Koni Shock Issue - Rear

[Gumball]

About mid-Summer, I started to notice a bit of a vibration in my suspension that felt somewhat like a rear wheel out of balance. It would occur around 45 - 50 mph and felt a little like I was running over a slight washboard surface, even when the road was relatively smooth. It seemed worse on roads with more imperfections, but I just figured it was time to maybe get the wheels balanced again.

Well, this past weekend, I picked up a rather large screw in my driver's side rear tire and found something interesting when I pulled it off to get it repaired - the rear Koni shock on that side is fairly wet with oil. I'm guessing that what I was feeling was the oscillation resulting from an undamped corner of the car.

My question for you guys is - do any of you know if there is a place where I can get that shock rebuilt or should I just order a new one from FFR or some other source?

[Gordon Levy]

Buy a new one, I don't believe the steel body shocks are rebuildable/

[Mark Reynolds]

Now would be a good time to upgrade your rear coil-overs:
http://www.breezeautomotive.com/details.php?prod_id=876&cat_id=54
(QA1's are rebuildable, although to my knowledge we have never had a customer need to.)

[AC Bill]

Koni shocks have lifetime warranty, unless you have raced it..

PASSENGER CAR, LIGHT TRUCK & MOTORHOME: KONI North America LLC warrants all new KONI shock absorbers (purchased after 5/1/1980) and suspension kits (purchased after 1/1/1995) to the original retail purchaser for use in the United States and Canada against defects in materials and workmanship, excluding mounting hardware and bushings, when used under normal operating conditions for as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle registered for street use on which the KONI shock absorbers were originally installed.

details..http://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/About/Warranty/

[wareaglescott]

Koni shocks have lifetime warranty, unless you have raced it..

PASSENGER CAR, LIGHT TRUCK & MOTORHOME: KONI North America LLC warrants all new KONI shock absorbers (purchased after 5/1/1980) and suspension kits (purchased after 1/1/1995) to the original retail purchaser for use in the United States and Canada against defects in materials and workmanship, excluding mounting hardware and bushings, when used under normal operating conditions for as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle registered for street use on which the KONI shock absorbers were originally installed.

details..http://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/About/Warranty/

Curious as to the "original retail purchaser" statement. Dont know about this case but I know in lots of our cases we bought the shock from FFR who bought the shock from Koni. A technicality but I wonder is this is a disqualifier?

[GoDadGo]

Curious as to the "original retail purchaser" statement. Dont know about this case but I know in lots of our cases we bought the shock from FFR who bought the shock from Koni. A technicality but I wonder is this is a disqualifier?

Call Dan or Courtnie at Factory Five and see what they say.
Seems logical since KONI did in fact work hand in hand with Factory Five Racing to develop shocks specifically for our kits.

[AC Bill]

I'd hope the heck they would be still covered. They cost more than most of the ones you might buy as a replacement for a production car.

[stevo7896]

Wareaglescott ,FFR would be the original retailer for the purchase so you would be fine .

[AC Bill]

Chris,
I'm curious if this was resolved to your liking? Did FFR, and/or Koni, honor the lifetime warranty?

[Gumball]

Bill,

I haven't called FFR yet, as the car is in storage until next spring. The issue wasn't so bad as to keep me from finishing out the driving season, but certainly something I want to fix once it comes out of storage in the spring.

A new shock is around $150 from FFR and I'm guessing that they're not covered under Koni's life-time warranty. I'll ask, but I'll bet that given FFR's statements that they sell race car components and that any street licensing is strictly up to the builder will be the basis for Koni denying a warranty claim under the second bullet point from the last in their disclaimer....

PASSENGER CAR, LIGHT TRUCK & MOTORHOME: KONI North America LLC warrants all new KONI shock absorbers (purchased after 5/1/1980) and suspension kits (purchased after 1/1/1995) to the original retail purchaser for use in the United States and Canada against defects in materials and workmanship, excluding mounting hardware and bushings, when used under normal operating conditions for as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle registered for street use on which the KONI shock absorbers were originally installed. This warranty does not apply to, and KONI makes no warranty for, shock absorbers and suspension kits that have been:

- Not purchased new by the current owner.
- Modified or installed improperly.
- Bent or broken indicating abuse.
- Supplied as Original Equipment on any vehicle except 1984-1986 Ford Mustang SVO.
- Used on any vehicle that has been modified for a use other than or in addition to its originally intended use.
- Used for an application that is not specified in the KONI literature.
- Used on any vehicle for racing, off-road, or other driving competition.
- Exported for use outside the United States and Canada.

[Gumball]

Ordered the shock from FFR finally - looking forward to getting on the road in the next couple of months. It's been a mild, but long winter, and every time it looks like the local roads will finally be cleansed of the salt dust, we get another light snowfall or freezing rain so that the crews can reapply a crusty layer of sodium.

Hopefully this will resolve that nagging little vibration I was feeling just before discovering the wet shock.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Did they honor the warrantee?

[Gumball]

I didn't ask and they didn't offer. Given that my shocks are eight years old and spent a number of years hanging at full droop, I felt that it wasn't appropriate to ask.

[GoDadGo]

It's been a mild, but long winter, and every time it looks like the local roads will finally be cleansed of the salt dust, we get another light snowfall or freezing rain so that the crews can reapply a crusty layer of sodium.



Move South Gumball, Move South!
It's warm down here.

[CraigS]

Move South Gumball, Move South!
It's warm down here.

But then there are 6 months of the year when the amount of perspiration coming out is equal to the amount of water coming in.

[rich grsc]

But then there are 6 months of the year when the amount of perspiration coming out is equal to the amount of water coming in.

So true, I can always add more clothes to keep warm, can't take enough off to keep from sweating.

[Courtnie Provencher]

So true, I can always add more clothes to keep warm, can't take enough off to keep from sweating.

I always say this!!!