Left Rear Koni at rest - is this normal?
09-20-2020, 06:20 PM
#11
Registered User
Thread Starter
No, clocking os not torquing. Clocking is repositioning the bushings to their new ride height.
Failure to do this step will result in uneven ride height, wonkey handling, and eventually torn bushings (which are seriously not fun to replace).
To clock bushings:
Ideally you do this on a drive on lift where car is level, resting on its tires with suspension at ride height, and you can reach all tbe suspension bolts. But if you don't have access to such a lift:
Car safely on jack stands under the body, and level.
All four wheels removed
All suspension bolts with a bushing loosened (Front: upper control arm both bolts, lower control arm front bolt, lower shock mount. Rear: upper control arm both bolts lower control arm both bolts, lower shock mount, toe arm)
Place jack under suspension at one corner, then jack until that corner of the car just barely lifts off its jack stand. Now all the weight of that corner is on its suspension. This simulates that corner at ride height.
NOW you can tighten, then torque down, each suspension bolt. Just be super careful, and don't get under tbe the car at all, as this corner is no longer on its stand.
If you aren't comfortable doing this yourself, bring it to a shop. If they look at you funny when you mention all the bushings need to be clocked because you changed ride height, you are in the wrong shop. Keep looking.
Failure to do this step will result in uneven ride height, wonkey handling, and eventually torn bushings (which are seriously not fun to replace).
To clock bushings:
Ideally you do this on a drive on lift where car is level, resting on its tires with suspension at ride height, and you can reach all tbe suspension bolts. But if you don't have access to such a lift:
Car safely on jack stands under the body, and level.
All four wheels removed
All suspension bolts with a bushing loosened (Front: upper control arm both bolts, lower control arm front bolt, lower shock mount. Rear: upper control arm both bolts lower control arm both bolts, lower shock mount, toe arm)
Place jack under suspension at one corner, then jack until that corner of the car just barely lifts off its jack stand. Now all the weight of that corner is on its suspension. This simulates that corner at ride height.
NOW you can tighten, then torque down, each suspension bolt. Just be super careful, and don't get under tbe the car at all, as this corner is no longer on its stand.
If you aren't comfortable doing this yourself, bring it to a shop. If they look at you funny when you mention all the bushings need to be clocked because you changed ride height, you are in the wrong shop. Keep looking.
09-21-2020, 02:31 PM
#13
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Illnoise. WAY downtown, jerky.
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What subframe bolt did you loosen?
You only needed to loosen the UCA and LCA and toe arm mounting points.
On both sides of the car.
Are you sure the shock pigtail is correctly oriented?
Leave the (2) 14mm head top hat nuts loose on the shock also. So you can angle the shock correctly for the bottom mount to line up. (this is all you probably need to do at this point)
The suspension travels in a slight fore/aft arc as well as a side/side arc...look at the LCA shape - its got a built in trailing arm. So yeah...drooping it fully will cause the LCA to move toward the front of the car. The wheel base gets slightly shorter at taller ride heights.
You only needed to loosen the UCA and LCA and toe arm mounting points.
On both sides of the car.
Are you sure the shock pigtail is correctly oriented?
Leave the (2) 14mm head top hat nuts loose on the shock also. So you can angle the shock correctly for the bottom mount to line up. (this is all you probably need to do at this point)
The suspension travels in a slight fore/aft arc as well as a side/side arc...look at the LCA shape - its got a built in trailing arm. So yeah...drooping it fully will cause the LCA to move toward the front of the car. The wheel base gets slightly shorter at taller ride heights.
Last edited by B serious; 09-21-2020 at 02:55 PM.
09-21-2020, 04:20 PM
#14
Registered User
Thread Starter
What subframe bolt did you loosen?
You only needed to loosen the UCA and LCA and toe arm mounting points.
On both sides of the car.
Are you sure the shock pigtail is correctly oriented?
Leave the (2) 14mm head top hat nuts loose on the shock also. So you can angle the shock correctly for the bottom mount to line up. (this is all you probably need to do at this point)
The suspension travels in a slight fore/aft arc as well as a side/side arc...look at the LCA shape - its got a built in trailing arm. So yeah...drooping it fully will cause the LCA to move toward the front of the car. The wheel base gets slightly shorter at taller ride heights.
You only needed to loosen the UCA and LCA and toe arm mounting points.
On both sides of the car.
Are you sure the shock pigtail is correctly oriented?
Leave the (2) 14mm head top hat nuts loose on the shock also. So you can angle the shock correctly for the bottom mount to line up. (this is all you probably need to do at this point)
The suspension travels in a slight fore/aft arc as well as a side/side arc...look at the LCA shape - its got a built in trailing arm. So yeah...drooping it fully will cause the LCA to move toward the front of the car. The wheel base gets slightly shorter at taller ride heights.
Even if I loosen the upper mount bolts and get the bottom to line up once they are all tightened up wouldn't that put the shock back in the position where it's not aligned straight, thus putting ore stress on the shock rod and cause premature wear?
09-21-2020, 07:05 PM
#15
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Illnoise. WAY downtown, jerky.
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Yes but the UCA and LCA didn't provide the movement I needed to get the shock on and I was going to re-torque the subframe anyway just as a matter of course but I expected the shock would line up after it failed to when the UCA and LCA were loosened.
Even if I loosen the upper mount bolts and get the bottom to line up once they are all tightened up wouldn't that put the shock back in the position where it's not aligned straight, thus putting ore stress on the shock rod and cause premature wear?
Even if I loosen the upper mount bolts and get the bottom to line up once they are all tightened up wouldn't that put the shock back in the position where it's not aligned straight, thus putting ore stress on the shock rod and cause premature wear?
When are you going to be at absolute full droop anyway? Never...
Not even with the wheels totally off the ground. You have rubber bushings...and you plan to tighten them at ride height.
Remember how hard it was to push past those? The shock has the same hard time when the wheels are off the ground.
Race setups that use spherical bearings, etc to allow free swinging of the control arms also use radial bearing shock mounts.
You're using lifetime guaranteed Koni Yellows.
Also...if you loosened all the pivoting bushings...it would just fully droop the suspension. You may need to just push down slightly on the control arm to get the shock in. Not anywhere near a struggle. You shouldn't need to loosen the subframe.
No biggie...but you do need to center the subframe now, though.
Last edited by B serious; 09-22-2020 at 04:22 AM.
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