During fun runs at an AX today my ground control collar/sleeve slid down over the retainer clip on my shock. It appears the collar had a little play and worked itself over the retainer on my Koni Yellow shock in the rear.

Has anyone heard of this happening when these sleeves are properly installed? A Porsche shop selected the collar and installed it on my rear koni's. It just didnt look right to me or others looking at the amount of play in the collar/threaded sleeve once we slid it up the shock tube.

Any suggestions on the best aftermarket sleeve for Koni Yellows? I dont ever want this to happen again. Fortuanately I was in a controlled enviroment and was able to control the car when the pearch fell to the bottom of the shock.

And I owe a big big thanks to Nathan and Trekkor who pulled off the shock and did on the spot repairs to get me home this afternoon. Some bailing wire and an artful crimp kept it on my car the whole ride home. I owe you guys lunch or beer or something! Thanks again!

QUOTE (SirAndy @ Jun 26 2005, 07:59 PM)

Yeah the pics would have been good, but we were focused on getting the car fixed and on the road. Nathans ranch hand/fence mending skills from Texas did come into play. I never thought wire would hold the car up, but it did the job!

Collar slipped over the retainer and dropped all the way to the bottom of the shock. It slipped when I was coming out of a hard right hand sweeper. I thought I had lost a wheel for a split second!

If I'm reading this right, you're talkin' about the threaded sleeve?....slipping over the retainer in the groove of the shock body?

If so, there are various size sleeves (ID) that must be matched
to the shock body (OD).

QUOTE (J P Stein @ Jun 26 2005, 08:29 PM)

If I'm reading this right, you're talkin' about the threaded sleeve?....slipping over the retainer in the groove of the shock body? If so, there are various size sleeves (ID) that must be matched to the shock body (OD).

Yep thats it.

i'm glad that shit held! i'll tell my grandfather -- he'll be proud of my bailing wire skills aquired during summers on his ranch.

i'd be a little pissed, grant. it looks like the wrong collars for the konis... that is something that a mechanic should notice.


total bullshit, but i'm relieved you made it home safely. tried calling you, guess you didn't have your phone...

n

I think the larger ID collar is for Bilsteins...at least for the collars that Coleman Racing sells, one is 2.04" and the other 2.08".....I wonder if the diameter of the circlip on the shock changed??

QUOTE (Mueller @ Jun 26 2005, 09:20 PM)

I think the larger ID collar is for Bilsteins...at least for the collars that Coleman Racing sells, one is 2.04" and the other 2.08".....I wonder if the diameter of the circlip on the shock changed??

Who sells the Coleman coilover kit? Talked to Ground Control Tech guy today. He indicated that the Ground Control coilover kit sleeve for the Koni and Bilstein are the same for the 914. The Bilstien shock is just a little wider apparently, but Ground Control sells the same sleeve for both applications. From my perspective there is way too much play when the Ground Control sleeve is mounted on a Koni. The retaining clip is too close to the diameter of the sleeve bore.

Here is a picture that shows some of the free play between the sleeve and the shock tube. The wire was the temp fix that got me home. You can see the retaining clip in the pic too. That sleeve slipped over the retaining clip and dropped to the bottom of the shock.

This scares me.
I have the same set-up, only stiffer springs and you drive smoother than me.

KT

QUOTE (trekkor @ Jun 28 2005, 07:20 PM)

This scares me. I have the same set-up, only stiffer springs and you drive smoother than me. KT

I have followup call with the tech guy tommrrow at Ground Control. Trekkor, do you remeber seeing such a big gap between shock tube and the sleeve? Given the forces involved I just dont see this setup holding if it is correct. I have heard of this problem with other cars/applications with ground control coilover kits.

QUOTE

Who sells the Coleman coilover kit

Coleman Racing Products

they have some re-sellers, but I find it easier to just purchase direct.

Do you think mine will fail? Or do you think mine has the proper sizing?

Brad personally installed mine last year before the SIX and with the 150#'s.
Now with the heavier load and 200#ers, shouldn't it have failed by now if it was wrong?

I need to check the clearances the next chance I get.

KT

QUOTE (trekkor @ Jun 28 2005, 08:59 PM)

Do you think mine will fail? Or do you think mine has the proper sizing? Brad personally installed mine last year before the SIX and with the 150#'s. Now with the heavier load and 200#ers, shouldn't it have failed by now if it was wrong? I need to check the clearances the next chance I get. KT

I dont know, looks like those have less of a gap between shock tube and the sleeve. But its probably woth taking a look.

Perhaps you got a misboxed set Grant. Were I you, I'd pull off the collar and measure the ID and take those measurements to Ground Control. The clearances in your picture look much larger than the ones in Trekkors pics.

my old sleeves had a spacer that went up into the tube and a wider base that sat on the collar, I'll look around to see if i still have them..

QUOTE (McMark @ Jun 28 2005, 10:15 PM)

Perhaps you got a misboxed set Grant. Were I you, I'd pull off the collar and measure the ID and take those measurements to Ground Control. The clearances in your picture look much larger than the ones in Trekkors pics.

Mark,

You called it, the sleeve was pulled today and measured. Then calls to Ground Control. Sure enough Ground Control mis-picked the wrong part.

Another interesting fact. My Koni's bought two years ago were just a bit smaller in diameter than new Koni's. Between wrong part and my older narrower shocks the sleeve slipped.

I will get correct dimensions and post when I recieve the new parts from Ground Control.

Glad it got figured out. Yes, please post accurate dimensions so that we'll have a "permanent" record.