Any Koni Yellow owners, some help with which OEM parts I need to reuse

[Woodsy0]

I just bought Koni yellows and H&R O.E. Sports, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how the Koni's are assembled in terms of all the small stuff that goes onto the shock shaft (collar, bushings, washers, bump stops, etc). Maybe I'm just not a visual learner, but the directions that Koni provided were confusing as hell. To add to the problem, I ditched my OEM strut assembly long ago, so I don't know which OEM parts I will need to grab, since Koni requres the re-use of certain strut parts. If someone can provide a listing of which OEM parts I need to reuse, as well as the order of assembly onto the shock shaft, it would be very appreciated. As of now, I have the OEM upper mounts, OEM metal collars, new OEM bump stops, OEM "cups" (metal cups, look like they fit over the bump stops, got them new per the exploded assembly I saw on Mitsubishiparts.com), the two rubber bushings per shock, and the upper shock mounts. Koni came with a bunch of small washers and assorted shock parts as well, and I'm no sure how they all go on/in what order.

Also, this might be a dumb question, but did the OEM shocks come with dust covers, and do the Koni's necessitate the reuse of these? I don't remember if they did, and the diagram on the Mitsu parts site didn't indicate a dust cover, but the (generic) directions that came with the Koni shock indicated the use of a dust cover...

Also, one last thing, do I need to trim the bumpstops given the lower springs and different shock damping characteristics? If so, how much?

Thanks for any help anyone can give,
Scott

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

I cant comment on your Konis specifically, and I reused all the stock parts when my Tokicos were installed, but about the bumpstops...Mitsubishi doesn't even make them anymore and I learned that most new car manufacturers these days aren't even using bumpstops anymore in the assemblies. My rears crumbled they were so old so I didnt bother replacing them. The fronts I put back in as they were still serviceable. Unless you're struts/springs are shot and you're offroading, I don't see why your struts should bottom out at all. So maybe you can do without them. Would probably void their warranty though.

 

[BillDCat]

First off, you shouldn't EVER run without bumpstops. You run the risk of damaging the shaft seal of your shock WHEN the car does bottom out. If your stops are dead, you can get generic replacement ones at places like Tire Rack, etc.

To answer (part of) your specific questions, you shouldn't need to cut your bump stops for the OE Sports. Yes, you need dust covers, or again, you run the risk of effing up the seal by getting grit on the shaft. The OEM covers don't really work well (too short), but you can buy universal ones at say, Checker Auto, and trim them to fit. You will need to enlarge the holes on the "cups" to fit over the Koni shaft, if I remember correctly. It's been a couple years, but I think it goes bump stop, cup with cover, washer, mount, rubber donut, washer, nut.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[asian312]

Bump stops do have to be cut. According to the instructions that came with my springs it was 0.6". Basically hacking off the smallest donut. Cleaned it up a bit, hopefully it makes more sense. I think the OEM metal collars are the cylindrical sleeves I refer to. And the metal "cups" is the washer with lip.

These are the Koni pieces for one corner:
- perch ring (only had them on the fronts)
- perch
- white washer with slit
- washer A - thicker and small diameter
- washer B - thinner and larger diameter
- cylindrical sleave
- small washer with a lip (hole is 12mm)
- 2 x 19mm nuts

Stock pieces reused per corner:
- bump stop
- dust boot
- upper mount w/ spring isolator
- bushings (one for either side of upper mount)

Stock pieces NOT used per corner:
- 17mm nut
- cylindrical sleave
- washer with lip (hole is 10mm)

Start by taking the upper mount with the 2 bushings (careful not to flip the bushings) and push out the stock cylindrical piece and replace it with the one from Koni. I used a hammer to tap it in. We'll refer to this assembly as the upper mount assembly later.

The dust boot is what needs to be enlarged to 12mm, I used a die grinder and a carbide bit. You can use a dremal with a similar bit, but take your time as you can damage the dremel.

This is the order of the parts that assemble onto the Koni shaft. Starting with the c-clip that is already on the shaft:

1) small perch ring (supplied by Koni) - should be the diameter of the main body of the Koni maybe a few mm in thick. Should fit and cup over the c-clip. My rears did not have this piece, only the fronts.

2) perch (supplied by Koni) - should slide right over the perch ring or the c-clip on the rears. Make sure it covers the ring or clip. If not the perch is on upside down.

3) white washer w/ cut in it (supplied by Koni) - sits below the flared stop on the shaft on top of the main body where the shaft comes out, hence the slit.

4) bump stop (reuse) - sits on the flared stop welded to the shaft

5) washer A (supplied by Koni)

6) dust boot (reuse)

7) washer B (supplied by Koni)

8) upper mount assembly (from above)

9) small washer with lip - lip faces up towards the threads of the shaft way from the bushing

10) first 19mm nut. Use a 9mm wrench to hold the shaft and tighten to the specified torque. Becarful not to damage the shaft or the adjustor piece at the top of the shaft. Thread on the second nut and lock it against the first.