Koni Strut Blown
 

I had my Koni front struts blow on RCE Yellows after about maybe 1k miles. Will check with the shop that did the install to see if they'll warranty it or if Koni will warranty it, but I'm stumped. The Koni's seemed like a great product, and I can't believe they failed. They were at half turn from full stiff and installed by a reputable local shop (Works).

Driver's side strut appears to be ok, if you push down on the top-most rubber nib on the top mount, it's completely dry. Passenger side is still leaking fluid.

Are you not supposed to use stock top mounts with the Konis? What do you guys think is going on? I haven't touched the struts since the install.

Edit: Looks like it's time to warranty.

Ouch.

Was hoping for more input than that! Obviously we have a failure here but I'm trying to figure out what may have caused what...

Not a lot to tell you unfortunately. Just a bad strut. It does happen. My stock strut failed right around a thousand miles as well. I would just have Koni replace it for you.

Can you pull that rubber top off and give us some pics of inside?

Koni warranty time!

So you think I'm looking at a product failure as opposed to improper install? Obviously I haven't posted photos of the entire assembly but everything appears to my eyes to be installed properly, although I haven't torn things down yet.

Good news is the rears appear to be fine.

Not only do I need new front struts but top mounts, too! ugh..

Those of you who know me, know the amount of ridiculous crap I've had to deal with in my project, and this is just par for the course. Kind of hilarious when you think about it.

Front Struts: 0, My Car: 4*.

Love Koni's. I ran them in my M3 and LOVED them. You might not be able to run that top rubber piece with that tab. Can you post pictures without the rubber cap? There isn't a lot that can be installed wrong on them, so I would bet product failure.

Give Koni a call. I'm sure you will be taken care of :thumbup:

Funny thing is I loved these at first then the ride quality started deteriorating...hmm..wonder why!

I bought them off a dealer on this forum so I'll contact him first then take it from there.

These are the stock top mounts, I don't think the top part can be removed, although I'm not an expert at suspension so I'll check it out tomorrow.

They look installed correctly. The part where the shock is protruding is the rubber cover that covers the top nut. You can peel that off to reveal the shock adjuster. Looks like shop poked a hole in the cover to allow the adjuster to poke through while protecting the top mount bearing from dirt and dust. Nothing wrong there. Best find out if both fronts are leaking before contacting Koni.

Here you go. Now go take us pics ;)

Attachment 40404
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Duh...easy enough. My crappy cameraphone doesn't have a flash so I'll take some tomorrow.

Hopefully I won't need new top mounts at least :D

:happy0180:

When you get the strut top off, look at the washer at the base of the adjustment blade. One of my struts was leaking from the adjuster out of the box because the o-ring seal beneath wasn't seated. Koni warrantied the strut, but took their sweet fucking time.