So i installed koni struts on my car about 2k miles back. Got everything aligned. Tried following the "instructions" that came with them if thats what you want to call them. So fast forward to this weekend and i was changing my front inner and outter bearings, and when i went to double check everything I noticed when I pushed on the driver side wheel at the 12 oclock position it would move. At first i thought it was a bad ball joint, or I didnt have the outer bearing torqued correctly, but it was and the ball joint was good. But when you pushed on the wheel you could see the strut move up and down in the strut mount. Bad strut mount? Passenger side is fine, solid as can be. I dont know if the mounts have been replaced before. I shimmed the strut from the underside to see if it would help, and it did for a few days but now its back to doing it again but not as bad. When i installed them i put them back in like the factory ones i took out, put the spacer that came with them on top the torqued down the lock nut per specs. Im going to get new strut mounts becuase im sure it wouldnt hurt, but was curious if anyone whos installed koni struts with stock styled strut mounts have had any issues like this? I would think if i had installed them incorrectly then the passenger side would be doing the same thing. Sorry for the long post, but any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Jay

 

I have installed Koni on mine and there were no issue at all. They are actually pretty straight forward. I had a play years ago went I changed the OEM struts! The play was inside/outside like a loose bearing and could be felt by pushing back and forth on the wheel at 12 o'clock when the vehicle was lifted. I had checked the bearing nut torque, tie rod, ball joint etc...Nothing. I don't remember having a play up and down though. Anyhow, I found that the 2 bolts that attached the spindle to the strut were not tighten enough. Those need 195ft/lbs. The play had developed over time. You might want to check just to eliminate that possibility.

Best of luck!

 

Ok, I will double check that and report back. Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

So a little update, got the car up on jack stands. Started with them on the front sway bar bushings, i lowered the car and went back to check the play again in the wheel no movement at all. So i put the jack stands under the a-arms and the movement is there again. So im not really to sure whats causing it. Im leaning towards something with the steering now but i am not a 100% sure. Had to stop for dinner with the in-laws, I will tear back into it later tonight, but any ideas in the mean time? Thanks again.

Jay

 

I could only feel the play when the jack stands where on the frame and the suspension was hanging. Where do you put the jack stands on the A-Arms? At the ball joint, in the middle under the coil springs or at the attachment point to the K member? If you want to test the bolt issue, you have to have the jack stands under the frame behind the front wheel (suspension hanging) and you have to yank the hell out of the struts with your 2 hands with wheel removed. The yank has to be inward/outward, not sideways. While your at it, give it a shot at tightening with torque wrench (195ft/lbs). It won't hurt.

It looks like the play is there when the suspension is under load i.e. the jack stands under the A-Arm which would retract the strut and put upward pressure on the strut tower. With the suspension hanging (jack stands front sway bar bushing), you create a downward pressure on the strut tower by coil spring action, like pulling. Maybe the strut tower bearing is at fault. Unbolt the strut from the strut tower and check the bearing play with your finger.

Steering linkage issue would create inward/outward movement at 3-9 o'clock not at 12-6 o'clock

Also, it could be the A-Arm bushings at the K-Member that are worn out.

If you could have an assistant moving the wheel so you could do the component inspection it would really really help. I found it very difficult to move the wheel and inspect at the same time. It's almost a new form of yoga I tell ya!

 

Sbformula, thanks a ton for your help. It ended up being the strut to spindle bolts. They had backed off some, as i was planning on checking them anyhow. But when it had stopped moving when the suspension was unloaded stumped me lol. But got it all tightend up and went for a spin and all was good. Thanks again for the help its appreciated.

 

Awesome! That's what Thirgen.org is all about... sharing. Thanks to Haynes Manual as well. I remember pulling hard on that torque wrench!!!

 

Hey everyone didnt want to start a new thread so i figured id bring this one back. So i just finished up installing founders strut mounts and was going back to adjust my struts. My question is how many turns are you supposed to get out of the struts? My driver side i get maybe 2 full turns on it, the passenger side is maybe getting half a turn. Im not sure whats going on and couldnt find much info on it. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

 

I got it fixed. Talked to koni, they suggested trying to work the adjuster free. Which I did with a small adjustable wrench just nudging it back and forth a little at a time. Still not sure what caused it, but its at least fixed now.