Gabriel cartridges

[rodster]

Anyone ever install Gabriel cartridges in the original Koni's?

[rodster]

Anyone ever install Gabriel cartridges in the original Koni's?

Yes, I have.

[Meotchh]

^^^There he goes talking to himself.

[MikeFleming]

^^^There he goes talking to himself. Self-replying bot??

[brsvo]

OK rodster so what do you think of them?

[rodster]

^^^There he goes talking to himself.

You should hear me in the garage. Time to quit for the evening when you start arguing with yourself. ;)

[rodster]

Yes, I have.

Well, what do you think about them?

[rodster]

Well, what do you think about them?

Installation was interesting, better have a BIG wrench to get the original top off of the Koni. Having a defective thread on one of the cartridges added some fun. Instructions say 30cc of oil which is about an ounce. I was able to get closer to 2 ounces without the oil overflowing. Started with 4 oz but that was a bit too much! oops The cartridge fits in the original housing nice and snug.

As far as ride, seems good. It's been a long time since I had the car on the road and after driving a 60's Mustang and my '09 GT, it's much different than either of those. I don't remember the ride being so firm, but the original struts were shot and I've become accustomed to the '09. Took it a test drive and hit a few rough spots and thought I was going to lose the sunroof.

Refresh my memory, is the SVO ride firm to harsh?

Still a blast to drive and seems much more nimble than any other Mustang. :like2:

[rodster]

Thanks for the info, you're the best! ;););)

[MikeFleming]

You should hear me in the garage. Time to quit for the evening when you start arguing with yourself. ;) The real fun starts when a few neighbors stop by, start drinking your beer and then place bets on which of the voices will prevail. We do that to Pat all the time.

Fun times!

[brsvo]

Is it possible to add too much oil and hydro lock them? If that were the case they could be awfully harsh. (like a rock)

[Meotchh]

Thanks for the info, you're the best! ;););)

Careful, I'm not sure I would trust that guy.

[dagenham]

Is it possible to add too much oil and hydro lock them? If that were the case they could be awfully harsh. (like a rock)
Was wondering the same thing. Does the oil have anything to do with ride harshness? Also on a hot day will having to much oil cause the oil to leak out in some way??

[rodster]

Careful, I'm not sure I would trust that guy.

Which one? ;)


Was wondering the same thing. Does the oil have anything to do with ride harshness? Also on a hot day will having to much oil cause the oil to leak out in some way??

No, as far as I can figure, oil is just for heat transfer. The cartridge sits tightly in the Koni body but not against the sides. The top screws down against the cartridge body, holding it in place. Might leak if you fill it to the very top, then hit a lot of bumps or flip it on it's roof which is not recommended. :D

[dagenham]

I finally am getting to my front struts which apparently are going to require the use of a "hot wrench" to get the two lower nuts and bolts loose.
When I removed the top nut from the stud it slipped right down out of the onion head. Is there anything else i have to remove from the top to get the strut out?

[rodster]

I finally am getting to my front struts which apparently are going to require the use of a "hot wrench" to get the two lower nuts and bolts loose.
When I removed the top nut from the stud it slipped right down out of the onion head. Is there anything else i have to remove from the top to get the strut out?

Nope. I removed the onion heads just to clean things up a bit but probably don't have to remove them. Not sure how easy installation will be getting the new strut rod up through the onion head but shouldn't be a big deal.

Had to use some heat and a big breaker bar too. PS was easier than the DS.

The nut supplied with the new cartridge was too large (looks like a lug nut!) and could not get a wrench on the top of the strut to hold it while tightening the nut. You will want to reuse the original nut.

Just my experience, others may have more input.

[MikeFleming]

The strut-to-spindle biolts/nuts got to 147 Lb-Ft from factory and the nut is a locking type, so expect you'll need 250-350 Lb-Ft to loosen/remove them. A good powered air impact is your friend here. When you re-install these bolts/nuts, hold the bolt and tighten the nut to 150 Lb-Ft. IIRC the bolt head is 22mm and the nut hex is 24. Be sure to use impact sockets, gloves and eye protection.

The top nut will probably need a fast air impact to remove. You might need to hold the strut shaft to keep it form spinning - be sure to use something soft and non-0marring so the hard chrome finish doesn't get scratched. Keep in mind the full weight of the strut assy [and any suspension spring pressure] is applied downwards on that top nut. So be sure to have sufficient support under the strut/lower a-arm when removing the top nut. Floor jack usually works well for this. Heavy parts flying around are dangerous.

[dagenham]

Two different impact guns did not even touch the nuts. Wound up cutting three of the four off. They were not rusted either. Just very tight. So I'll be putting new nuts and bolts on the spindle end. Yeah I noticed the top nut looks like a big lug it. Thought about reusing the old top nut too.

[rodster]

Yep, very tight! I used a little heat and a big breaker bar! Pretty sure they had some kind of thread lock on too. Think you will have to use the old top nut.

[MikeFleming]

Yep, very tight! I used a little heat and a big breaker bar! Pretty sure they had some kind of thread lock on too. Think you will have to use the old top nut. The nuts are locking so there shouldn't be any locker compound. They may have been painted to show if there was any movement though.

I have a [rated to] 600 Lb-Ft 1/2 inch impact that with ~120 PSIG from my compressor eventually loosened those nuts. Took a minute or fo of hammering. Be sure to use a 6-point impact socket without any extensions.

NOTE: The same thread size fasteners are used on the inner pivots of the a-arms. There's almost enough room to get a high-powered air impact w/socket in there to loosen them.

NOTE 2: BE sure to tighten the lower a-arm pivot bolts/nuts with the arm at ride height position and not at full droop.

[dagenham]

Rod, did you reuse the small metal collar at the top of the strut?

[dagenham]

Never mind. I used the spacers. The rebuilt struts are in. With KYB's in the back the car sits about 3/4" higer in the back. I haven't drove the car yet. I will in the morning since I finished up just before 10 o'clock tonight grimy and nasty.

[MikeFleming]

^
You will need to roll the car forward and backward at least ten feet to allow hte tyres and suspension to settle to normal. Changing shocks/struts will not change ride height.

[rodster]

Rod, did you reuse the small metal collar at the top of the strut?

Sorry, missed your post. As you found out, yes use the spacer. :)

How hard was it taking the top off of the strut? Mine were TIGHT and almost tore the vice off of my bench removing them.

Keep us posted on what you think after you drive it.

This is what I though was thread locker? All I know is it took 1,000,000 ft lb to remove them. ;)

9558

[Under Pressure]

That's a lot of torque.

[rodster]

You should see the breaker bar! :D

[dagenham]

The tops of my struts were no problem. Stuck them in my vise and tackled them with a very large pipe wrench. Came right off no problem. The ride is wonderful now.
BTW. 30cc is equal to 2 tablespoons of oil. I used hydraulic jack oil.

[rodster]

The tops of my struts were no problem. Stuck them in my vise and tackled them with a very large pipe wrench. Came right off no problem. The ride is wonderful now.
BTW. 30cc is equal to 2 tablespoons of oil. I used hydraulic jack oil.

The very large pipe wrench was the key! I was maxing out my large tools and my little vise mounted to my wooden work bench was straining but did the job. In hindsight I think I'd consider 3/4" drive stuff and more leverage. :)

Thanks for the review on the ride, I didn't have any drive time before installing the cartridges so I don't have a good reference point.

Seems my suspension seems fairly stiff and when I hit bumps, harsher than I remember. Might be spoiled with the newer cars and technology. Still a blast to drive!

[rodster]

Having a defective thread on one of the cartridges added some fun.

When I was talking to myself, :p I mentioned the defective thread.

Here it is. Oh the joys of finding this while trying to wrap up the task at hand and not having a M16 tap handy and finding no one in the area seems to stock them. Sure I can order online and wait a week or come up another idea.

Slept on it and in the morning pulled out the Dremel, a thin cut off wheel and did some precise surgery! :cool:

9568

[MikeFleming]

Look into thread files in Metric size.

[rodster]

Look into thread files in Metric size.

Have them and used them. The problem here was the defect was at the top where there is a taper. Tried the file first but no go. :(

[Jack Hidley]

The oil between the strut housing and the insert is just for heat conduction. It has no affect on damping, unless the strut insert gets hot.

The strut to spindle bolts have a 21mm head.

I would avoid using an impact gun on the strut nut. The impact gun spins the strut shaft, along with the piston in the strut very fast. This means that the piston seal is spinning against the inside of the strut tube very fast and heating up. You can damage the seal doing this. If you have to use an impact gun, only use very short bursts (1 sec) and then wait for 10 seconds or so.

[rodster]

Had to use the impact on the strut nut of the old Konis, been there since 1984 and wasn't budging. Nut came off but pretty sure the guts aren't adjustable any more. Oh well, Koni can fix that if I ever decide on a rebuild.