About To Fit My Coilovers

[Rich_p 23]

Sometime ago I purchased a pair of avo coilovers off of here, I knew one had a damaged rod but the other was fine but needing a rebuild.

 

I got them both to avo who rebuilt the one with a damaged rod but the other was not rebuildable due to damage on the body.

(which was massively annoying and cost me far more than intended!)

 

They sold me a replacement at cost and sent them both back. - They have also adjusted the shims to allow for the harder 400lb springs I have fitted to them.

 

When I received the new one is was seized in its compressed state, after a phone call to them they said this is quite notmal and just use a vice etc to free it, which a did a couple of months back and it left a black mark on the shaft, they said that is normal too.

 

I checked them yesterday before building them up with the springs etc but am not entirely happy as the old rebuilt one seems to compress very, very easily and returns to it's open postion quickly yet the Brand new one is virtually solid and near impossible to compress by hand.

 

Would you expect the new one to act like this and then free up over time? Or is the older rebuilt one too soft?

 

I'm just worried the car will handle oddly due to the seemingly uneven shocks?

 

Any opinions?

Edited March 22, 2010 by Rich_p

[welshpug 1,655]

Depends how much was replaced when they were rebuilt, but the new one I would expect to be pretty tight with brand new seals bushes and piston.

 

Very slight wear on the old piston even if not damaged can make it slide a lot easier through a new seal.

[TT205 42]

Surely something is wrong if you can compress by hand? - certainly when I replaced my Avo's a few years ago I was told one of them was knackered and this was demonstrated to me by it being compressed by hand

 

I would expect both to be identical and to a very close tolerance or you are wasting your time fitting them

 

I'm sure Rippthrough will be along soon enough and can give a definitive answer - or PM him

[Rippthrough 98]

Surely something is wrong if you can compress by hand? - certainly when I replaced my Avo's a few years ago I was told one of them was knackered and this was demonstrated to me by it being compressed by hand

 

I would expect both to be identical and to a very close tolerance or you are wasting your time fitting them

 

I'm sure Rippthrough will be along soon enough and can give a definitive answer - or PM him

 

 

Should be fine compressing them by hand, you're only working against the gas pressure and compression damping, you can compress the Foxes by hand (well, both hands, if you put one end on the floor...)and they've got internal springing too.

I wouldn't be happy at two dampers that felt completely different though, I know you'll only be on the low speed circuit by hand but if they were more than 10-20% out even comparing used to new, I'd be getting them sorted.

A new one and a rebuilt one should be within 5% ideally (although most of the cheap dampers you seem to be lucky to be within about 15% with two brand new ones, so...), and if it's rebuilt with a new shaft it should have had new rod seals, bearings and new piston wear bands the same as the new one.

About the only difference should be the slight internal wear on the bore of the old one, which should be fairly negligable.

 

I'd put my money on them being gassed up to different pressures, maybe they've changed the gas containment on the new one?

[TT205 42]

Should be fine compressing them by hand, you're only working against the gas pressure and compression damping, you can compress the Foxes by hand (well, both hands, if you put one end on the floor...)

 

The duff one on mine would just slide in and out - no effort required

[Rich_p 23]

Thanks for the comments.

 

I've just had a chat with them and they don't seem to worried, he just thinks it's the new seals working which is causing them to stick. They are happy to test them for me on the test righ and return them foc but it still means me paying for them to be shipped up there which is a bit annoying.

 

I think I'll pop them on the car and take it for a run to free them up then take them off and see if they feel any different.