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**gavin** · 11-3-05, 5:04

1st gen sports

Euro 2nd gen Sports

(no photo of the 1st gen Specials. Sorry

)

Now that you’ve purchaced one of the 3 varieties of Koni inserts, youll have to install them in the donor strut bodies that we have just taken off the car.

Konis online instructions: http://www.koni-na.com/pdf/boltstrut.pdf

here you have your (preferably blown)donor struts to be sacrificed to better things.

First thing that needs to be done is to relieve the nitrogen gas that is in the strut.

Naturally a vice, clamp, workmate bench is a great help here. Use a punch to make a nice divot for the first small drill bit in the center of the base of the strut. This really helps the bit from trying to wander all over the place.

Drill pilot hole to relieve gas

If theres a lot of gas pressure, the strut may vent a load of oil/oil vapor at your face. Old shock oil smells/tastes pretty foul( and Ill bet its not that great to get in your eyes either). I used a towel large enough to drape over my hand and the strut without getting in the way of the drill bit. If the strut decided to vent gas/oil it would be caught by the towel and not my face. (the towel is in the picture but not over my hand for the sake of the picture)

Use the pilot hole to empty the strut of oil

It’s a good thing to have a bucket handy for this. When the pilot hole is made, pump up and down on the strut shaft to remove as much of the oil as possible. There wont be as much of a mess when it comes time to chop the heads of the struts off.

Chop the top of the struts off

You can use whatever suits you best here. Rotary tool, Hacksaw, or in my case I used a pipe cutter that I picked up from the local flea market for $5. Worked like a charm. From the top of the weld youll be making the cut about 3/8”-1/2” lower.

Remove/discard internals

Provded you’ve done the cutting well, this part is easy. A couple tugs on the shaft and the internals will slide out.

Drill 1/2”(14mm) hole in base.

(Sorry, no picture)

This is pretty self explanatory anyway. This will be widening the pilot hole made before.

Remove internal obstructions in the strut tube

Just as in the koni instructions, there may be odd nubs/obstructions in the strut tube. Here you see a small indent from the welds on the brake line bracket. This will need to be filed down to clear the way for the insert.

After you have cleaned out the gutted strut housings you can repaint them if necessary(not a bad idea). I used Krylon flat black. Youll wind up with this:

11-3-05, 5:04	#5 (permalink)
gavin Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: santa cruz.ca iTrader: (1)	1st gen sports Euro 2nd gen Sports (no photo of the 1st gen Specials. Sorry ) Now that you’ve purchaced one of the 3 varieties of Koni inserts, youll have to install them in the donor strut bodies that we have just taken off the car. Konis online instructions: http://www.koni-na.com/pdf/boltstrut.pdf here you have your (preferably blown)donor struts to be sacrificed to better things. First thing that needs to be done is to relieve the nitrogen gas that is in the strut. Naturally a vice, clamp, workmate bench is a great help here. Use a punch to make a nice divot for the first small drill bit in the center of the base of the strut. This really helps the bit from trying to wander all over the place. Drill pilot hole to relieve gas If theres a lot of gas pressure, the strut may vent a load of oil/oil vapor at your face. Old shock oil smells/tastes pretty foul( and Ill bet its not that great to get in your eyes either). I used a towel large enough to drape over my hand and the strut without getting in the way of the drill bit. If the strut decided to vent gas/oil it would be caught by the towel and not my face. (the towel is in the picture but not over my hand for the sake of the picture) Use the pilot hole to empty the strut of oil It’s a good thing to have a bucket handy for this. When the pilot hole is made, pump up and down on the strut shaft to remove as much of the oil as possible. There wont be as much of a mess when it comes time to chop the heads of the struts off. Chop the top of the struts off You can use whatever suits you best here. Rotary tool, Hacksaw, or in my case I used a pipe cutter that I picked up from the local flea market for $5. Worked like a charm. From the top of the weld youll be making the cut about 3/8”-1/2” lower. Remove/discard internals Provded you’ve done the cutting well, this part is easy. A couple tugs on the shaft and the internals will slide out. Drill 1/2”(14mm) hole in base. (Sorry, no picture) This is pretty self explanatory anyway. This will be widening the pilot hole made before. Remove internal obstructions in the strut tube Just as in the koni instructions, there may be odd nubs/obstructions in the strut tube. Here you see a small indent from the welds on the brake line bracket. This will need to be filed down to clear the way for the insert. After you have cleaned out the gutted strut housings you can repaint them if necessary(not a bad idea). I used Krylon flat black. Youll wind up with this: Last edited by gavin : 1-31-07 at 16:18.