Big Les
New member
I finally got round to replacing the shocks on my cabby. Went for Bilsteins as they seemed to be slightly better than the Konis, however there was a catch - read on!
The Bilsteins arrived and all looked good, I read through the instructions and no problems there. First I replaced the rears as it was the easier job - all went well. A couple of days later I had the time to do the fronts. The Bilsteins looked good as they had bump stops and dust covers built in, and the instructions said that all I had to do was unscrew the collar on the top of the old struts, remove the oil and the piston/rod, clean up and insert the new one and screw the collar tight. To enable me to get the top nut undone I had to cut the dust cover to see if I could get a grip on the piston shaft, however that didn't work so in the end a local garage lent me a socket with a large centre hole that enabled me to get the Allen key in to hold the piston shaft whilst undoing the 22mm nut. After removing the spring (using spring compressors) I went to unscrew the collar on the old strut but it just kept spinning!
After a few phone calls to the supplier, Bilsteins, a couple of specialists and then Stuart at K300, I discovered that my struts are sealed units and the collar is crimped on. The bolted Bilstein inserts only apply to pre 1986 cars. So the only options open to me were complete OEM strut replacement or the Koni kit. On the phone to the supplier but he couldn't supply the kit for about two weeks. I didn't want to remove the rears I had just fitted, so it was a case of just returning the front shocks. Back on to Stuart - he had the kits in stock so he sent one overnight. In the meantime it was a hacksaw job on the old struts, clean and paint ready for the Konis (of course following the Koni instructions closely - which I had downloaded from the web, however I found the Paragon illustrated instructions (which I also found on the web) to be better).
The next day the Konis arrived, however checking the parts and instructions I found a couple of washers and the adjuster missing - back on to Stuart who told me that sometimes Koni do forget to put them in, so he put a set in the post the same day. After inspecting the new Konis I realised they aren't supplied with bump stops or dust covers, and as I had cut up one of the dust covers to get a grip on the shaft (see above) I now had to get on the phone again and locate and order new bump stops and dust covers - but it was bank holiday weekend so I wouldn't get them until Tuesday. So my plans of taking my 944 out over Bank Holiday were in ruins.
The parts did arrive on Tuesday, so I finished the job off, took her out for a test spin and the handling is way better than she was before. I now have Bilsteins on the rear and adjustable Konis on the front!
So the job was certainly worth doing - it was just the getting there that was painful!
The Bilsteins arrived and all looked good, I read through the instructions and no problems there. First I replaced the rears as it was the easier job - all went well. A couple of days later I had the time to do the fronts. The Bilsteins looked good as they had bump stops and dust covers built in, and the instructions said that all I had to do was unscrew the collar on the top of the old struts, remove the oil and the piston/rod, clean up and insert the new one and screw the collar tight. To enable me to get the top nut undone I had to cut the dust cover to see if I could get a grip on the piston shaft, however that didn't work so in the end a local garage lent me a socket with a large centre hole that enabled me to get the Allen key in to hold the piston shaft whilst undoing the 22mm nut. After removing the spring (using spring compressors) I went to unscrew the collar on the old strut but it just kept spinning!
After a few phone calls to the supplier, Bilsteins, a couple of specialists and then Stuart at K300, I discovered that my struts are sealed units and the collar is crimped on. The bolted Bilstein inserts only apply to pre 1986 cars. So the only options open to me were complete OEM strut replacement or the Koni kit. On the phone to the supplier but he couldn't supply the kit for about two weeks. I didn't want to remove the rears I had just fitted, so it was a case of just returning the front shocks. Back on to Stuart - he had the kits in stock so he sent one overnight. In the meantime it was a hacksaw job on the old struts, clean and paint ready for the Konis (of course following the Koni instructions closely - which I had downloaded from the web, however I found the Paragon illustrated instructions (which I also found on the web) to be better).
The next day the Konis arrived, however checking the parts and instructions I found a couple of washers and the adjuster missing - back on to Stuart who told me that sometimes Koni do forget to put them in, so he put a set in the post the same day. After inspecting the new Konis I realised they aren't supplied with bump stops or dust covers, and as I had cut up one of the dust covers to get a grip on the shaft (see above) I now had to get on the phone again and locate and order new bump stops and dust covers - but it was bank holiday weekend so I wouldn't get them until Tuesday. So my plans of taking my 944 out over Bank Holiday were in ruins.
The parts did arrive on Tuesday, so I finished the job off, took her out for a test spin and the handling is way better than she was before. I now have Bilsteins on the rear and adjustable Konis on the front!
So the job was certainly worth doing - it was just the getting there that was painful!
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