raising rear coilover... hit a probem

[Cascada]

sorry if this has been covered before , but had a search couldnt find much else that covered on this topic.

just need bit of advice and help, these new wheels are scrubbing on the car when going around roundabouts or taking any sharp turn. probaby as these wheels are wider then my old wheeks... they are 15x6.5 with a 35 offset.

i understand car sits low as seen in pic....
http://i31.tinypic.com/ju91f5.jpg

what im asking is a little clarification/help raising the back coilover. i have managed to adjust the front but for some reason when i do the similar thing on the back coilover it turns the whole strut.


below couple pics i took and have labelled....
so i have loosened A and removed bolt B and attempted to wind/turn the actual purple casing part of the coilover but for some reason, unlike the front it turns the whole strut.
im not sure if im even doing this right, anyone that could shed some light would be great!
pictures in links below, they are not scaled down.... ;)
http://i30.tinypic.com/esut90.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/2e6gh06.jpg

sorry for long read. really hope it all makes sense :o

oh and i know about rolling guards and all that, but much prefer to just raise the car up an inch

[mars_panas]

roll ur guards... looks hot like that leave the height.....

[Cascada]

roll ur guards... looks hot like that leave the height.....

rolling them an option trying to avoid at the moment, if all else fails i would
dont think looks are all that important, plus is illegally low now, and rather not get a defect....

[Red_EG4]

You might need to take the Strut out.
If you put one C spanner up on the second lock nut and spin the bottom mount does the strut still spin?

[string]

It will handle better with the rear higher.

[Cascada]

You might need to take the Strut out.
If you put one C spanner up on the second lock nut and spin the bottom mount does the strut still spin?


i think i tried what you mentioned and it wont budge...
it will spin the inner strut the gas strut, spring will stay where it is.e

will be attempting again tomorrow, just taking ideas now before i try again

[Killa From Manila]

happened to my rear right 1 too, the lower part seized on mine and was a **** to adjust. i ended up spraying the guts of it with wd40 and running it under hot water lol. then tightened the 2 upper lock rings together and held they with the c spanners to stop the strut from spinning and got a mate to turn the bottom part with a bar (the bottom bit on my coilover has a fork, not a ball joint like urs). took a shitload of force but finally cracked the seal and could adjust it. tip - always clean the thread with a toothbrush b4 adjusting ur coilovers.

[Red_EG4]

i think i tried what you mentioned and it wont budge...
it will spin the inner strut the gas strut, spring will stay where it is.e

will be attempting again tomorrow, just taking ideas now before i try again

that sounds very weird.
if the lock nut doesnt move and the piston rotates then I have no idea whats wrong there, but doesnt sound normal.

[chrome]

You are not meant to remove bolt B when you want to adjust your coilovers. Put the bolt back in, tighten it and try again.

[Bludger]

the height is not the issue, its your springs, they too soft.

[Bludger]

You are not meant to remove bolt B when you want to adjust your coilovers. Put the bolt back in, tighten it and try again.how the hell is he gonna adjust the height without taking off bolt B????


happened to my rear right 1 too, the lower part seized on mine and was a **** to adjust. i ended up spraying the guts of it with wd40 and running it under hot water lol. then tightened the 2 upper lock rings together and held they with the c spanners to stop the strut from spinning and got a mate to turn the bottom part with a bar (the bottom bit on my coilover has a fork, not a ball joint like urs). took a shitload of force but finally cracked the seal and could adjust it. tip - always clean the thread with a toothbrush b4 adjusting ur coilovers.good advice, clean the threads.

[vinnY]

chrome is right
you keep bolt b in place
loosen bolt a and grab the screw threads and rotate it until you get the desired ride height

[chrome]

how the hell is he gonna adjust the height without taking off bolt B????

Removing bolt B frees the coilover from the lower control arm of the suspension. That is why he is having problems with the strut rotating and not adjusting.

[JasonGilholme]

if you don't loosen bolt b to adjust the ride height you are actually changing the preload of the suspension. therefore you're not only changing the height of the car but are also changing the effective spring rate of the coilover.

If you want to maintain the spring rate and adjust the ride height of the car you need to loosen bolt B.

need to learn more about suspension adjustment chrome. :thumbsup:

[chargeR]

if you don't loosen bolt b to adjust the ride height you are actually changing the preload of the suspension. therefore you're not only changing the height of the car but are also changing the effective spring rate of the coilover.

If you want to maintain the spring rate and adjust the ride height of the car you need to loosen bolt B.

need to learn more about suspension adjustment chrome. :thumbsup:

You are mistaken. Chrome is correct. If the OP has succesfully loosened the lower coller (A in the pictures) he need not remove bolt B. Once the lower collar is loosened it should be possible to spin the whole spring/damper arrangement clockwise to thread it out of the lower bracket hence raising the height. Because he has not altered the distance between the spring perches and the upper spring perch preload and usable damper stroke remain the same.

[vinnY]

yep in the picture theres 3 bolts in total
2 to keep the spring tension/preload
1 to keep the bottom eyelet piece in place

keep bolt b in place in the lca
loosen bolt a
rotate shock until you hit the desired height
tighten bolt a

donskies :)

[chrome]

if you don't loosen bolt b to adjust the ride height you are actually changing the preload of the suspension. therefore you're not only changing the height of the car but are also changing the effective spring rate of the coilover.

If you want to maintain the spring rate and adjust the ride height of the car you need to loosen bolt B.

need to learn more about suspension adjustment chrome. :thumbsup:

OK, his particular coilover setup enables height adjustment w/o changing spring preload. In this case, he will need to remove bolt B and spin the lower strut housing to the correct height, relock bolt A.

The solution to his problem will be to use the adjusting spanners to hold the lower spring perches still, while rotating the lower strut casing at the eyelet with a screwdriver for leverage.

[Cascada]

my god you guys know how to confuse...LOL

so was i right or wrong in turning the bolt B....

what have got so far is that so far what i had done was right by loosening bolt A and removing bolt B, and its just siezed and i just need to get it free soit can move up/down the black threaded part of the strut

...or..

is the part in green (circled) in pic shown below seperate so i leave B bolt in, and turn the green circled bit, then when i have got to the desired height loosen the B bolt up and tighten it back the new height of the strut?

PIC: http://i28.tinypic.com/2zzs4ls.jpg

thanks in advance guys.

[vinnY]

no you should be able to adjust the height without unbolting the eyelet(bolt b) from the lca

all you should need to do is loosen bolt a and twist the threads(the two nuts that hold the spring captive and the spring itself should move)
that will let you adjust the height without affecting the spring tension

[Red_EG4]

Spinning the whole strut seems like a whole lot of extra work and seems pointless to me.
It is a lot easier to simply remove the bottom mount from the LCA and spin it down.

[Bludger]

Spinning the whole strut seems like a whole lot of extra work and seems pointless to me.
It is a lot easier to simply remove the bottom mount from the LCA and spin it down.x2.

spinning the whole strut itself could make it wear more prematurely.

IMO

I would just undo the bottom bolt:p

[MM89]

remove bolt B so
1. you dont have to go inside the car to remove the two shock tower nuts
2. easier to drop the LCA from the bracket (on the trailing arm?) and wind
the bottom of the shock DOWN to increase height of shock body I.E.
height of rear wheels.