Hello-

I have a slightly dented tokico blue shock, made for the rear of a 95 Civic DX. I was curious as to if this is okay to use still?

Also - When I turn the shock over I can hear the liquid inside move around. Is this a bad sign or is this okay? The other nonbent shock does this also.

Thanks!

 

a slight dent is fine. its a twin tube construction, the piston sleeve is inside within the outer shell.

hearing the liquid is fine, expected. thats what it does.

 

okay. It looks as if the shock was placed in a vice. Should I take some pics?

edit- here you go

 

If there was any actual damage to the inner cylinder, you wouldn't be able to push the shock shaft in past the damage. Push the shaft all the way down, and let it come back out. If it goes in & comes out smoothly, it's perfectly fine...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If there was any actual damage to the inner cylinder, you wouldn't be able to push the shock shaft in past the damage. Push the shaft all the way down, and let it come back out. If it goes in & comes out smoothly, it's perfectly fine...</TD></TR></TABLE>

will do, I will take the spring off and try to compress the shock.

I have neuspeed springs, and stated before this is in the rear. Should the spring be pushing against the top plate at all? As it is right now its fairly easy to move; off the car.

 

What do you mean "top plate"? If it's a Neuspeed lowering spring, it should be pressing against both the upper & lower spring perches if thats what your asking. It's called preload. Usually coil-over sleeve springs don't have preload, but stock springs & lowering springs do...

 

Sorry, my terminology of suspension components is lacking... these were installed on the car a while ago, my ignorance allowed me to drive with them on there without inspecting them myself.

Anyways, yes I was asking if the spring should be against both upper and lower perches. As of right now, it is not. I remember taking off my fronts a few years ago and noticing that they had preload, but I have never tried to remove the rears until now.

I have been at school for 5 years, during which I didnt touch my car except for random holidays... so I am finally getting to build it the way I want, and I have learned so much over the time at school.

How do I determine the amount of preload to give them?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18EG6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How do I determine the amount of preload to give them?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm a little confused by this question. If it's just a lowering spring, then the preload is set by the engineer that designed it. It's purely a function of spring length vs. rate. If your springs don't have any preload when you assemble the entire shock unit, then thats just how it is. I wouldn't worry too much about them not being preloaded, it just reqires a little extra attention. You will just have to make sure your rear springs are seating properly when setting your vehicle back onto the ground.

The only way you can "adjust" preload is if you have a ride height adjustable threaded spring perch system (ie: GC, tein, omni, k sport, etc).

PS: Don't worry about not knowing what's what. You will by the time we're done with you.