I few months ago I installed used HSD Pro coilovers. The height that they came in was perfect, except for one, which I raised a bit. However I couldn’t undo the locking nut, no matter how much wd40 i used or force (it doesnt more any way). So I left it unsecured. Now a couple of months and several 2000 miles later, it looks to be in the same place visually.
However I want to raise my car by ~1cm (too many speed bumps in London that I barely hit from time to time…). I am afraid that all locking nuts will be seized as well, so I will have to leave them undone too.
Question - is it ok to do? The one I had for few months seem to be in the same place. So should I be worried at all? Or is it really bad not to secure them?
Needs to be secured, and you need something better than WD40, such as Shock and Awe.
Its a bit late now, but whenever buying any of the used relatively cheaply made Asian coilovers, they need to be dissembled before hand, threads cleaned and greased (copper ease). The usual C-spanners are often worthless, you can get better ones from the likes of Cromwell etc.
Whats the worst that could happen if I leave them unsecured? Could they really turn on their own with all that weight? The one that I had seem to be fine…
I really really tried turning them, but they are just impossibly stuck…
Hi, I don’t really know what you are talking about but, as far as the nuts are concerned can you not get a nut splitter in there to get the nuts off and then fit new ones. I have split a few nuts like this on my car when kneaded?
The locking collar is required for support. You are effectively doubling up the thickness bracing the spring tension and downward forces of vehicle weight on that corner.
The collars are normally quality metal but aluminium alloy and have been known to fail under pressure. I have seen ones on motorbike shocks that have simply snapped at a narrow point.
Aluminium threads can suffer a condition called galling where the threads corrode and weld together - this is usually aluminium to aluminium threads and would probably not apply with your HSDs if the body threads are steel?
You have managed to move the main collar clear of the locking collar so are in a good position to get an appropriate penetrating product in from all angles. Hopefully you will be able to eventually free up the collar with a good ‘C’ spanner. Once removed use copper slip/ease or similar to stop a repeat. Some people will advise that it reacts with the aluminium but used successfully in this application.
It might be permissible to apply heat to the collar but advice from someone with practical experience required here.
The worst case scenario will be that the locking ring will break off. If that happens I would buy a new one and fit. Take your time and use the right tools to try and avoid this.
If you don’t have the original C-Spanners, getting one that fits well is tricky, without paying for quite expensive tools. I acquired some years back Car Make Corns coil overs; they had been removed from a car some 10 years earlier, and stored. All the collars were seized up, I had to get the shocks on a bench, and clamped to get everything freed up. I used adjustable Kennedy Pin and Hook wrenches from Cromwell. Needed two of them, about £50 each. Trying to drift the rings just damages them.
Never had a problem with seized nuts on Protecs; they use a clear anodized finish on the aluminium body which seems to work fine to reduce things from becoming really locked up. The Meisters on the other car have a steel body, and aluminium locking nuts, which doesn’t seem to be a bright combination. They have attempted to protect the shock bodies with some sort of painted finish, but its thin, and after a couple of years, mine showed light rusting,.
I have Meister CRD’s on my MK3. The last thing I did before fitting them was measure the “out of box” settings for preload and height and then take them to pieces.
Everything including the inside surfaces of top hats, spring coils and height bracket threads smeared liberally with a coat of silicone grease. On reassembly and after installation and height adjustment any bare areas were recoated. The important thing being that all of the fine threads on the shock body need to stay in good nick if you plan future adjustments or disassembly.
The biggest enemy under the arches is of course dirty / salty water which is carried by capillary action into every thread, bush and bolt. Galvanic action does the rest
The silicon grease seems to adhere well and is compatible with rubber and plastic etc. The same stuff can be used for wishbone bolts, grommets in the bodywork and many other places around the hardtop.
The plastic 6mm thread nuts which hold the rear arch liners were goosed when removed from my three year old car to underseal. I recut the rusty threads on the arch studs and they had the grease treatment as well. Those plastic nuts now act as washers with a stainless steel flange nut holding them and covering the exposed thread area. Again greased before application.
I used Molykote 111 but have also used a Ford product and have seen several plumbing type equivalents The great thing is it comes in a toothpaste type tube so is clean and easy to store.
I use coppaslip in less exposed areas where it cannot be washed off/dry out
I think it’s unrealistic to expect any height adjustable coil over to last and remain serviceable without preventative steps being taken.
My trials car, sometimes used off road, has custom made “gaiter” type coil over covers, made from rip stop nylon. They cover the entire thing, including the spring. The coil overs are also coated with Waxoyl. As is almost every nut, washer and bolt on the car. After 50,000 miles and 15 years there is very little rust on any of them.
For protection, use something like the MeisterR ARC or other similar correction protection product. They actually “bond” to the metal and create a sacrificial layer that last very well. Other wise, white lithium grease works well also, but not as good as the more advance protection chemical.
2. After installation, use electrical tape and wrap up any of the exposed thread between the collars. This help keeps debris out of the thread, so it doesn’t get “jammed” between the thread and the collars. This is the most common issue as any dirt that get in between can literally chew up the aluminium collars causing it to get stuck.