KTS: blown shock

[KOUKI KA-T]

By now there's an assload of people running the KTS coils on their cars for some time. I've had mine for about 14 months now. Put them on last august and drove it for 2 months, then stored the car for winter for about 5 months, so I only have put about 4-5k miles total on them to date.
Even before I put it away last year there was a clunk that would come from the passenger rear shock under quick compression, like when going over railroad track crossings or big potholes, but I thought nothing of it.
2 weeks ago it started clunking very loudly while just cruising, and this weekend it got so bad it sounded like the coilover was completely unbolted from the car and flopping around.
So I threw it up on the lift last night and the shock is blown completely, and damn this thing is loud.
No biggie I guess, I'll just replace it. Just wondering if anyone else has had to replace shocks in their KTS' yet. I have a feeling this one may have been bad from the start due to the mild clunking from the get go, so hopefully mine's just a fluke.

[nokuntrol]

Just currious but does the clunking sound like metal on metal contact?

[KOUKI KA-T]

Just currious but does the clunking sound like metal on metal contact?

Yep pretty much.
Sounds like the whle coilover is dropping in and out of the rear deck. But seems to be more of a lateral motion than up and down, it's loudest while cruising on fairly smooth roads.
Over bumps it's loud and squishy, the shock body has a lot of oil on it too.
We ended up jacking up the rear end and dropping it with a buddy in the back and me listening from the outside, it's definitely coming from inside the shock.

[Flybert]

You should have fixed the clunk in the first place. It most likely was a loose top bolt. It's pretty common occurance on coilovers.

[KOUKI KA-T]

You should have fixed the clunk in the first place. It most likely was a loose top bolt. It's pretty common occurance on coilovers.

Yeah I checked that when it first started, wasn't then and isn't loose now. That and the spring perches and are the first things I checked.
Trust me I have gone all over these things and the entire rear-end thinking it may be something else. I could never figure out why it was clunking even after thouroughly inspecting and testing the coilover. Only solution I could think of was to replace it, which is what I'll just do now.
I was just curious if anyone else had needed to replace a shock in theirs yet.

Would storing a car for 5 months and not driving it have any effects on shock internals, from extreme cold and being stagnant for so long?

[DRFT180]

No problem with mine and they've been on for almost a year, and daily driven.

[Var]

Keep us updated on costs and downtime if you dont mind.

[obsolete]

i have a clunk on mine as well except mine is rear driver's side. i only had them on for not even 500 mi. could it be something other than a blown shock? sucks cause i just put them on.

[Irukandji]

i was waiting for a thread like this to pop up... keep us updated on downtime, service, cost etc

[KOUKI KA-T]

Well there is no downtime really. Just gotta order a new shock from SPL and replace when it gets here. IIRC they are 150$ per shock.

[KOUKI KA-T]

i have a clunk on mine as well except mine is rear driver's side. i only had them on for not even 500 mi. could it be something other than a blown shock? sucks cause i just put them on.

Like mentioned above, check the top nuts on all the pillow mounts and all mounting points first, as well as lower suspension arms and the locking collars to make sure nothing is loose.

[Bryants95240sx]

Hmmmm i have a clunk on mine when going over bumps like you described.Except mine happens when the coil is being depressed.And it the driverside. I hope it isnt blown i have only had them from about 5000-7000 miles.

[SimpleS14]

What is the dampening setting on your car? j/w

[KOUKI KA-T]

What is the dampening setting on your car? j/w

Been on 2 outta 15 since I put them in.

[chmercer]

blown shocks do not make a clunking sound. if yours are clunking you are doing somthing wrong like drooping the spring on the perches or not torquing the top nuts.

[KOUKI KA-T]

blown shocks do not make a clunking sound. if yours are clunking you are doing somthing wrong like drooping the spring on the perches or not torquing the top nuts.

Preload is set just fine, and again, the top nuts are fully tight.
It is coming form inside the shock body, we even have an engine ear. Not only does it clunk but upon compression and decrompression there is a very loud suction sound from the shock and there is oil all over it the whole coilover. No other way I can think of to describe it.
And there are plenty of moving parts inside the shock to cause a clunking sound.

[justinhustle]

sean, id guess it was bad from the get go

theres almost no noise with a blown c/o minus a hissing type sound iirc

my cusco blew and i didnt know til i thought a snake wrapped itsself around my wheel

[KOUKI KA-T]

sean, id guess it was bad from the get go

theres almost no noise with a blown c/o minus a hissing type sound iirc

my cusco blew and i didnt know til i thought a snake wrapped itsself around my wheel

Yeah it definitely hisses, very loud. The banging/clunking baffles me, I'm anxious to take it apart and check it out.
But considering my car goes up for the winter in a couple weeks I'll just wait and do it over the winter time.

[DRFT]

i too recently had this problem with my kts co. but i dont hear hissing though. everytime i go over a bump i can hear it ratteling and also when i turn the wheel. what do you guys think it is? i hope its not blown, i mean it BETTER not bbe blown. i only had these coil overs since the middle of summer too!

[chmercer]

did you check the top nuts

[DRFT]

do you mena the nuts that connects the shock to the engine bay? if so yes, all 3 are on tight

EDIT: just tightened the top bolt and everything is fine and dandy now. thanks alot. and good luck kouki ka-t