05FMtC

hey guys so this morning i went to get some gas before work and since my car has been driving a little weird lately, i figure id pop the hood and take a look. so i took a look under the hood and i immedieatly realized that my passenger side coilover looks like its comming undone. the top bolt looked like it was loose because the strut threads wernt even showing. i checked if it was loose but it was tight. i made the 17mile drive to work after and it was ok.

my question is, how can this happen? what can cause it?

is it safe to make the 17 mile drive back home?

i dont know how long this has been like this for but my car has been feeling a little loose on the road for a while now...

the coilovers are function and form type 2 ver.1 and are less then a year old with around 10k on them.

pics

drivers side


Pass side (the one in question)

guitarguru44

Does not look good at all. I definitely would not want to drive that 17 miles but you might be able to get away with it. This should definitely be a priority for you to fix or else things could get pretty dangerous.

Domo

iTrader: (3)

does your suspension come with that nut normally on the damper controller?

05FMtC

yeah thats how i got them and i got them new. ive never touched anything up there. i know for a fact that both sides looked like what my drivers side looks like now...

Domo

iTrader: (3)

I feel like that nut should not be there but I could be wrong.

05FMtC

yeah it should look like what the drivers side looks like...i had some tein ssp before these and they were setup the same way...

youngflyer

what i would do is take it to a mechanic with a impact wrench...have him but a load on a wheel. example- compact the spring, jack the wheel up and hit that nut with a impact. this can happen if you dont re-tighten the nut after the install!

Domo

iTrader: (3)

im looking at there website and I do not see that nut on any of there top mounts

Domo

iTrader: (3)

actually I see it on some of there applications but they sit flush with the damper ****. Looks like you stripped the nut on the first picture but not on the second..maybe the second one was not on tight enough. I agree torque it to its spec.

05FMtC

i dont think that it is stripped because i never touched that bolt at the top...and the reason why other sets on their site look different could be beacuse i have the version ones which they no longer make...

Domo

iTrader: (3)

Maybe you should call em up and see if you can get the coils warranty..haha they probably would send you a whole new set minus you paying for shipping.

nodsetse

Tighten the nut so that it looks like the driver's side.

05FMtC

im going to take a look at it during my lunch and ill post a reply.

05FMtC

i just found a socket that fit the bolt. i tried to tighten it w/o lifting the car and it did but it was very hard to do it. so i think that if i put the car on a jack that it will be easier to tighten. ill give this a shot once im off in a few hrs.

youngflyer

...like I already stated above

nodsetse

Looking at the pic of the driver's side, it appears there's enough threads to add a lock nut, so I'd suggest doing so. You should be able to find some at an auto parts or hardware store, and once installed, the problem shouldn't reappear.

One-Nut_McGee

nodsetse is 100% correct. Do NOT reuse that nut if it's been backing out like that. Go find some lock nuts that fit correctly(your mechanic might have some handy) and then torque it down to the coilover's specifications using an impact wrench.

Now might be a good chance to check all 4 corners to make sure this isn't happening on all of them. Replacing a few locking nuts and making sure they're torqued right is much cheaper than replacing a shock cartridge or worse...

05FMtC

good idea thanks

05FMtC

ok so i raised the car up and tried to tighten the bolt. it did come up about 1/4 -1/2 inch but nothing more then that. i took it too a garage that was really close to my work and the guy there said that the spring was putting pressure against the bottom of the pillowball mount. but i knew that he didnt know what he was talking about. he did say that i would be able to drive on it for a lil bit. so i drove home via surface streets. came home and removed the entire coilover from the car. the nut wont spin without the entire shock body moving. i also tried spinning the coilover body its self with the top mounts still bolted in with no luck. so tomorrow i am going to take the coilover out and take it to an aftermarket shop and see what they can do for me. i hope it is not stripped.

on the other side, i did email f2 but i dont think that i am under warranty because i did the install instead of having them professionally done...if anything i will pay f2 to get it fixed but i need something in the mean time...i have stock shocks n springs but no upper mounts...ahhh.

Buckets

check and see if there is something lodged between the spring and pillow ball mount. the top srping perch could be **** eyed or something else, if it were me id take it off the car and inspect it fully.

Edit: i wrote c.ok eyed but it changed it so lets call it slanted