My rear passenger shock is loose.

I'm wondering if it is it being loose from the Top Hat or if the shock is dead.

I'm away from home so I can't look at the car myself (no jacks, garage, etc...).

Any ideas what it could be? It is on Koni SP3 and Eibach Springs. Never had a problem until there was rattling underneath my speakers. Brought it to a mechanic and they said it is a problem with the shock/top hat (I had thought it was the speaker that got loose originally). My issue is that they took out the seats and all for $50... they want to charge a total of $90 to determine the underlying issue then $120 for labor on replacing the part whether its the shock/tophat then the cost of the part itself. I hate paying for stuff that I can do myself.

So what do you think it is?

 

Gremlin with a small portable jackhammer?

 

could be anything. no way to tell without more info. show us a picture maybe

 

Got a chance to take out the rear seat and low and behold:



Any ideas if it is the strut mount or the strut itself? Manafac. defect? It is a Koni SP3

 

Holy crap! I know exactly what happened. Whoever installed it did it wrong and left out a necessary washer under the top hat, so the result is that the shock gets pushed up out of the top hat. Seen this happen before on other cars.

 

It's the washer with the angled hole in the middle so it prevents the shock from popping up like that. No fault at all from the konis, it was a faulty installation. The same would happen to an OEM shock without that washer too.

Btw the top washer under those 2 nuts is upside down. The edges should be angled upwards. Not a big deal though, I see a lot of ppl installing them upside down.

 

Oh

I did the installation :X but I rushed it tbh because it was getting late. Bad idea :/ Justin told me the same. I have to remove the strut to put the washer am I right? Do you know the diameter of the Washer possibly?

 

Remove shock and take it apart via spring compressor. Assemble it correctly

 

Yes. you have to remove the strut/spring combo, compress the spring, disassemble the tophat, and put it back together correctly. You're missing the washer as noted above. There are dimples on the strut rod that make contact with the washer and don't allow it to pop up like you've got.

 

Damn champ

Get it done right

 

I hope you saved that washer though because the ones for konis are not the same as the OEM ones. May need to order from koni directly.

 

you're going to have a tough time removing that shock/spring combo safely. it's hard enough compressed, i can't imagine what it will be like with a free moving tophat. be careful.

 

I think its the strut and not because of the washer. The Service Manual says there isn't a washer below the top hat and that there is only a rubber bushing.

Also the metal shock part is pushed up how would I push that down if it isn't the strut?

 

It's the washer, I guarantee it.

Good call by JJH, the top hat is essentially unbolted from the spring. With the car on the suspension the spring won't go anywhere but when you start unbolting it, it may want to fly out. What I recommend is take a jack under the hub, and take off some of the control arms so you can let the jack down slowly and let the spring come out safely. That's actually how ppl installing springs without a spring compressor, by using the jack method.

 

#14, thats what you are missing. there is absolutely no way for the shock to pop up like how yours did with the #14 washer in place. it fits in that tapered part on the shock shaft

 

hmmm ok im trying to picture in my head where 14 and 15 was at. Is the washer between 4 and 9? Or is it on the very bottom. Sorry I didn't notice anything when I took it out today.

 

No. think of it like this, from bottom to top in order:

shock
bumpstop
#14 washer
#12 dust boot
#13 dust boot cap
#3 black washer
then you put the spring over it

then you put the top hat on, and the diagram has the correct order. its a little confusing at first but when you've worked on 20+ sets of suspension its all self explanatory after, you will understand what each piece does. the #14 washer sits on the shock shaft at the tapered part in the middle so that the shock CANNOT extrude past the top hat, it will hit the top hat bottom bushing. the same concept is used for the highest washer(#1) except its reversed

 

Gotcha yup there was no washer after the bump stop.

Now let's see if I can find this washer.

Should the spring be very loose that I can just take off the spring?

 

The spring isn't going to be loose, it's going to be very tight since it has nothing compressing it It's sprung against the mounting surface.

 

Well the spring is completely loose I can just push it out when I take the strut off. That is once I loosen and remove the nuts that is holding it on the top.

 

That sucks, any deep scratches in the shaft after it popped through like that?

 

I don't understand how the spring is loose. When you compress the spring and install the top hat on the strut, the spring is compressed. Now since the top hate isn't going to keep the spring stationary when you loosen the lower strut mount and the three nuts up top, it's going to just keep expanding along with the top hat into the mounting surface whereas normally the springs travel would be limited due to the top hat stopping it.

 

I don't know what to tell you. :x

But it was loose and was compressed originally.

 

the shock itself isnt compressed any more, since it went through the top hat.
I dont think you'll have any trouble taking it off, as Ive done it and helped a friend with this same exact problem.

you'll need to find that washer to correctly install it.

 

i think champ has aftermarket lowering springs which are generally shorter in overall length. that way when the car is off the ground, the spring has enough space to become uncompressed. oem spring is longer and may not have enough space. even if it was compressed, all he needs is to place the jack under the hub to let it uncompress slowly. springs arent that dangerous if you do this right.

 

^correct.

Aight, I may either pay someone to do it just to get it over with or see if Justin can help me on Saturday. Justin I love you?

 

i feel like i posted so much useful information here and I didnt get any thanks....

 

Holy shit I had no idea the too of the struts come all the way up to the back lid.

 

they dont lol, this was an install error, not how its designed

 

lol is that what we have planned for saturday?
i thought i was going on vacation!

 

I thanked you both and I rarely thank (via AZ ofc) people.

I got it done at a local shop I know and they did it for $50. I didn't have time to deal with it anymore!

Thanks for the help. Now I'll remember you paperboy as the one who helped me not the one who raced on his broken transmission.

 

Glad to hear that you got it resolved.

 

It makes a squeaking noise now like something is loose. It shakes but doesn't move or anything (the top side)

 

Was your shocking leaking or damage prior to the mishap? Worn shaft seals or shock shafts perhaps?

 

Besides top hitting frame nope

 

oomg the most annoying sound ever i liked it even better yesterday when the car was f*cked up but made a less annoying sound :/

 

make sure spring is situated correctly in rubber molding in top hat

 

so its making noise after the shop installed it? take it back to them, they should warranty their work. honestly a lot of shops probably wont know the exact order of washers for aftermarket suspensions unless they've done it before.

 

Yep take it back

 

Yeah taking it back. They did tell me they would not warranty if the issue would arise again as in the strut was bad or if the washer didn't hold up, but they never said anything about bad installation. They're a ma' and pa' store and the owner is very nice, just worried they may not know too much about aftermarket parts.