hello,
i installed a set of KYB AGX's and H&R sports on my car this weekend. everything went ok (for the most part), except for the right rear shock. for some reason, the thread on the top middle of the shock (the one that protrudes through the rear strut tower of the car and has the tunable setting on it) has a nut on it that is tightened all the way down... .yet there is still a 1-2 mm gap between that nut and the metal plate that holds down that bushing.

what this results in is a loud banging sound coming from the trunk everytime i go over any sort of bump. the left rear side is ok, and for some reason the nut only screws down halfway down the thread - on the right side it goes all the way down past where the thread stops.... i don't understand that. what i mean by this is the left side's strut assembly and bushing only allow you to tighten the nut to about half-way down the thread. the right side is shorter for some reason, allowing you to go all the way down past where the thread stops...

Yes, both springs are on the back are "rear" springs, and yes, both rear springs' bottoms are lined up with the starter point on the bottom of the strut. both struts are set to the "softest setting."

the worst part is i can't "undo" this to try and put two nuts or more metal plates in there to hold it - the nut that i put on there i tried to tighten so much it won't budge in either directions - even with liberal amounts of WD40 applied. so i am stuck with this assembly i cannot take apart and cannot tighten any more. the ride is fine, but the clanking is obnoxious.

Anyone have any ideas how to remove the nut from the thread? if i can remove it, i could buffer it with more metal plates or washers or something... but i have to get it off first. the thing just won't come off!

any ideas?

THANKS!

EDIT: crud i posted this in the wrong forum by accident... .can a mod move it for me? (the car is a '93 civic sedan) thanks!

 

Pics would help.

Could you possibly have forgotten a piece? On my 6th gen, I had this order of parts:



See my DIY suspension with KYB AGX and H&Rs on a 6th gen civic

No matter what, you're gonna have to remove that nut to get it off. Be careful, because your adjustment is at the top, that means the center strut support is hollow, and I had a KYB AGX sheer on me while tightening a nut. It broke and oil totally leaked out, had to get a replacement.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the reply.... i used all the pieces there in your pic, save for the black sleeve. i prepped both sides the same way, used all the pieces shown in your pics... yet for some reason one thread is longer than the other.

i'll check out your link, thanks.

 

here's some quick pics i took with my camera phone... first pic is the passenger side, second is the driver side...

notice the difference in height? the ride height is the same on both sides, and both have equal amounts of parts in the strut assembly. its just weird. the thread sticks out so much more on the passenger side.

if you look closely, the first picture you can see a small gap between the nut and the plate - that gap is enlargened when you sit in the car or put any weight in the trunk....

any idea how to get that nut off (please avoid the temptation to joke off that!)

 

The left side (nut halfway down the threads) is ok, right?

It looks odd that the strut sticks up so far. I suspect they mismarked the part and you actually have the wrong part from KYB, or the part is defective.

Ride height is determined by your springs, so the struts won't matter.

I think you're gonna have to get a new strut. Can you exchange it?

To get the nut off, you're gonna have to grip the strut and just wrench it. Otherwise, you'll have to torch cut the nut off.

 

I think chim2 is on to something here, even with any of those parts missing, you still wouldnt need to bring the nut down that far. the sound you are hearing is the shock hitting the bumpstop. it means that the shock is bottoming out (or close enough to) believe me I know... If I were you, I would dissasemble that shock and put it back together again, make sure that your rear trailing arm is working properly i.e. all bushings are kosher, then if this doesnt fix the problem, send it back...

 

You sure you did not leave the lower washer off of that shock? Before you put them on did they look the same?

 

I think thats whats wrong with it....this guy i know forgot that and the shock was clanking and it was basically coming off the assembly itself...... Id take that side apart and redo everything....

 

The washer (that's just above the bumpstop in my picture) is limited by a lip on the strut. As in the picture, it can't go down further than this. This is what sets the amount of strut left to put all the top stuff on. If it is missing, then all the other parts can slide down further than they're supposed to.

Again, if this doesn't work, then the strut is probably the wrong one.

 

that washer is there, i know for a fact... the black one above it may not be... i don't remember.

both rear struts were done by me at the same time with same equipment. i am hoping to god i forgot something and that one of the struts is NOT the wrong one....

thanks guys for all the suggestions...

i think i will get a dremel and cutting wheel to chop the existing nut off...

i already went to an online honda parts store and ordered all new parts for the rear strut assembly, minus the actual strut. (all the bushings and washers and caps and stuff), and i'm going to carefully re-enact the entire setup.

i plan on re-using the strut ,and thankfully had the adjustable setting set to where i wanted it already so if it does pop off at least its permanently set to what i want.

once i get the parts in i will take the strut off the car again and do it all from scratch, this time making sure i get it right.

this whole ordeal has been such a pain in the a$$... i don't ever want to do this again.

if that doesn't work i will get a new strut. but this WILL get done.
thanks guys for all your support through this. what makes everything worse is i am on crutches and have no friends, so its a one-man show.

EDIT: it should be noted i went and got rubber o-rings today and shoved them down the thread, around the nut, and put it between that nut and metal plate (what i THOUGHT was making the clanking noise), and the rubber o-rings thoroughly separated the nut from the plate.. yet the clanking continued.

this backs up your theory, chim, that i forgot something underneath the cap/bushings.

hopefully when i get my new parts in this weekend/next week, i can properly repair this.