Replacing suspension on a Mk1b.

[Lauren]

Thanks for the info. I have a couple of questions about the Konis - I noticed that someone has the Konis only on the front. Do you need adjustable Konis on all four corners? And what does the adjustment give you - would it be something that you'd be tweaking often? I noticed that the other dampers that Fensport sell are half the price of the adjustables so I wondered if I would get the most out of the Konis? I'm planning to use my SC every day rather than as a trackday car.

Cheers.

Yes you have to get the same dampers on all four corners whether they are adjustable or not.

Just because the Konis are adjustable it doesn't mean you have to continually adjust them, more that you have a better chance of acheiving the ride/handling compromise that you want to acheive.

KYBs though half the price, work well enough but are pretty stiff. Konis on full hard are stiff but on full soft give a really good ride with taught enough damping for the road. I run mine on medium stiff which i find works pretty well for me. I stiffen up the rears for track work, but really teh best thing about them is you are able to find the compromise that suits you best.

Personally i think you'll get a much better ride with teh konis than the KYBs... it really becomes a thing of you get what you pay for at the end of the day. The Koni's (perhaps not surprisingly) IMO are superior to the KYBs.

That said KYBs are a good budget choice.

choice is yours...

[System-G]

I put KYB's on my 1a last Friday as one of my rear dampers had gone soft. It turned out the soft rear had previously been replaced with a sealed unit and could not accept the inserts. We only discovered this after replacing the fronts

Another forum member has promissed me a complete rear suspension unit, but until I can arrange collecting it (1.5 hours away), I am going to have some very interesting handling It made the 5 hour round trip to Elvington and back OK-ish...

Judging the KYB's on the front it is going to be quite a firm ride, but we do like a firm one (matron)

[Lunarmatic]

Thanks for the replies! I have some more questions

Just because the Konis are adjustable it doesn't mean you have to continually adjust them, more that you have a better chance of acheiving the ride/handling compromise that you want to acheive.

Is adjustment quite easy - am I right in thinking it involves turning a nut on top of the shock (i.e. easily accessible from engine bay/frunk? If adjustment involves getting underneath or anything then I'll probably not be wanting to experiment with it much.

KYBs though half the price, work well enough but are pretty stiff. Konis on full hard are stiff but on full soft give a really good ride with taught enough damping for the road.

Just so I can get an idea of the varying levels of stiffness - if the KYBs are "pretty stiff" where does that fall on the adjustable range of the Konis? Are the KYBs stiffer than the standard shocks?

It turned out the soft rear had previously been replaced with a sealed unit and could not accept the inserts. We only discovered this after replacing the fronts

Is there something for me to watch out for here then? What do I need to check to make sure I'll be able to use the inserts?

im upgrading to koni's and lowering springs all round soon.
my car is an everyday car but i will be running some aggresive geo settings but as Lauren has tested, they'll be fine for road use too.
....
another worthy upgrade is uprated poly bushes.

Yep, poly bushes are on my shopping list!
Are you planning on fitting the suspension yourself? I'm not up to that job so I am wondering how much fitting of everything will be! I noticed that the all-in-one poly bush kits include engine and gearbox mounts too - I presume that's not a difficult/costly job for a garage to handle?
What are these aggressive geo settings about? Any particular reason to use them instead of standard?

Cheers!

[stevenb]

I put KYB's on my 1a last Friday as one of my rear dampers had gone soft. It turned out the soft rear had previously been replaced with a sealed unit and could not accept the inserts. We only discovered this after replacing the fronts

Another forum member has promissed me a complete rear suspension unit, but until I can arrange collecting it (1.5 hours away), I am going to have some very interesting handling It made the 5 hour round trip to Elvington and back OK-ish...

Judging the KYB's on the front it is going to be quite a firm ride, but we do like a firm one (matron)

i hope I dont have this trouble.
does it mean you have to bu OE struts if any wont accept the inserts. How can you tell at a glance. im worried now...

[System-G]

From how my mechanic explained things. He is an Ex MrT mechanic and used to do everything by their book (BGB).

Toyota stipulated that with suspension faults, the entire unit needed to be changed, not just re-build with inserts, even though this is easily done. The replacement assemblies were often sealed units.

If you remove your wheel and look up inside the spring towards the top of the cylinder (where the silver piston dissappears into the strutt) you should see a large hex nut - this is then re-buildable. If this end tapers, then it's probably a sealed unit.

In Laurens photo, you can see a flat edge where the cartridge would be secured in place (where the piston dissappears into the main shaft):

[stevenb]

I deffo know that the fronts have the hex nut....dunno about the rears. they look old so I guess they are original which. my fronts are OE toyota ones.

BTW.......can you use your current top mounts if they are ok enough or is it vital to fit new ones when replacing shocks all round. Money is a bit tight at the moment.
Fensport want a fair bit of money...about £200 plus VAT for all 4 corners.

[System-G]

Yes, you can use your existing top mounts no problem (if they are OK). My top mounts were still "as new" in comparison to the rest of the gubbins.

EDIT:
Something else I just remembered:
When you se-seat the springs and the buckets they sit in, make sure the orientation is spot on or you may have some weird handling issues. The previous owner of my car didn't do this when he put the PI springs on which contributed to why I was getting such fierce vibration through the steering column and some "interesting" handling at the best of times.

[stevenb]

Yes, you can use your existing top mounts no problem (if they are OK). My top mounts were still "as new" in comparison to the rest of the gubbins.

EDIT:
Something else I just remembered:
When you se-seat the springs and the buckets they sit in, make sure the orientation is spot on or you may have some weird handling issues. The previous owner of my car didn't do this when he put the PI springs on which contributed to why I was getting such fierce vibration through the steering column and some "interesting" handling at the best of times.

Hmm....Those last words you mention could be attributing to my cars current handling characteristics. The rear shocks are original I'm sure but the fronts are fairly recent in comparison....IIRC 1997 they were replaced.
Did the original shocks have the large hex nut? I take it that they did.

[System-G]

Did the original shocks have the large hex nut? I take it that they did.

Yes mate

[stevenb]

Garrick.
If my rear shocks have the flat edged bit (as per above pic) what will I need to be able to fit my Koni inserts? I forgot. Is it a complete non sealed shock absorber? I hope I don't need them...

[System-G]

Garrick.
If my rear shocks have the flat edged bit (as per above pic) what will I need to be able to fit my Koni inserts? I forgot. Is it a complete non sealed shock absorber? I hope I don't need them...

I would imagine so mate. The pic above shows Laurens shocks which she fitted Koni's to.

My good rear assembly has a hex nut but the previously replaced (and currently knackered) one is tapered towards where the hex nut should be.

Have another read of Lauren's "How-To" in the KB or send her a PM I'm sure she will have a heap more info than me right now as I haven't actually got round to sorting the rears on mine yet.