Preparation for Koni inserts

[Nvy]

I had one that was tight. I lubed it & worked it & persuaded it in.

Tried to give it a push and it didnt work, I am afraid not to break anything

[Gaz mr-s]

I had one that was tight. I lubed it & worked it & persuaded it in.

Tried to give it a push and it didnt work, I am afraid not to break anything

Rotate it, & lube it....you might need a vice. Maybe a small wire brush in a drill or a half-round file. Are both inserts the same in that strut?

[Nvy]

I had one that was tight. I lubed it & worked it & persuaded it in.

Tried to give it a push and it didnt work, I am afraid not to break anything

Rotate it, & lube it....you might need a vice. Maybe a small wire brush in a drill or a half-round file. Are both inserts the same in that strut?

2nd shock cut and the insert went right in. Ill try the other insert in an hour

[Nvy]

The other insert will fit with some wiggle. Took me 4 hours and a broken back to cut these. All in all I am happy with the work done, need to degrease them and paint them.

[Gaz mr-s]

The other insert will fit with some wiggle. Took me 4 hours and a broken back to cut these. All in all I am happy with the work done, need to degrease them and paint them.

Should have got an angle-grinder....makes it a doddle

[Nvy]

The other insert will fit with some wiggle. Took me 4 hours and a broken back to cut these. All in all I am happy with the work done, need to degrease them and paint them.

Should have got an angle-grinder....makes it a doddle

Bought too much stuff this time - vice, workmate and some bits to make the holes. The angle grinder is for the next time I need it.

[Nvy]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

[Joesson]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

What hole/ what is the hole in, is it in the correct position,  what size is it now and what size do you want it to be?

[Nvy]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

What hole/ what is the hole in, is it in the correct position,  what size is it now and what size do you want it to be?

I need to get it from 3 mm to 13 mm. Its more or less in the correct position at the moment. All 4 shocks have 3 mm hole at the bottom. I have just the hand drill so it can move very easy if my hands are shaky thats why I am asking for tips.

[Joesson]

Double post!

[Joesson]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

What hole/ what is the hole in, is it in the correct position,  what size is it now and what size do you want it to be?

I need to get it from 3 mm to 13 mm. Its more or less in the correct position at the moment. All 4 shocks have 3 mm hole at the bottom. I have just the hand drill so it can move very easy if my hands are shaky thats why I am asking for tips.

If you have this type of hand drill:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-1mm-8mm-Hand-Drill-Colour/dp/B00004UDKT/ref=asc_df_B00004UDKT/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226606326869&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14446398747908571103&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006976&hvtargid=pla-486293491837&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Then you will find it VERY difficult to drill out to 13mm using twist drills of 5/ 8 /13 mm diameter as you will be trying to remove a great amount of steel.
The " more or less" correct position could also be a problem dependent open the fixing diameter.
My advice is to invest in an electric hand drill. Mains or battery powered according to your situation.
Drilling any hole typically requires a good Centre position, created with a centre punch and ideally a centre drill. Otherwise the punch and a small diameter twist drill. The diameter of the twist drill increased incrementally up to the required diameter.
If you cannot obtain an electric drill you could try with twist drills increasing in say 1 mm increments maybe possible with a hand drill.
A better alternative could be a cone bit:
https://www.edwardes.co.uk/products/alpen-721003141-conecut-size-1-hss-taper-drill-3-5mm-to-14mm?gclid=CjwKCAjw8cCGBhB6EiwAgORey8yChmtistYExajLn9fb0sssULwsAgJJ6WXZG8olZncx3NUpAExWbBoCSHAQAvD_BwE

This would give a progressive increment as the cone enters the work piece.

Remember that a reasonable quality tool will last for more than one project and gradually you will accumulate a selection that will help with many projects.

[Nvy]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

What hole/ what is the hole in, is it in the correct position,  what size is it now and what size do you want it to be?

I need to get it from 3 mm to 13 mm. Its more or less in the correct position at the moment. All 4 shocks have 3 mm hole at the bottom. I have just the hand drill so it can move very easy if my hands are shaky thats why I am asking for tips.

If you have this type of hand drill:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-1mm-8mm-Hand-Drill-Colour/dp/B00004UDKT/ref=asc_df_B00004UDKT/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226606326869&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14446398747908571103&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006976&hvtargid=pla-486293491837&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Then you will find it VERY difficult to drill out to 13mm using twist drills of 5/ 8 /13 mm diameter as you will be trying to remove a great amount of steel.
The " more or less" correct position could also be a problem dependent open the fixing diameter.
My advice is to invest in an electric hand drill. Mains or battery powered according to your situation.
Drilling any hole typically requires a good Centre position, created with a centre punch and ideally a centre drill. Otherwise the punch and a small diameter twist drill. The diameter of the twist drill increased incrementally up to the required diameter.
If you cannot obtain an electric drill you could try with twist drills increasing in say 1 mm increments maybe possible with a hand drill.
An alternative could be a cone bit:
https://www.edwardes.co.uk/products/alpen-721003141-conecut-size-1-hss-taper-drill-3-5mm-to-14mm?gclid=CjwKCAjw8cCGBhB6EiwAgORey8yChmtistYExajLn9fb0sssULwsAgJJ6WXZG8olZncx3NUpAExWbBoCSHAQAvD_BwE

This would give a progressive increment as the cone enters the work piece.

Remember that a reasonable quality tool will last for more than one project and gradually you will accumulate a selection that will help with many projects.

I do have electric drill ofc, this one https://www.bosch-diy.com/gb/en/p/pbh-2100-re-06033a9300-v28382 . No idea how to be more precise and to stop my hands from shaking. The 3mm was quite easy coz I used a centre punch and was like a walk in the park.

[Joesson]

Any tips how to enlarge the hole w/o screwing it all? I have 3 mm, 8mm and 13mm drilling bits.

What hole/ what is the hole in, is it in the correct position,  what size is it now and what size do you want it to be?

I need to get it from 3 mm to 13 mm. Its more or less in the correct position at the moment. All 4 shocks have 3 mm hole at the bottom. I have just the hand drill so it can move very easy if my hands are shaky thats why I am asking for tips.

If you have this type of hand drill:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-1mm-8mm-Hand-Drill-Colour/dp/B00004UDKT/ref=asc_df_B00004UDKT/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226606326869&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14446398747908571103&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006976&hvtargid=pla-486293491837&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Then you will find it VERY difficult to drill out to 13mm using twist drills of 5/ 8 /13 mm diameter as you will be trying to remove a great amount of steel.
The " more or less" correct position could also be a problem dependent open the fixing diameter.
My advice is to invest in an electric hand drill. Mains or battery powered according to your situation.
Drilling any hole typically requires a good Centre position, created with a centre punch and ideally a centre drill. Otherwise the punch and a small diameter twist drill. The diameter of the twist drill increased incrementally up to the required diameter.
If you cannot obtain an electric drill you could try with twist drills increasing in say 1 mm increments maybe possible with a hand drill.
An alternative could be a cone bit:
https://www.edwardes.co.uk/products/alpen-721003141-conecut-size-1-hss-taper-drill-3-5mm-to-14mm?gclid=CjwKCAjw8cCGBhB6EiwAgORey8yChmtistYExajLn9fb0sssULwsAgJJ6WXZG8olZncx3NUpAExWbBoCSHAQAvD_BwE

This would give a progressive increment as the cone enters the work piece.

Remember that a reasonable quality tool will last for more than one project and gradually you will accumulate a selection that will help with many projects.

I do have electric drill ofc, this one https://www.bosch-diy.com/gb/en/p/pbh-2100-re-06033a9300-v28382 . No idea how to be more precise and to stop my hands from shaking. The 3mm was quite easy coz I used a centre punch and was like a walk in the park.

Then you are half way there.
Now that you have a pilot hole the rest will be relatively easy as the centre of the progressive diameter drill is centred with the pilot/ preceding drill.
3- 5 should not be a problem. 5-8 could be slightly harder going with what is called " chatter " from the two cutting edges of the twist drill. Similarly 8-13 could chatter, a resultant of the largish differential in diameter and the thin material and the two cutting edges.
Keep a firm downward pressure and try one step at a time. If it doesn't work invest in more twist drills of varying diameters or a cone drill.
Try a drop of engine oil on the drill tip/ work piece.

[Nvy]

All done, cut and drilled. Used a stepped drill bit that wasnt of a very good quality but it worked at the end. Have the holes 12mm and can be enlarged a bit if its not enough. Have an appointment with a shop to fit these for me, just waiting on camber bolts to arrive next week.

[Nvy]

@Gaz mr-s The guys are installing the suspension atm and called me to say that the rear springs are not touching the top mounts and that the spring can be installed w/o a spring compressor. Is the same with your installation?

Also the fronts shocks, where the bolt for the insert is, are almost hitting the drop links when the steering wheel is straight.

No idea if they did it correctly but from my point of view it seems that they did something wrong again

Edit: I have brand new Eibach springs and before that I had TTE but needed to compress them quite a lot in order to remove them.

[Beachbum957]

@Gaz mr-s The guys are installing the suspension atm and called me to say that the rear springs are not touching the top mounts and that the spring can be installed w/o a spring compressor. Is the same with your installation?

Also the fronts shocks, where the bolt for the insert is, are almost hitting the drop links when the steering wheel is straight.

No idea if they did it correctly but from my point of view it seems that they did something wrong again

Edit: I have brand new Eibach springs and before that I had TTE but needed to compress them quite a lot in order to remove them.

Some lowering springs like Tein or H&R may have very little preload.  Not sure about the Eibach.  As a reference, the uncompressed length for rear Tein and H&R springs are both 310 mm.  Stock is about 350 mm

If the inserts are fully bottomed in the housing, you should be fine. Just verify with the installers that the insert is fully bottomed, but if they got the bolt installed and properly torqued, it should be all the way in. 

The bolt for the front inserts may get every close to the sway bar link or even touch when jacked up and the suspension is extended.  The clearance is fine when the suspension is compressed.  On one car with an aftermarket sway bar link, we had to cut a bit off the top rubber for the link mounting stud to get the link slightly lower so it didn't hit when extended.

[Gaz mr-s]

My Koni's came with H & R springs, I can't remember the other brand the kits can come with...may be Eibach?
But the springs will be very similar, & yes do need compression before fitting.

The front & rear springs are very similar lengths, but the rear should look thicker metal (assumption) & the spring diameter of the rear at the bottom is larger than the front.

"Also the fronts shocks, where the bolt for the insert is, are almost hitting the drop links when the steering wheel is straight."...... sorry, not understanding what you mean by that.

[Nvy]

My Koni's came with H & R springs, I can't remember the other brand the kits can come with...may be Eibach?
But the springs will be very similar, & yes do need compression before fitting.

The front & rear springs are very similar lengths, but the rear should look thicker metal (assumption) & the spring diameter of the rear at the bottom is larger than the front.

"Also the fronts shocks, where the bolt for the insert is, are almost hitting the drop links when the steering wheel is straight."...... sorry, not understanding what you mean by that.

Both rear insert and spring are larger diameter so this cant be wrong but maybe the insert didnt go all the way in or they did something wrong as they pressed them using a hydraulic press.

Here is a video of what I meant for the fronts, sorry my english is rly bad
https://youtu.be/KCUevT-n-HE

[Gaz mr-s]

Beachbum understood you.....listen to him he's dealt with them a lot more than me.

Just checking....your struts are KYB?  I saw a facebook post a few days ago that the Koni inserts would not fit in an aftermarket strut.

[shnazzle]

Beachbum understood you.....listen to him he's dealt with them a lot more than me.

Just checking....your struts are KYB?  I saw a facebook post a few days ago that the Koni inserts would not fit in an aftermarket strut.

That's very interesting... It was an option for me. Not anymore but I'm glad I didn't break the bank on a new set of KYBs to put Konis in

[Nvy]

Beachbum understood you.....listen to him he's dealt with them a lot more than me.

Just checking....your struts are KYB?  I saw a facebook post a few days ago that the Koni inserts would not fit in an aftermarket strut.

Yeah Kyb

[Nvy]

@Gaz mr-s The guys are installing the suspension atm and called me to say that the rear springs are not touching the top mounts and that the spring can be installed w/o a spring compressor. Is the same with your installation?

Also the fronts shocks, where the bolt for the insert is, are almost hitting the drop links when the steering wheel is straight.

No idea if they did it correctly but from my point of view it seems that they did something wrong again

Edit: I have brand new Eibach springs and before that I had TTE but needed to compress them quite a lot in order to remove them.

Some lowering springs like Tein or H&R may have very little preload.  Not sure about the Eibach.  As a reference, the uncompressed length for rear Tein and H&R springs are both 310 mm.  Stock is about 350 mm

If the inserts are fully bottomed in the housing, you should be fine. Just verify with the installers that the insert is fully bottomed, but if they got the bolt installed and properly torqued, it should be all the way in. 

The bolt for the front inserts may get every close to the sway bar link or even touch when jacked up and the suspension is extended.  The clearance is fine when the suspension is compressed.  On one car with an aftermarket sway bar link, we had to cut a bit off the top rubber for the link mounting stud to get the link slightly lower so it didn't hit when extended.

They said that they torqued everything to spec, couple of things can go wrong with the rears:
1. Insert not bottomed out
2. Metal spacer not in the right place but they wouldnt be able to tighten the nut if its not there
3. Top mounts can be somehow different

No idea honestly, I will check them out myself when I get the car back

[Gaz mr-s]

Just checking....your struts are KYB?  I saw a facebook post a few days ago that the Koni inserts would not fit in an aftermarket strut.

That's very interesting... It was an option for me. Not anymore but I'm glad I didn't break the bank on a new set of KYBs to put Konis in
[/quote]

Facebook being what it is, there was no further discussion on it...so I don't know more.

[Nvy]

I cant find the length of the springs but I used to have TTE which are supposed to be the same and I had to compress them quite a lot to get them off the shocks.

[Beachbum957]

They said that they torqued everything to spec, couple of things can go wrong with the rears:
1. Insert not bottomed out
2. Metal spacer not in the right place but they wouldnt be able to tighten the nut if its not there
3. Top mounts can be somehow different

No idea honestly, I will check them out myself when I get the car back

(edited)
1.KYB made the OEM struts and they measure the same (I have both).  If the insert was pressed in and they could torque the bolt, the insert would have to be bottomed.  The bolt is not very long

2. This could be a problem as the spacer goes on the top of the mount under the nut.  If they put it under the mount, the nut will still tighten, but the mount will be too high and there would be very little preload

3. Very unlikely as there are very few mounts available other than OEM

Some data is hard to confirm, but Eibach supposedly made the TTE springs, but to a different spec than the ones they sold directly.  I don't have any spec on the aftermarket Eibach other than a picture, but they seem very similar in length to other lowering springs.  A lowering spring is stiffer than stock and compresses less, so they are going to be much shorter than OEM.

Eibach has not made springs for the MRS for quite some time now (probably close to a year), so make sure you have the right springs.

The video of the front is completely normal.  The bolt may hit the sway bar link when the suspension is fully extended.  Under a normal load, it does not.  So unless you are driving in a manner where the front suspension becomes completely extended (such as getting airborne  ), you should never have a problem