gmorris Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Check those lower lock collars on the fronts! I was extremely anal about checking mine for the first 2 weeks...checked them twice a week and they were always tight so I slacked off. After a 1000mile road trip last weekend I noticed some stange noises going over speed bumps and turning so I lifted it up and had a look this morning. Turns out the lower jam nut backed all the way down the body and was contacting the CV joint. It cut the boot all the way around and fired grease evrywhere. It has been contacking the joint itself but it looks like the coilover took the bulk of the damage:redface:. Guess I'll have to take it into the dealer and get the boot replaced and the joint checked out...hopefully no major damage to the joint. I know I've read of one otehr member who had a faulty joint already and mine has been making some clicking noises turning so I hope mine isn't going south...I'm sure I'll get no warranty after this. IMO the design of that lower collar is bad, why not just use another jam nut like the rest so if it backs off it will just fall off and not destroy your front CV's? Some pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highwaydrifter Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutter2k Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Not good. Would you say its a design flaw of the ksports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big lou Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 woah, thanks for the heads up. I'll go and check mine right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big lou Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 gmorris, did you tape up the lower bracket as per the instructions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTCanada Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 How aggressively did you tighten the lower collar sitting on top of the bracket (not the one that backed out on you but the next one up)? I tightened it with a short piece of wood and a hammer. No problems so far but I haven't put as many miles on mine as you have. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 Would there be any problem just taking that piece out of the strut? What instructions?! Mine did not come with instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobY Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 IMO the design of that lower collar is bad, why not just use another jam nut like the rest so if it backs off it will just fall off and not destroy your front CV's? Some pics: Cause for the people with OBXT's or people who desire a higher ride height or used a lower spring rate where the bottom of the shock body is not exposed the extended locking collar is needed to lock the bracket in place as it inserts into the bracket itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorris Posted October 16, 2005 Author Share Posted October 16, 2005 I tightened all the top lock collars down with a hammer and punch but depending on exactly where the "notches" land on that bottom black one it is really tough to get a punch on it. I can't remember if this was one of the ones that didn't line up well or not. It's sure as hell tight now. Seeing how I'm not really happy with the ride (personal opinion) and now this I think these may have a short life on my car...Ion springs are looking better all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorris Posted October 16, 2005 Author Share Posted October 16, 2005 gmorris, did you tape up the lower bracket as per the instructions? My instructions said nothing about taping the lower collar, only the upper one and it was just to stop the "unusual noise" not to stop it from destroying your CV. I know they were damn tight and they sayed tight for quite some time. Taping the lowers would be a good idea...tough to get to though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big lou Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 i think taping the lower bracket is to prevent the collar from loosening. the unusual noise (clunking) vanished when I loosened the top nut. taping the lower bracket had nothing to do with the noise. I realize the instructions state something regarding taping lower bracket to avoid the unusual noise but I don't always believe everything I read. I checked my set up this morning and everything seems fine. I've had mine on since sept. 21st and driven over 4000 kms since then. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you. it's really unfortunate. but thank you for the warning and maybe this thread can help or warn others of what can happen. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorris Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 I would replace the boot myself except you need a crimper to secure the new one on, plus I really don't have time. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and take it to the dealer for the first time. I swore it woud never go to the dealer (I enjoy doing my own maintenance...plus I trust me more). Guess we'll see how they feel about likely the first stage 2 legacy with coilovers, sways and endlnks plus custom gages etc, etc they've seen;). Might need to try out the valet map:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Tell them it came from the dealer that way. Hehehe... -B PS Valet map might not be a bad idea! -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 that looks like a installation error.. how far did you lower the car???? and the locking perch should have been tight enough, you would have to do quite of bit of moving to spin 1/10" (one full turn) a lot to let it back down that far. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scans007 Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 I've had mine of for 3 months now well over 9k on them not a single problem. I've checked them a bunch with in the first 3k, although I think I'll check it out again cuz I'm curious now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorris Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Installation error eh? Do you really think I left the collar threaded down and hanging off the threaded portion? You come on over and show me how to get it tighter than a 5 lb hammer and punch. Thanks for coming out and get your head out of your ass. There is 3/4" of threaded body protruding from the locking collar so yes it did do a lot of backing out. As I said, I checked it twice a week for the first couple weeks and everything was fine. I have about 5000km on them now. The problem occured on a 1000km road trip...I guess I have to pull over every 500km to check my suspension? that looks like a installation error.. how far did you lower the car???? and the locking perch should have been tight enough, you would have to do quite of bit of moving to spin 1/10" (one full turn) a lot to let it back down that far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Installation error eh? Do you really think I left the collar threaded down and hanging off the threaded portion? You come on over and show me how to get it tighter than a 5 lb hammer and punch. Thanks for coming out and get your head out of your ass. There is 3/4" of threaded body protruding from the locking collar so yes it did do a lot of backing out. As I said, I checked it twice a week for the first couple weeks and everything was fine. I have about 5000km on them now. The problem occured on a 1000km road trip...I guess I have to pull over every 500km to check my suspension? well, the question is, how much torque did you tighten down on the collar? There is a possibility that you can OVER-tighten something that could wear out the thread spacing causing it to loosen over the jarring (same concept if you were to over-torque lug nuts and start putting way too much stress on the threads of the wheel studs). I am not sure what the case body of the K-sports are made of, but it's possible that it doesnt take much to bend the threads up and really mess them up. If you are taking a 5 lbs sledge and punch to tighten the spanner wrench, that's probably what did it to make the threads expand more than they needed to be. And why are you using a punch to begin with anyway? If anything, a few taps with a 2.5 lbs rubber mallet on the spanner wrench's end is more than good enough. There should be specs on how much to tighten your locking collars in the manual. Just trying to help you out here, I am not here to be an ass. I have seen a lot of mis-handling of tools and other installation parts which a lot can go wrong. If you wish to blame something, you can probably blame on the threads made of some mallable metal that is fairly soft. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Monkey Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Looks like I'm gonna be jacking up my car tonight too, just to check on these suckers. Haven't heard anything other than the clicking as normal though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmorris Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 I was using a hammer and punch as directed by the k-sport "instructions". As I said, it is very difficult o get a solid hit on the lower collar so I highly doubt that I stripped the threads. Besides, I removed the entire strut and chencked teh threads as well as teh collars and there is no damage whatsoever, I could thread the collar all the way up the body by hand. I understand that a lot of people's problems are caused by user error but I have worked on equipment since I could walk and have modified a lot of vehicles without a problem (I'm also a Mech engineer so I understand how threads work). I only posted this to warn others to check everyting out periodically to avoid the same problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 What would happen if we left the locking lower collar out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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