Koni yellow vs. Bilstein strut diameter difference

[858slider]

On 12/20/2021 at 2:21 PM, bergie33 said:

Gary, I have my '74 tii strut housings out of the car and a set of new Koni's in the box. Mine are the same part numbers as yours.  I'll try to see tonight if I have the same issue as you, or at least get a measurement on the Koni tube diameter.  Stay tuned...

Were u able to get a measurement? I’m in the same boat 

[uai]

The oil is for transferring heat from the damper to the strut housing too not only for rust protection so stay with oil instead of grease.

It clearly depends on the make of strut too. 
If you have e.g. Sachs Struts that had no damper cartridge and the damper innards were directly in the struts you really have trouble finding inserts that fit. 
I had no chance fitting Bilsteins or Konis. Also when a strut is bent 1° you'll get problems inserting the damper cartridge.

[AlfaBMWGuy]

As the OP for this thread, I will add that my mechanic was finally able to persuade the Koni yellow struts into my '74 tii strut tubes.  He did this after some judicious sanding off of excess paint and "lumpy welds".  It was a tight fit and took some "convincing" not needed with the Bilsteins being removed, but he's sure they can also be extracted if needed.  Even before this sanding/grinding he was able to get the Koni inserted partially into the tube so we just wanted to see if others had used this technique to make it work before doing something irreversible.

 

-Gary

[bergie33]

Yeah, I had the same issues. I never got a measurement, but after some sanding of the Konis, I was able to get them fitted. 

[858slider]

I was thinking a brake cylinder hone can open it up a bit inside. I see them at Autozone for 19.99. That way it’s an even hone opposed to sanding the strut inserts unevenly. Anyone done it that way?

[bergie33]

4 hours ago, 858slider said:

I was thinking a brake cylinder hone can open it up a bit inside. I see them at Autozone for 19.99. That way it’s an even hone opposed to sanding the strut inserts unevenly. Anyone done it that way?

I had to do both. I used the hone just to make sure there was no rust and that it was smooth. I still needed to remove paint and burrs from the inserts. 

[858slider]

9 minutes ago, bergie33 said:

I had to do both. I used the hone just to make sure there was no rust and that it was smooth. I still needed to remove paint and burrs from the inserts. 

Great to know, now wish me luck. 

[jimk]

When the shock insert was inserted in the tube, it's common practice to make sure the top of the insert stands above the tube so the nut actually is clamping the insert.  Just tightening the nut does not mean the insert is not flopping up and down in the tube.

Edited May 9, 2023 by jimk