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Rear Koni Adjustable Shock install - Hardware question


tokuzumi

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1980 280ZX 2 seater. I'm sure I'm overthinking a lot of this, and once I remove the coilovers most of my questions will be answered. This only applies to the rear shocks

The diagram in the install sheet has a picture of numbered components with circles or squares. Circles are "replace" components, and squares are "original". 2 of the parts look like they would most likely be rubber bushings (specifically 4 & 6), which I can't see the original 40 year old parts being in any kind of salvageable shape for reuse.

Here's a photo of that install sheet, and a picture of the contents of the hardware bag. Do I need to get some additional poly bushings for this shock install? I'm going to reach out to the Z Store to get their thoughts, but with this pandemic it's a pain to try to contact these vendors.

IMG_20200608_160742.jpg

IMG_20200608_160735.jpg

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wow. 

 

that's a a lot of original parts..  especially for fancy shocks like the ones you got.  it`s a little shameful on their part, I think. 

 

I just did mine (to stock ones) and these are hard rubber bits, not soft spongy ones, and mine seemed to mostly be okay.   my kyb (i'm cheap) came with 2 out of the 4 rubbers i think (I actually had to trim them down cause they were way too thick).. 

 

i'd try my local parts store for anything that first the diameters of the parts.   the inner diameter is crucial, the outer, you can possibly cut them up.   same for the thickness.  

 

my suggestion: call the local part store, make certain they have something that somewhat fits, and then go to town with whatever you have.  worse come to worse, you stop mid-way for a trip to pep boys and everything is good as gold., and if you`re lucky, you can reuse the old ones.   keep in mind, you probably don`t bottom out your shocks very often.  I hope you don't anyways!

 

s.

 

ps: hey!  I think you commented on shocks and springs my thread, actually.

 

pps: where are you and how much in a rush are you..?  if you`re stuck, and in dire need of bushes, I can see what I have left over and if they are in any shape to ship out to you.  not the best thing to do, but if yours are rotten, and mine still ok...  

 

 

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I'm in no hurry to do the shocks.  It will probably be a month at least before I get around to it.  Gotta get brakes as the pads are at about 3mm.  Also not sure what shape the wheel bearings are in.  Hopefully I can just reuse the existing ones.

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I did the rear brakes when I go the car - normal job.  If you have to get the calipers rebuild, make certain you go somewhere where they know what they are doing cause there are a couple or tricky steps to putting them back together.  I advise against doing it oneself if you don't have a lot of experience.  

 

Then I did the fronts last year.  what a shitty design..  you have to remove everything, including the bearings and everything to change the disk.  It went well enough and repacking is no biggie, except I had very slight grit the first time (while testing the bearing in my hand, on the car you can't tell), so I did it again.  Slight grit again, so I said **** that shit and called it a day.  So far, so good, with about 3-4k kms on them.  

 

Still, what a weird way to do it. 

 

oh!

By the way, if you have the time, buy yourself some new bump stops.  The little round rubbers a the top of the shocks were pretty good on mine but the bump stops were either rotten and broken or completely missing on mine.  Also, consider buying new covers/bellows/boots if your shocks don't come with them.  When pull the shocks apart and notice that there are more cracks in them than a 1990s Detroit city park at midnight, it's too late.

Edited by supernova_6969
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I included new bump stops when I ordered my springs and shocks.  

 

I have a digital caliper which I will use to measure the rotor thickness.  If it's within spec, I'll just replace the pads.  I don't anticipate the calipers needing to be rebuilt as the brakes function normally, but I'll know for sure once things come apart.

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  • 3 years later...

I hate for my first post to be reviving an old thread, but I haven't had time to introduce myself yet and could use some help. I'm installing the same Koni Adjustables on my '83 ZX as the OP, with the same hardware pack and "instructions" pictured above. Can someone tell me if I'm interpreting these "instructions" correctly based on the numbers in the photo above:

 

  • 1) Plastic washer from hardware pack
  • 2) Plastic/rubber piece that came with new dust cover 
  • 3) Dust cover
  • 4) Reused old bushing
  • 5) No idea what this is pointing to, unless it's the piston itself
  • Between 5 and 6) Is this indicating the top hat?
  • 6)  Reused old bushing
  • 7) Metal washer
  • 😎 Spring washer
  • 9) Nut

If that's correct, where do the two bushings (one larger, one smaller) in the hardware pack go? These are unquestionably the worst "instructions" I've ever encountered, and searching around on the forums this is the closest I've found to an answer. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.

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