I have a set of blown coilovers i wanted to get overhauled, was curious if there was a rebuild kit that exists. Well, different coilovers may have different parts, but are there any manufacturers out there that offer these?

I opened up my Zeal coilovers and it looks pretty basic. Just some fluid inside and some rubber stuff outside, looks super easy to rebuild. Dunno why zeal charges $100 per corner for rebuild. That's madness!

Any know? Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance

 

There is a certain amount of work that goes into building and rebuilding a damper. Its not something a regular joe can do on their own, unless that regular joe knows a thing or two about dampers themselves. AFAIK, there are no "kits" out there that allow a person to rebuild a damper themselves.

 

it looks pretty straight forward, if it came with instructions i'm sure it can be done.

the regular joe also can't do motor swaps, but it's not impossible.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PIC Performance &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There is a certain amount of work that goes into building and rebuilding a damper. Its not something a regular joe can do on their own, unless that regular joe knows a thing or two about dampers themselves. AFAIK, there are no "kits" out there that allow a person to rebuild a damper themselves.</TD></TR></TABLE>

btw are you speaking from experience? if so, what is involved?

 

Yes, a bit. I spent some time in our factory in Taiwan assembling and disassembling dampers. We use a shim-stack design for our valving, and its the shims that wear out over time and need replacing. They also happen to be the most complicated part (I found) to assemble as you have shims of differing thickness and flexibility and diameter, its a matter of putting them in the right order. Its also filling the oil, and the gas, fitting on seals, and putting it on a shock dyno to see that everything was done right, among other things. It gets more complicated if you have adjustable damping.
Its not just parts that go into the rebuild, obviously. I think thats why companies charge what they do if they offer rebuilds.

 

ah that makes sense.

however, i can skip the dyno part

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SRd240sx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">however, i can skip the dyno part </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you do that, you have no idea if you got the damping right or not. Stop being a cheapskate and just send the dampers to the manufacturer.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

If you do that, you have no idea if you got the damping right or not. Stop being a cheapskate and just send the dampers to the manufacturer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

kinda joking.. hence the tongue smiley face

 

$100 per corner isn't a bad price considering a set costs nearly $2000.

 

found out it's actually $150 for grey market coilovers

 

If you have the greymarkets, be glad they'll do it at all. Zeal/ENDLESS USA won't touch greymarket stuff.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have the greymarkets, be glad they'll do it at all. Zeal/ENDLESS USA won't touch greymarket stuff.</TD></TR></TABLE>

actually yes they will

 

The 3 or 4 people I talked to there said that if they weren't sold through an authorized US dealer, no go, and you'd have to ship them to Japan. That's been the exact same thing a number of other people have been told. When did you talk to them about it?

 

I spoke to them over hte phone about a year ago. Maybe their policy has changed?

Also on the FAQ on endlessusa's website, it says:

Q: I did not get my coilover through you or your authorized dealer network. Will you still service/overhaul my coilover?
We reserve the right to refuse service to "gray market" items and/or items not purchased within our network. However, due to a number of complaints we've been receiving, we are now considering performing an overhaul at an additional fee. Upon decision, this information will be posted up shortly. Please understand our strict policies have been in effect to protect our dealers and to deter from any type of "gray market" activity.
Note: We are able to track all coilovers through serial numbers.

 

Well that sure is new. Even the website used to say pretty much: "Gray market? Don't even think about it." Maybe they have changed the policy. That'd be a nice thing if they did.

 

"However, due to a number of complaints we've been receiving, we are now considering performing an overhaul at an additional fee."

Obviously they wouldn't put that if they aren't willing to do it.

Also when I spoke to them on the phone they said they would do it.

So