Guest shortyz Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 i have these on a 260.. they are full coilovers and all they have is a gold sticker with NISSAN ATSUGI some japanese characters. and warnings. now i cant find any info on these dam things.. has anyone ever seen them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Hi Shorty, ATSUGI were one of the OEM suppliers for early Z suspension components, along with AMPCO. The Factory Sports Option lists in Japan offered complete adjustable platform ( coilover ) suspension legs with gas internals. Some of them were made by AMPCO and some of them were made by ATSUGI. I suspect that you might have a set of the Factory Sports Option suspension legs on your car. Datsun Competition in the USA also sold some of these - so that might be where yours originally came from. There were several different models of these, but they SHOULD have part numbers stamped into the tubes that will identify them. See if you can spot the numbers, as it will help to identify the type and the rate of bump and rebound valving can then be referenced. I have a set of the AMPCO competition-type legs, as well as a set of ATSUGI "Rally" type legs with fixed platforms ( the Rally legs are longer than stock and stick the car right up in the air ). They do not use "cartridge" type dampers - but a full valve unit with a gas charge inside. The rods should be noticeably thicker than stock. If you want any further info you could drop me a PM and I'd be pleased to try to be of help to you. Alan T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shortyz Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 bring this up from the dead... yeah the shock rods are hella thick! heres some numbers NISSAN 54303 E4622 8812 ATSUGI JAPAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 70240z Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 bring this up from the dead... yeah the shock rods are hella thick! heres some numbers NISSAN 54303 E4622 8812 ATSUGI JAPAN Atsugi Japan is a location and I think there is a Nissan plant in Atsugi if memory serves me right http://www.atsugi.navy.mil/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 Atsugi is indeed the name of a town - but so is Saginaw. These parts were made by a company called Atsugi, which is affiliated to Nissan. Its not unusual for a company to use the name of the local town. Sounds like these are indeed the Nissan Sports Option legs as I suspected. The number you have given is for just one leg ( the FRONT LEFT ) and the others will have different part numbers: *54302 - E4622 = FRONT RIGHT *54303 - E4622 = FRONT LEFT *55302 - E4622 = REAR RIGHT *55303 - E4622 = REAR LEFT shortyz, I have sent you a PM with more information. All the best, Alan T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shortyz Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 k i pulled one of em out.. compressed the spring and pulled it off. the shock is harder then hell to push down, but when i do it comes back up. how fast should it come back up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 Hi shortyz, Don't be tempted to undo the gland nut! You'll let all the gas charge out. Don't take your strip-down any further than taking the springs off. They should rebound medium fast ( hard to describe it - but they won't SHOOT back up all that quickly if they are still charged and sealed properly ). Nissan tended to build these Option struts with pretty high bump and rebound rates, but with a relatively soft spring rate. That's kind of opposite to what people tend to run for hard street and track work these days. The Option struts echoed what Nissan were using for their track cars ( in Japan ) and rally cars in the early Seventies, and many people are surprised by the damping and spring rates they used to use. Added to that, the Option struts use a full-sized spring with a wide platform that does not give the clearance of the now common 2.25 springs with their wide choice of spring rates and lengths. Alan T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvo Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Hi Guys I realise its been a while since these were discussed but any idea who in the UK or anywhere for that matter could re gas and oil these AMPCO struts, as I have set that need doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I'm able to nitrogen gas charge Penske and other shocks that use a special kind of Schraeder valve. What do these struts use for getting the gas in the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvo Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Hi John I don't know how the gas gets in!!! I cannot see any valve on the unit, I am wondering if these are like 'normal' cartridges but this thread implies they are not, I think I will open up the worst of my units to see whats in there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Opening one of these up is a one-way street........ The factory had a neat setup fixture for assembling them, but if you take them apart then you will have to weld to the tube a fitting to house a Schraeder valve. You will then need to know what pressure to put into it....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvo Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thanks for that, I will have a think and report back....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Assuming current shock thinking, figuring out the pressure is fairly easy. Assuming 1970s shock thinking, more pressure is better? I would have to check clearance to the ball joint, but the shorty pressure valves used by Penske would work under the rear strut and might work under the front strut. There's also just enough of the strut tube in the hub casting that we might be able to come in front the side and stay below the shock piston's lower travel limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Some clues as to what you will find inside, and an example of the weld-on Schrader valve method of re-gassing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I don't know how the gas gets in!!! I cannot see any valve on the unit........ marvo, Have a look at the top of the rods ( near the screw thread ) where you will possibly see a dome-headed screw. That's where they were gas-filled at the factory. I didn't think to point this out before, but are you sure you have the proper 'Sports Option' gas-filled struts as opposed to the factory standard units ( which we joke were filled with fish oil....... )? The part numbers engraved / stamped on the tubes should tell you for sure. There were lots of different versions - some 'Rally' versions even without the adjustable lower spring platform, but with longer tubes - so you might struggle wihout all the part numbers. They might not have survived, but most of the gas-filled Opt. units had warning stickers in English and Japanese ( early versions were square shape and a goldish-tinged colour, with later ones oblong shape and chrome silver with blue writing and border ) telling you that they were gas-filled, and not to push the rod in or out with the strut inverted. What have you got? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Here's a pic of the factory filling point: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I would be reluctant to put the gas fill in the side of the strut tube, at least anywhere the piston moves past. There could be some amount of oil blow-by past the piston seal as it passed the hole in the strut tube and there might be some increased seal wear. Personally I would prefer a point outside the range of piston travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Well, three years on and they are still working fine. The guy that did it does a lot of them. He does not put the valve anywhere too low down because they can be a little vulnerable - especially on rally cars. Actually, the piston / seal does not move past that valve. It stops before that point on the tube. Hard to explain without a schematic to hand. I'll see if I can find one. But I suspect marvo might actually have a standard factory oil-filled strut that has never had a cartridge rero-fitted into it. Just a hunch............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 But I suspect marvo might actually have a standard factory oil-filled strut that has never had a cartridge rero-fitted into it. I have a few of these and its always a nice find when I'm tearing down a strut. I just put the parts in a box and put them on a shelf. One of these days I'll build a set of factory original struts just for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvo Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for all the info so far guys very useful, I have added some photos showing one of the front struts in pieces. The markings are as follows NISSAN 54302N4051 6 X 06 AMPCO JAPAN I am not yet convinced they are gas struts as I can find no sign of a fill point, nothing as like the screw in the rod and nothing on the body. when I undid the gland nut there was some pressure there but it may just be 30 year old Japanese Air at a diff atmospheric pressure maybe? Also may have to get the gland nut seals made as no-one seems to recognise the part number on the seal NOK AR1309G. The Company NOK still exists but I suspect this is an obselete part, the rear ones are smaller, no number yet as I have only stripped the Fronts. I am tempted to try them with just oil in and see what the car is like, what do you guys think, after all if they were not pressuised at build then I don't want to risk damaging them by blowing them up!! Thanks again for the interest, Marvo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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