BR Racing Coilover shock keeps blowing
 

Looking for some help here, guys...

Long story short, I got some used coilovers from a friend locally - BC Racing Extreme Low's, and this will be the second time I replace the front driver side shock in 2 months.

Details:

The seller had them on his BRZ for about 6 months and the manufacturing date on the coilover shocks confirmed that (manufactured less than a year ago). According to the seller, the shocks were in perfect working condition when he had them on his car. I bought them and installed them about a week after (this was September 23). Upon installing them, everything was great and in working order. A few weeks after, I started hearing a clunk and figured it was starting to blow. Then it got gradually worse and the shock was super blown, so bad that the shaft even got bent (don't know how it happened, but it caused massive alignment issues). So I called BC Racing and found that the shock replacement was not covered under the 1-year manufacturer warranty (wtf?). I needed the shock desperately, so I placed the order for a replacement shock anyways. After two weeks of bad customer service from BC Racing and having them forget to place my order twice and having to wait 3 weeks for my replacement shock, I finally received it and installed it immediately (this was Oct. 21).

Just last night (Nov. 19), I noticed a slight clunk coming from the front left coilover, the same one I replaced. I thought it was just the cold weather acting on it. Then today, I started driving and went over some dips and speed bumps and started hearing some LOUD clunking clearly from the replacement shock. I checked the nut on the top of the coilover and it was snug. I haven't taken off the wheel to confirm, but it clearly sounds like a blown shock.

I have installed coilovers many times before and never had any issues with them. I have used the proper tools and torque specs and set the proper pre-load at 4mm. Nothing is broken and the alignment still seems fine at this point, but considering it JUST started happening, I am scared for it getting worse.

In the case that the shock is blown yet again from a brand new replacement directly from BC Racing, is there something else that could be causing the same shock to keep blowing?

It's not a cheap shock (~$100 each), so I would hate to continue spending that every month. Not only that, but if something else is causing them to blow, I would really like to fix that first.

I have attached files of my previous blown shock condition... pretty brutal...

how low is your car, and how are you tightening the top shock nut? I hope you have a strap wrench to hold the shock shaft while tightening the top nut to avoid spinning of the shock shaft, which would lead to blown seals.

as for the bending, what are your spring rates, how low are you, and what kind of crappy roads are you driving (last one wasn't entirely serious lol)?

I have attached a picture of my car, but I am not that low. I still have like a finger's worth of a wheel gap.

I am tightening the top nut while holding down the spring, yes. I know it's supposed to be 41 lb/ft torque and I used a torque wrench to get it there.

Would spinning the shock shaft cause the seals to blow?

I recall the previous owner of the coilovers saying that they were 12kg/mm and I currently have the dampening settings set to the softest setting.

I also am doing just regular daily driving to and from school. The roads to school (in LA) are not the greatest, but not bad enough to blow my shocks, especially not in a month's time. I have yet to autocross my car and don't do any spirited driving. I haven't gotten into any accidents (especially not since I replaced my shock recently).

I should also add that I got a front end alignment with -1.5 camber and I think they said it was 0.05" toe (forgot what caster setting) on October 27, so just over a month ago and less than a week after installing the new shock.

Just jacked up the car a few moments ago and took the wheel off.

I noticed that the tie rod end boot was leaking a little grease. I cleaned it off and tried squeezing it a little bit to see where it was leaking from, but it didn't seem to leak anymore and it still felt like it had a good amount of grease inside the boot. The surrounding area on the tie rod end around the boot seems wet like there was a grease leak, even on the top of the boot where the nut is (which I thought was weird), but like I said, I couldn't see a leak after cleaning and squeezing it.

Upon a quick inspection of the coilover itself, I surprisingly saw no major physical signs of a blown shock. When my first shock blew, there was a mess of oil everywhere around the wheel well, but this time it looks normal with the exception of a little oil on the bottom spring perch. However, the noise being produced is highly indicative of a blown shock, but now that I see grease around the tie rod end, that is making me think twice whether the shock is the ONLY thing that could be causing issues.

My question now is can the tie rod end be a probable cause to the shock blowing? Or vice versa, can the blown shock cause the tie rod end to go out?

holding the spring while tightening the shock top nut will not prevent the shaft from spinning. you will need to get a strap wrench and wrap it around the actual shaft (through the gaps in the spring coils) to hold it still while tightening the top nut to avoid spinning it and possibly ruining your seals. though, it is not like a slight spin would immediately ruin it either.

the only reason that I can think of that would cause your shocks to bend like that is the fact that BC is considered a "budget" brand and possibly wouldn't be using the greatest materials. that in conjunction with crappy roads (have you hit any major potholes recently) would stress the shock over time and cause that bend. either that, or you have something extremely loose in your suspension that gives the coilovers room to wiggle about and eventually bend like that.

as for your tie rod leaking... I am not sure if being lowered would cause that. I am thinking maybe just the rough roads are more taxing on your suspension parts, or you have hit a lot of pot holes lol

Thank you for your input. I will be removing my coilover again soon to take it apart and inspect it more in detail and I will make sure to strap the shaft properly when torquing the top nut down.

I find it weird that BC Racing wouldn't cover something like this under their manufacturer warranty. The main component of a coilover is the shock and they can't cover that? I really hope they're not cheap-ing out like you say because they will surely be losing quite a few customers.

As for the driving conditions, there are not as many potholes as I would think would damage anything. Not only that, but most of my mornings on my way to class are spent in LA traffic going around 15mph on average. There are a few dips on the freeway when going 65-70mph have me lift off the seat momentarily, but they are not hard hits, they're more like mini ramps (nothing like Evil Knievel as my car probably doesn't even leave the ground, it's just my suspension most likely fully extends and then retracts), but the landing is fairly smooth, nothing that I would assume would damage suspension parts. Other than that, the roads are relatively smooth. City driving is normal, not major potholes on my daily route.

On top of that, I would figure that the other shocks (passenger front and both rears) would go out first considering they're older and more worn before a month-old shock.

For what it's worth, the top of the shock where the dampening adjustment knob is now sitting just as the very first picture I posted in post #1. The good thing is that the shock doesn't seem bent like it did in the first post, but only further inspection will tell me more.

Yes. You need pass through sockets and an allen wrench. Dont know the specifics for the BCs but use the spring/strut diy here on the forum for a general idea

Can't I just use a regular wrench instead of a pass-through socket? I realize I can't fit a torque wrench on a hand open end wrench, but I'm sure I can get close to 41lb/ft torque just by brute strength. However, I will invest in a pass-through socket now as to make sure I get the exact torque. 41lb/ft is the right torque for the top nut, right?

And I used an Allen key to hold it still when I tightened the top nut last. I didn't hold the shaft like ryoma mentioned above when tightening the top nut, but I figured that's what the Allen key was for.

do not use an allen key for the adjustable struts. the allen key port is usually there to adjust the strut valving. the stock ones are fine with an allen key and pass through socket (since they aren't adjustable), but you will need a strap wrench for the others. of course, anything that can hold the strut shaft from spinning while you tighten can be used. a strap wrench that you can buy from Sears for $10 is the easiest though.

When you say "adjustable", are you referring to the dampening? If so, I think most coilovers have the dampening adjuster, don't they?

But ok, I'll see if I can swing by Sears soon. I plan on overhauling it on Wednesday if I get a chance. I'll be calling BC Racing tomorrow to let them know what's going on.

With my coilovers (Ohlins) I used a vice grip and an Allen key.

To be fair, I didn't tell them I wasn't the original owner until after they told me they didn't cover a replacement, so as far as they knew, I was the original owner when I asked, but yet, they still said no even though I was under the 1-year manufacturer warranty period. I wasn't expecting a warranty on the used parts, so I didn't want to push it. However, I did purchase the shock that just blew brand new directly from BC Racing, so I'm surely the original owner for that and I'm hoping there is a warranty for that at least.

I was basing my "technique" to tighten down the top nut off of this videos:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlqOA35NmAw"]BC Racing Coilover Spring Change and Preload Adjustment on Vimeo.mp4 - YouTube[/ame]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since mine are the BR series, I figured it wouldn't be too much of a difference other than just a different-looking camber plate and when disassembling. Upon detailed inspection last time, it all looked identical to the video. Not only that, but my coilovers were running perfectly fine for a good month without any gradual degradation of any sort up until 2 days ago and the spring isn't loose or anything. From what I saw, the Allen key hole was just used to hold the shaft from spinning while the top nut was tightened, but again, correct me if I'm wrong...

Wouldn't vice grips chew into the shaft? I was thinking of vice grips, but I was scared of leaving teeth marks. But in your case with your Ohlins, you don't have a top nut? You tighten it with the Allen key?

I case it hasn't been said yet, you get what you pay for.

In case it hasn't been said yet, don't threadshit and make worthless posts that don't contribute to the discussion at hand.