. I've been on the phone with Koni the whole day (will have a nice phone bill) and not only was customer service more than disappointing but Mason seemed to have more fun playing Minesweeper than trying to warranty the product, let alone give me a discount on a new one.

If they state installation error, ask them to specify what the error was.
Was the bolt not torqued correctly ? Were the shocks improperly seated ?

[Simon99]

If they state installation error, ask them to specify what the error was.
Was the bolt not torqued correctly ? Were the shocks improperly seated ?

Thanks for these ideas, I'll ask them and see what they have to answer !

[Wes08M3]

If your mechanic torqued the bolt to spec, the only other reason I can think of as to why the bolt would've come off is like you said, the threads on the shock were bad, or the threads on the bolt became damaged when it was removed or re-installed.

Maybe someone else can chime in since I'm not 100% sure, but that bolt may have some sort of plastic thread locker on it. Maybe that was damaged. Or maybe it's just a regular bolt...

[Simon99]

If your mechanic torqued the bolt to spec, the only other reason I can think of as to why the bolt would've come off is like you said, the threads on the shock were bad, or the threads on the bolt became damaged when it was removed or re-installed.

Maybe someone else can chime in since I'm not 100% sure, but that bolt may have some sort of plastic thread locker on it. Maybe that was damaged. Or maybe it's just a regular bolt...

I could try taking out the other one and see ?

[TheMAN]

if an oblong locking nut was used to fasten the strut piston to the strut mounts like what Tokico ships with their aftermarket struts, then the torque values will be thrown off due to the difficulty of threading on the nut...
there's almost no reason to use hand tools to tighten a nut to the strut piston... you don't want it to come off easily nor will it hurt it over torquing except in some rare cases where you do need low torque on the nut, such as the Protege's rear struts

[Wes08M3]

I could try taking out the other one and see ?

From your first picture it looks like a regular bolt. I wouldn't take the chance and take that bolt out, not worth the trouble. If you can't convince Koni that your mechanic followed proper procedures when installing the struts, you're probably SOL on this one, keep trying but you might just have to bite the bullet.

I know you can buy the Koni Yellow's individually from Tire Rack, not sure how competitive the price will be though.

[Simon99]

From your first picture it looks like a regular bolt. I wouldn't take the chance and take that bolt out, not worth the trouble. If you can't convince Koni that your mechanic followed proper procedures when installing the struts, you're probably SOL on this one, keep trying but you might just have to bite the bullet.

I know you can buy the Koni Yellow's individually from Tire Rack, not sure how competitive the price will be though.

Right now, they're going to ship me a driver side shock for 140$ + SH and they'll decide when I send them my broken one if they cover it under warranty or not. I'll try to get some evidence (# of kilometers travelled, written copy of repair done by mechanic with the procedures) and some questions to show them that it seems very unprobable to me that a 20+ experience mechanic under-torqued a strut bolt .. But eh, I'm just one guy ..

[S.F.W.]

Right now, they're going to ship me a driver side shock for 140$ + SH and they'll decide when I send them my broken one if they cover it under warranty or not. I'll try to get some evidence (# of kilometers travelled, written copy of repair done by mechanic with the procedures) and some questions to show them that it seems very unprobable to me that a 20+ experience mechanic under-torqued a strut bolt .. But eh, I'm just one guy ..

That seems like a reasonable offer to me. If koni decides it is improper install they should be able to provide details.
At that point you can take that to your mechanic and discuss further.

[stock3]

If your mechanic replaced the bolt and everything is good now, why do you want a new stru? What guarantee will you have that something like that doesn't happen with the new strut? It was clearly your mechanic's fault, because if the threads were damaged or something else was amiss that caused the bolt to back off, he would not install a new bolt and should've recommended a new strut. Since nothing like that happened, and everything is good, just keep driving and maybe monitor it for the next few weeks.

[Wes08M3]

^ the damping adjustment on the strut was damaged as a result of the strut falling out. That's why he wants to replace it. It's also hard to say what other sort of internal damage was done from driving the car with the strut just banging around in there, so it would be a safe bet to replace it just in case.

[michaelm]

This happened to me before but different scenario. I forgot to tighten the strut bar bolts while doing some work on my car. Perhaps your mechanic didn't align the holes properly before tightening the bolts down. As I lowered the car to the ground, I heard a Paaak noise. It looked exactly like picture number one. No biggie, Just re-raise both front ends of your car (not just 1) and pull your shock a bit towards you so the adjustment knob aligns in the middle while aligning the strut bolt holes. screw your bolts in then re torque when you lower your car back down.

oops edit* didn't realize the op already solved the issue :P

[Simon99]

this happened to me before but different scenario. I forgot to tighten the strut bar bolts while doing some work on my car. As I lowered the car to the ground, I heard a Paaak noise and went ohh noo. It looked exactly like picture number one. No biggie, Just re-raise both front ends of your car (not just 1) and pull your shock a bit towards you so the adjustment knob aligns in the middle while aligning the strut bolt holes. screw your bolts in then re torque when you lower your car back down.

oops edit* didn't realize the op already solved the issue :P

yeah, for you it just dropped but for me, it popped out under driving conditions so not only did the screw get slammed in the piston, but the nut popping off damaged the thread of the shock and we weren't able to place it back unless using power tools. A replacement shipped today from Koni

[michaelm]

Yeah that's unfortunate. Glad nothing serious happened to you while driving!! Hopefully its not mechanical error for improper aligning/tightening of your strut and you get your $140 back from koni :)

[Zuluwun]

I am just suggesting you that do not repair your car any mechanic usually they create another problem to make money so always go to a reputed car care center so then you can better take care of your vehicle and avoid the problems.

lol? not sure if serious...

[TheMAN]

Right now, they're going to ship me a driver side shock for 140$ + SH and they'll decide when I send them my broken one if they cover it under warranty or not. I'll try to get some evidence (# of kilometers travelled, written copy of repair done by mechanic with the procedures) and some questions to show them that it seems very unprobable to me that a 20+ experience mechanic under-torqued a strut bolt .. But eh, I'm just one guy ..

how is under torquing improbable if:
a) his torque wrench is a cheap POS and/or out of calibration
b) the self locking nuts had so much frictional resistance that it caused the torque readings to be exaggerated, which meant the torque wrench was reading higher than what it really was in reality.... which I explained already but seemed to fail to register in your brain

just because your mechanic has 20 years experience doesn't make him a good mechanic... there are good and bad mechanics out there, young and old... just like doctors...
the only thing we can do is speculate how good or bad your mechanic is... that's all... there's no way to determine how good he is without other people's experiences of his work or another good mechanic checking on his work

but one thing is for sure though.... a torque wrench on the strut piston nut was totally unnecessary and just blasting the nut on with an impact wrench would've gotten the job done quickly, efficiently, and effectively... this thread wouldn't have existed if he had done that
it is very difficult to properly torque a strut piston nut as the piston will try to spin while you tighten the nut... even with a special tool to hold the piston in place, there's very little room to do this... why even bother with this... just blast the nut on and go on with the day... it'll be a little over torqued, but would not have hurt anything... thousands of mechanics every day around the world install new struts this way with no problems, unless they were idiots and crossthreaded the nuts or over torqued them so badly, they twisted off... THAT itself is more improbable than under torquing