joelpsmith 1 Posted June 1, 2006 ok, this might be difficult to explain so i've included a Diagram Basically that is the end of the piston coming out a Gaz Coilover Shock absorber. I am trying to assemble it with some eccentric top mounts from Compbrake. The question is should the Top Spring Pan sit on the first shouldered section which is 20mm diameter or the second one which is 14mm diameter. The spring pan needs to be drilled to size and i need to know which one to go for before i start. My concern is that if it sits on the first section then there is only a 2mm shoulder to sit on, is this enough? If i go for the second section however, the top mount will sit too high and there will not be enough threaded section to fit the nut on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tom_m 0 Posted June 1, 2006 have you had the coilovers custom machined to fit your parts? if not you won't be able to fit them sucessfully.the spring pan should sit on the lower shoulder with the bearing sitting on top of this and a sleeve nut holding all three together. without modification this isn't possible with eccentric top mounts because you won't have enough thread exposed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TVH 0 Posted June 1, 2006 ok, this might be difficult to explain so i've included a DiagramBasically that is the end of the piston coming out a Gaz Coilover Shock absorber. I am trying to assemble it with some eccentric top mounts from Compbrake. The question is should the Top Spring Pan sit on the first shouldered section which is 20mm diameter or the second one which is 14mm diameter. The spring pan needs to be drilled to size and i need to know which one to go for before i start. My concern is that if it sits on the first section then there is only a 2mm shoulder to sit on, is this enough? If i go for the second section however, the top mount will sit too high and there will not be enough threaded section to fit the nut on. My Gaz coilovers has only the first shoulder (22mm to 14mm), I think it's because I ordered mine for use with eccentric top mounts. Even in my case, it's not too easy to get the top mounts assembled, because the thread on the top of the shaft is still about 10mm too short. Recessed nuts are a solution for this, but you need someone with a lathe to make them for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpsmith 1 Posted June 2, 2006 ok bare with me on this one. My Plan is to drill the top spring pan out to 20mm and sit it on the first shoulder then sit the Eccentric Top mount (which allready has a bearing with 20mm internal diameter) on top of this, then use a sleave nut over the top, and it should fit together pefectly. I just need to be sure that spring pan is ok to fit on that first shoulder with it only having a 2mm lip to sit on? Has anyone else fitted it in this way? or have any pictures of the the fitting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpsmith 1 Posted June 2, 2006 i've spoken to someone at Gaz about this and they say it is fine to sit the Spring Pan on the first shoulder despite there not being much of a lip, as there is no force being applied there. After I got off the phone i thought about this and i'm not convinced its true. Surely when the suspension is compressed the top spring pan has to push the piston down and there will be quite a large force where the two meet. It there anyone else here with Gaz coilovers fitted with non-standard top mounts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rik 0 Posted June 3, 2006 Yeah that doesnt sound right! Are you sure you have the right top pan for eccentric coilovers? I've not fitted my GAZ yet, as i'm awaiting some top mounts but would like to see a picture of it all assembled! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wurzel 16 Posted June 4, 2006 Sounds fine to me, all that's happening is the shock trying to compress. Highish forces granted, but the GAZ shocks don't have massive damping to start with. All the 'force' applied is stopping it from flying apart due to the spring compression. Normally the car is sat and all the force taken from the chassis. If the front spring is under compression when the front wheel is lifted from the ground (as it should be to pass an MOT), then the amount of thread holding the top mount is paramount. Imagine going over a hump back bridge, the front wheels going light and full compression of the front spring felt on the top mount and the shaft retaining nut. If there aren't enough threads holding it together, it could fly apart and the results be interesting to say the least. Mine could all fit together fine, and probably be 'ok', the trouble is, I won't be able to adjust the rebound as the shaft will be recessed too far, even if I got some recessed nuts manufactured locally. Ideally, the shaft needs machining at least another 0.75" possibly 1", this will allow the top of the shaft to protrude from the nut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rik 0 Posted June 5, 2006 Bit off topic sorry guys, but .. does anyone have a picture of the Standard top spring mount, or better still a picture of the coilover top spring pan, both as supplied in the kit from gaz? Its just i'm not sure which one i have??? Rik Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpsmith 1 Posted June 6, 2006 Bit off topic sorry guys, but .. does anyone have a picture of the Standard top spring mount, or better still a picture of the coilover top spring pan, both as supplied in the kit from gaz? Its just i'm not sure which one i have??? Rik The standard one that is supplied from gaz is is basically a ring, the same diameter as the spring and has no centre to it. To use eccentric mounts you need one that is more like a disc with a small hole in the centre that will be the same diameter as the strut. I can get a picture of the standard on later this evening. I spoke to the people at gaz again yesterday and they have offered to modify and assemble everything for me free of charge! I sent the shoccks, top mounts and spring pans along with all the nuts and spacers etc. back to them today. I will hopefully have everything back with me early next week, so i will get some pictures of what they have done and post them up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rik 0 Posted June 6, 2006 (edited) Ok the first pic would be good just for now if you took it? I still think i'm missing a bit now though! Need to ring GAZ really! Rik Heres a pic of my top mount - its from the bottom side up. This is the only piece between the top mount and the spring - should there be anytihng else? (There Eccentric top mounts for coilovers) http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j104/P4RCX/TopPan.jpg Edited June 6, 2006 by Rik Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TVH 0 Posted June 7, 2006 Ok the first pic would be good just for now if you took it? I still think i'm missing a bit now though! Need to ring GAZ really! Rik Heres a pic of my top mount - its from the bottom side up. This is the only piece between the top mount and the spring - should there be anytihng else? (There Eccentric top mounts for coilovers) http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j104/P4RCX/TopPan.jpg This top spring pan is for use with standard top mounts and will not work with eccentric ones. GAZ customer support is very good so just ring them and they come up with a solution Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpsmith 1 Posted June 7, 2006 This top spring pan is for use with standard top mounts and will not work with eccentric ones. GAZ customer support is very good so just ring them and they come up with a solution Yeah give Gaz a call, they are very helpful and will be able to supply you with the correct top spring pan for use with eccentric mounts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TVH 0 Posted June 7, 2006 FYI, My Gaz kit is the SAS306 Competition kit, and I've bought Roller eccentric top mounts from Rally design. I also bought 4pc of 'top hat spacers' from Rally Design which are also needed. Because the thread on the top of the coilover is 10mm too short for these top mounts, I made threads in the topmost 'top hat spacer' (the right thread is M14x1.5) and drilled two 4mm holes on the outer circle, to fit a angle grinder spanner for tightening the new made nut. Some pics coming soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TVH 0 Posted June 10, 2006 Top Hat Spacers Here's the top hat spacers, on the left is how Rally desing delivers them, on the right is one that's been drilled to 14mm and the middle one has M14x1.5 thread and two 4mm holes for the angle grinder spanner. Assembled coilover pic 1 Assembled coilover pic 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpsmith 1 Posted June 10, 2006 I like it, you've basically used a spacer as a nut instead of the usual sleave nut, i guess this will uses about 8mm less of the thread section on the strut. I'm expecting my modified and assembled strut to be delivered back from gaz on monday, so i will post some pics and see how they compare. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
