Koni T-Bird shock cartridge, where to get?

Body diameter, extended length, and compressed length would be helpful.
 
Marcus said:
What kind of measurements do you need? I've literally got them sitting next to me right now.
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OK, here is what ya do.
Step1: Take both of them and put them in a box.
Step2: Then mail them to me.
Step3: ???
Step4: Profit!
 
If you are building a car so bad ass that would warrant magic from strut why not go to some badass aftermarket bags and get really custom...

And Koni really made inserts for JUST the Mark VIII?

Anyone have a link to a writeup of these being installed?
 
kustomizingkid said:
If you are building a car so bad ass that would warrant magic from strut why not go to some badass aftermarket bags and get really custom...

And Koni really made inserts for JUST the Mark VIII?

Anyone have a link to a writeup of these being installed?
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Post number 3 you space cadet.

And the cost of one of them Shock Wave setups is ridiculous. Plus they don't make them for our cars (or T-Birds) plus if they did it requires air tanks and chit.

I like the factory air setup and like the ASHAM controller, just need a better dampener.
Not sure what I am gonna use on the back. Hope to find a pair of 2000 Cobra R Bilstiens hiding somewhere.
 
Laser, I could easily see fabbing up wider tubes for the air strut if you found correct length inserts.

If you find the correct length inserts that are wider I will gladly hack a set of air strut ends to make em fit... I have a set of dead bags sitting in my garage.
 
DLF said:
Koni makes a variety of inserts, however the ones in question were made JUST for the 89-97 Thunderbirds....
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Suprising... but cool.

Seriously, find some wider inserts and I will build some modded tubes... sounds like a fun project.
 
I broke out MS paint and took a "few" measurements. :D


koni.gif


Length measurements are accurate to about 0.050"
 
Marcus said:
I broke out MS paint and took a "few" measurements. :D
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WOW! Very well done. :eek:

So now, what are the measurements of the stock shock tube? ID, length, etc.?

The Koni 8610-1437 Race insert might work, although it has a 14mm shaft, and I'm not sure how it's retained in the stock tube (a large threaded gland nut?).

Page 10 of THIS Koni .pdf

Not cheap, however.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KON-86101437RACE/
 
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Unfortunately, the 14mm wouldn't work. There's a metal sleeve in the top of the air bag surrounded by rubber that's made for a 12mm rod and it's chamfered on both ends in order to fit O-rings. Drilling it to 14mm leaves no material to add a new chamfer, and without chamfer, you have no O-rings, and that means no seal.

There's also a major problem with the threaded part of the shaft not being correct for our needs. The portion of the rod above the "step" is critical, because you need a length of it to be unthreaded in order for the O-rings to seal. In fact, even the T-bird insert, as it is, has the thread going down too far, which causes the top O-ring to be up against the thread. My plan was to fill in the threads with metal-reinforced epoxy putty up past the O-ring, and then sand or file it smooth. Jeremi says it can be installed without the top O-ring, but I'd feel better if it was there.

I realize this does absolutely nobody any good, but I'm trying to save you from a wild goose chase. On the other hand, if you go to the bottom of the PDF, it says they'll make custom shocks. I'm sure that's a pretty penny. :(

BTW, I'm not currently in possession of the stock shocks at the moment so I can't take measurements of them.

strutcompare.jpg


oemshaft.jpg


konishaft2.jpg
 
Marcus said:
There's also a major problem with the threaded part of the shaft not being correct for our needs. The portion of the rod above the "step" is critical, because you need a length of it to be unthreaded in order for the O-rings to seal. In fact, even the T-bird insert, as it is, has the thread going down too far, which causes the top O-ring to be up against the thread. My plan was to fill in the threads with metal-reinforced epoxy putty up past the O-ring, and then sand or file it smooth. Jeremi says it can be installed without the top O-ring, but I'd feel better if it was there.

konishaft2.jpg
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What goes on top of the o-ring in this picture?

What about using an 12mm aluminum or copper sealing washer instead of the top o-ring, and some sealant on the threads and nut?
 
DLF said:
What goes on top of the o-ring in this picture?

What about using an 12mm aluminum or copper sealing washer instead of the top o-ring, and some sealant on the threads and nut?
Click to expand...

yeah, the top of that doesn't look like it would present that much of a problem to get sealed up.
 
DLF said:
What goes on top of the o-ring in this picture?
Click to expand...

Three big-ass washers. Here's how it's all laid out...

strut2.jpg


The O-rings, when installed, are pressed into the chamfer in both ends of the metal sleeve, which as best as I can measure, is about 1.6" long. So you need at least that much length, in addition to the thickness of all the washers and the nut, so add another inch just to be safe. That makes a little over 2 1/2". If I'm reading the PDF right, the threaded portion of the rod above the shoulder is 50mm long, which is a little less than 2". Even if you could figure out an alternate way to seal it, I think it would still be too short. I guess you could eliminate all those washers on top, but that's way out of my limited expertise.
 
Look what showed up today! :D:):cool::p

Now all I need is a real good set of Gen 2 front air shocks. ;)

I took a look at a dead Arnott that I have, and these won't fit in them in any way that I could figure out. :(

HPIM2265s.jpg
 
I have one airbag with under 2000 miles on it and is 1 year old and I have another that has about 10K on it and is a year and a half old. They are waiting patiently for my own inserts.
 
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