Strut assembly ?

[mriz]

I took out the rear shock , back end would kick out when hitting bumps.So I figure bushings and shocks are in order. I pulled out a tokico (suprise)which didn't look too old but I don't know how long it's been in there and wondering if I even needed new ones at this point.When I put the new Kyb one in I can't tighten down the retainer any further. Should I grind down cap on the bottom of the cartridge or is it ok the way it is ? Also should this cure the kick out problem or are springs in order?

[wa5ngp]

Before you start grinding make double certain that you have not got the front and rear shocks mixed up. There is a difference.

Don

[mriz]

Thanks , I will check.

[mlc240z]

if they're KYB GR-2's, 361001 is for the rear and 361002 is for the front.

kinda counter-intuitive if you ask me!!

bart

[jmortensen]

The rears are 2 inches longer than the fronts, seems kinda silly to think he can't figure out which is which. If there is a sleeve on the bottom you can grind it down a bit. If you make it too short then the gland nut will bottom out and there won't be any pressure on the strut itself. So it will slide up and down inside the tube. If that happens throw a washer under the strut to shim it up until you get the threads where you want them.

[mriz]

I double checked and I did have the correct strut according to the recipt. A bit of a difference between front and rear for a 77. I can't belive I didn't check that anyway before I started.

[mlc240z]

allright, just finished the right front KYB strut install and have the same exposed thread problem. doesn't seem right but gland nut is cranked down as much as possible. i guess with this flavor of strut that's the most it will go. i'm going to email KYB and see what they say.

[Zs-ondabrain]

Did you get NEW gland nuts (Strut housing cap) when you ordered the new struts? Reason I ask is, when I got mine it had a fat angled washer on the inside of the cap. I found that it was removable but kept mine in. My bolt also did not go down all the way but more than enough teeth made their way into the housing. I have a 70' 240Z so we may be talking apples and oranges.

[Arne]

I used to change struts for a living, I've literally done thousands. What you pictured is totally normal. The gland nut should not bottom out on the strut housing, instead it should tighten down on the strut cartridge itself. In fact, some companies (Monroe, for one) used to pack big washers to go under the gland nut in case it bottomed on the housing before cinching down on the cartridge.

[TBK1]

If I remember correct, there IS abig diff between the KYB and the Tokico's.

The KYB are for the stock springs and the tokicos are for "LOWERED" springs. You could have lowered springs all around, but hope they didnt modify the tubes!

[mlc240z]

dave,

looks like the same setup, eibachs and kyb gr2's. new gland nuts came with struts and i did notice the fat angled washer inside. i put a coating of antiseize on the strut tube inner threads since the exposed threads have got to corrode eventually.

tbk1, stock strut tubes, eibach prokit. only noticed about 1/4-1/2" lower in spring height.

i've got an email out to kyb and i'll post what they say, if anything.

thanks for the double-check, arne. just wanted to make sure i didn't miss something stupid. have to call this normal then.

[mriz]

I did use the new gland nut but still some exposed threads compared to what p.o. had. What Arne says makes sense I ust need to protect exposed threads. Curious to see hat kyb says anyway.