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| Moderated by: Greg Fletcher |
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| Front Shock Bolts | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: 03-28-2006 10:57 pm |
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1st Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member 
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I'm in the process of replacing the old Koni front shocks on 19336 with new Bilsteins. It turns out that the Bilstein upper and lower bushing inside diameters (ID) are larger than those on the Konis. The Koni bushings seem to have the correct bushing IDs. The bolt hole on the suspension upper shock mount, and the mounting bolt, are 7/16", while the upper bushing ID on the Bilstein shock is 1/2". The lower Bilstein shock bushing ID, at 15/32" is also bigger than its 7/16" lower mounting bolt. Has anyone out there had experience with this issue?
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 05:18 am |
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2nd Post |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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Jim- whoever mounted those Koni's probably switched to a smaller bolt to accommodate. The Koni mounts have a smaller I.D. than the original JH shock. I used the vernier calipers to check the size of the stock shock mount bolts (still original on my car). The stock bolt diameter comes out to 0.452 O.D. on my car. The Bilstein lower mount appears to be 0.475" I.D. The Bilstein is a product of Germany and I would assume that they are metric. An M12 bolt would have an O.D. of 0.465" and would appear to be an ideal fit if new bolts are required, otherwise an owner should able to get by with the original JH part.
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 07:15 am |
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3rd Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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I'll try 12mm x 2.5" bolt for the .475" ID bottom shock bushing. The top shock bushing ID is .5" which comes out to 12.7mm. I'll try a 12.5mm x 4" bolt there. Class 5 of course for both and new lock nuts. Hope they fit through the holes in the suspension. Why are the top and bottom shock bushing IDs different? Seems like they should be the same.
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 03:21 pm |
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4th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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Will you sell me your old Konis Jim? Kurt Housh
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 07:14 pm |
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5th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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If I can make the Bilsteins work you're welcome to the Konis, Kurt. I bought 2 ea 12mm x 6cm bolts to fit the bottom Bilstein shock bushing and will have to drill out the holes a bit in the bottom shock mount as they are slightly smaller than the 12mm bolt. I also bought 2 ea 1/2" x 4" bolts for the top. 1/2" is a nice fit for the Bilstein upper bushing. 12.5mm would also fit but was not available. The metal component to which the rubber bump stop is attached is welded to the metal suspension component at the top of the spring. They both have holes in them where the upper shock mount bolt is to be fitted, but the holes appear to be slightly offset. (See attached picture) The outer hole will accommodate the 1/2" bolt but possibly because of the offset the bolt will not pass through the inner hole. It's also possible that the inner hole is smaller than 1/2". Hard to tell without a mirror. Since there is no room to line up a drill under the fender, I'll use a Dremel tool with flexible drive and cutting or grinding bits to open up the hole on each side so the 1/2" bolt will fit.
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 07:28 pm |
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6th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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The jpg file was over 500 kb so it can't be attached.
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| Posted: 03-29-2006 08:19 pm |
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7th Post |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator
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That's probably 10x too large. Just reduce the size of the photo- there is no need for a web photo to be over 50K. On the bolts- I won't cut the original factory stuff- maybe some steel tubing acting as a sleeve would work in the mount?
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| Posted: 03-30-2006 01:38 am |
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8th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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The upper mount holes are now 1/2 inch to match the shock bushing. Nearly finished reassembling one side but having trouble lining up the holes for the 2 bolts that hold the bent rod to the hub carrier. Tomorrow I'll get some larger punches to finish it up. Greg made the picture less data intense. It's attached. Attachment: Upper_Shock_Mount.jpg (Downloaded 64 times)
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| Posted: 03-31-2006 12:21 am |
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9th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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I picked up a nice set of 8 drift and alignment punches for ~$6 at Sears and used the largest one, a long tapered alignment punch, to align the three holes (Control arm, Lower suspension arm and Shock mounting outer and inner brackets) so the bolt would fit through. I had initially used a smaller diameter but longer helper bolt/nut in one of the bolt holes to draw the control arm down close to the lower suspension arm and shock mounting brackets. After alignment of the holes I was able to insert one bolt semi- tighten its nut, remove the helper bolt, insert the other bolt and torque both of the nuts. There was previously a considerable amount of jacking and supporting to compress the gas shock and get its brackets secured with the #56 bolt. The lower shock bushing was a bit shorter that the previous one so before I could get both bracket holes to line up with the holes in the lower suspension arm I had to bend the bracket ends apart a bit. This completed the installation and reassembly of the left front shock/spring components. Mark Rosenbaum's JH Front Suspension Torques diagram was a big help. One of these days I'll start on the right front shock. That side of the car is close to the wall so I may have to take it off the jackstands and turn it around facing out to get better access. I'd be interested in comments/solutions employed by others who have installed the Bilsteins. Could be helpful for the next install.
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| Posted: 08-21-2008 07:30 am |
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10th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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Kurt, I did get the Bilsteins installed all around and they are fine. I still have the Konis I took off if you are interested. I haven't frequented the message board for a while abnd forgot about your interest in the Konis, so sorry for not following up with you sooner.
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| Posted: 08-21-2008 03:37 pm |
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11th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Hi Jim, I purchased a pair of front Koni's from Ron Earp. I then realized that the KYB gas shocks currently on the car are holding the car up in a higher stance than the hydraulic Konis would. I would never be able to get in my driveway! Is your car riding higher with the Bilsteins installed? Kurt
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| Posted: 08-21-2008 06:10 pm |
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12th Post |
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Jim DeClerck Member
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I didn't check the before and after ride height measurements but I don't believe the Bilsteins raised the car noticeably.
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