coilover maintenance

[ASTIG]

I just put D2 coilovers in my car and I was wondering about routine maintenance or problems I should watch for. I'm kinda new to coilovers. Things I am concerned about are:
strength and reliability of aluminum camber plates, do the bolts on the camber plates loosen over time? should I use loctite on those bolts?

I put some anti-seize compound on the strut body...is that alright?

[RedGalant2k1]

Being that the camber plates are aluminum they may be subject to corrosion, I'd suggest making a rubber or metal cover of some sort to protect the camber plates when being used as a daily driver (at least in winter). Other than that anti-seize should be more than adequate for the bolts on the strut and the camber plate.

[spdracr]

my bolts on my camber plates never came loose but they developed some rust on them as well as the plates themselves, other than that i never had any other problems

[ASTIG]

what are the chances of the plates bending?

[RedGalant2k1]

what are the chances of the plates bending?

The camber plates won't bend, they are thick enough to prevent it, and bolted firmly against the vehicle body to prevent flexing.

[spdracr]

my driver side plate is slightly bent but not bad and its only cause the previous owner crashed his car and i guess thats how it happened but that gave me no problems

[4g63lover]

try and power wash it often in the winter. The perches tend to seize over time cuz of the salt. and corrossion on the camber plates are 100% likely. Mine are. But all I didn to cleean them up was use the steel wool attatchment on the dremel and went to work on them. Gotta do it again this spring.

edit: there. lol

[spdracr]

try and power was it often in the winter. The perches tend to seize over time cuz of the salt. and corrossion on the camber plates are 100% likely. Mine are. But all I didn to cleean them up was use the steel wall attatchment on the dremel and went to work on them. Gotta do it again this spring.

which one is the steel wall attachement ??

i took mine apart when i was doing my suspension last week and cleaned them off with some degreaser and a scotch pad thingy (not exactly a scotch pad but thats the best i can describe it) it cleaned it up a lil bit but not 100%

[Stewi]

Astig ,every once in a while clean out the exposed threads on the shock body. Its a catch 22, if you dont have anti sieze on there, it tends to get stuck, if you do, it doesnt get stuck but dirt and other debris will get stuck to it

[ASTIG]

Astig ,every once in a while clean out the exposed threads on the shock body. Its a catch 22, if you dont have anti sieze on there, it tends to get stuck, if you do, it doesnt get stuck but dirt and other debris will get stuck to it

LOL I was thinking the same thing.

thanks for the good info guys. Im thinking maybe i can use some kind of anti-corrosion spray.

[greddy]

Mine haven't rusted at all yet and they've been on two different cars, the powdercoating job is actually really good compared to springs and such. I've powerwashed mine every other time I wash the car, so they stay pretty clean.

[xd_01]

i spray mines with wd-40 when ever i get a chance. unfortunately thast as much as you can do unless you want to take them apart every few months and clean them that way. the camber adjust doesnt move but i check frequently just like i would with the oil, brake fluid, brakes pads, rotors or any other wear and tear part.

but on the flipside i would highly suggest you have another suspension set up for the winter because salted and sanded roads create such a problem for coilovers. once that gets in the threads its over, youll never get it all out unless you spend some serious time on them with a power washer, also the the brackets loose there shine and look like shit from all the salt.

i have had little sand particles get stuck in between the coil and the perch so when i turn hard like in parking lots it makes a horrible sound as if the coil actually shot out of the car. that happened to me twice and i had to completely dis-assemble the coilover to clean it. its to the point that i have dis-assemble the coilovers many times just to clean them. also my coilovers have the dampner adjustment on the bottom and because of all the salt and shit they have lost the capability to adjust properly which is another one of the reasons i dis-assemble them so often.

i mean for the price i paid for these (1600) im really kickin myself in the ass now. here are some before and after pics.

before:


after:

[greddy]

^damn, that sucks, are those JICs?

[ASTIG]

damn!

I really gotta take care of these and keep them nice and clean.

[spdracr]

the sleeve on mine was covered with dirt and salt and everything. I wiped it with degreaser and it came out nice. I guess the powder coating on them is better than those in the pic

[xd_01]

powered coat is the move all you have to do is wipe them down like you said but mines are like an anodized coating so they turn to shit.

and yes there JIC's

[fatal1]

and occasionally check the perches as well i have had about 2x them moving on me and becoming unlocked and ajdusting themselves upwards a bit on whichever side comes loose...now i usualy check thuier tightness about once a week just as a precaution

[silver01g]

thanks guys gonna be new to coilovers here next week myself, nice to know this info.

[Boosted]

I never had that problem while I was running my Ground Control setup.

[underated]

i just picked up the D2's also and was wondering the same thing thanks for posting this up ASTIG, and thanks for the responses. ASTIG do you have any pics or yours installed?