Suspension Refurb

[Wodjno]

Well i finally got round to starting on refurbing my Tein Type HA coilovers

I have ordered some new Seat and Lock rings for the rears, as they where totally mullered.

I have been busy on 1 of the rears with a Wire Brush and Drill with Wire Brush attachment.. It's taken about an hour to get it to the stage it's at now..
But whats the best paln of attack now ?
What should i treat the bare metal with ? Is 1 of those rust suppressors and primers all in 1 ok ?
And i want a paint thats going to be resillient to the forces of nature
I was wondering if 1 of those Plasticote Spray paints would be OK ?
I really want to stay as near as possible to the OE TEIN Green colour as well.

TIA

Oh yes.. Nearly forgot

Pics below..

[psbarham]

personally i would clean them up and then paint them with some cold galvanising spray, then do a top coat of green

[Fully]

Do you have salt on your roads?
As I see alot of cars your way that have a lot of rust on the underside of the car :/

[Kieran]

Do you have salt on your roads?
As I see alot of cars your way that have a lot of rust on the underside of the car :/

Yes, lots! Rust is a big problem for Jap imports in the UK.

[Turbo_Steve]

Mistubishi VR-4 red, for me.

[White Lightning]

Blimey, they were in a bit of a state Glenn!

Glad I took the decision to give mine a good clean at least once or twice a year to keep the rot away!

[ANTHONY]

i agree they do look bad how old are they?

[Wodjno]

The Fronts are actually in pretty good shape.. Flakey paint and a little bit of rust on the body's. But the rings and threads are in very good condition. The springs are also good..
The rears though have really suffered from the weather But saying that they are in good working order and fronts and rears still have good pressure.
And the 16 way adjustable damping is still working...

A bit of work still ahead, but i'll get there in the end..

Age wise.. I would say there 10 years if there a day

Couple of Pics of 1 of the Fronts in bits.. And the Strut after a bit of work

[Davezj]

i have the same set of coilovers and have already done this very thing.

1. wire brushed shocks. (Took too long)

2. wire brush attachment on drill. cleaned up all the rust they were bright and shiney.

3. use rust treatment stuff, "krust" from halfords.

4. then 2 coat of primer.

5. 3- 4 coats of top colour.

6. 3 coats of clear laquor.

this should have been enough to make them rust proof for ever.

however i have not even fitted them yet and they are already rusting again from the inside out. i did refrub them over a year ago though and they have been sitting in the shed ever since.

can any one explain this.

as an aside halfords do a very close match to the tein green paint. i will have a look at is when i am in the shed next and post it up.

[peter thomson]

kurust just isn't up to the job. I have used Bilt Hamber rust converter and rust removal products which are pretty good but I'm trying vactan this year and a paint with a high zinc content from bilt hamber as well.

[Davezj]

just to let you know when i first researched this topic i found lots of info that pointed out the HA shock are well known for being very susseptable to rust and are generally go very rusty very quickly.

yes the kurust stuff is rubbish i now know.

where do you get the Bilt hamber stuff from?

i have got myself a simple sand blasting kit. and intend to give it a go on the shocks to do the referb for a second time. i have also start to make a sand blasting box so it doesn't go everywhere. i just have to work out some way of attaching the perspex view window and extraction system.

I know i will have to keep the blasting media off the shock cylinder shafts (i will mask them off). just blasting the bodies of the shocks and springs. this should remove all the rust, and i will use a better prventer. maybe get some of the acid etch primer that people talk about that is suposed to really grab into the metal surface and seal it.
i will have to find some kind of flexible covering for the spring, might give the plasticoat stuff a go.

[Wodjno]

Ok.. So i've been doing some reading .. And on the revomendation of Mr Barham
I have been looking at loadsa different makers of Cold Galvanising Spray..
The 1 in the following link seems to be the best spec i have come accros wothout costing Mega Bucks..

http://www.rocol.com/lubricants/engl...20%2069515.pdf

What are Peeps thoughts on this product ?

Cheers

Wodj

[Davezj]

The Fronts are actually in pretty good shape.. Flakey paint and a little bit of rust on the body's. But the rings and threads are in very good condition. The springs are also good..
The rears though have really suffered from the weather But saying that they are in good working order and fronts and rears still have good pressure.
And the 16 way adjustable damping is still working...

A bit of work still ahead, but i'll get there in the end..

Age wise.. I would say there 10 years if there a day

Couple of Pics of 1 of the Fronts in bits.. And the Strut after a bit of work

just thought i would let you know my shocks were more rusty than yours but i got them cleaner than the buttom pic you have taken. i ended up using a angle grider with a really stiff wire brush attachment, but as i have said they have gone rust again.
plan your rust proofing carefully. as i have to do mine again to get then looking right.

[peter thomson]

That one looks promising Glenn but longer test data would be better unless you found some more info elsewhere.

Ok.. So i've been doing some reading .. And on the revomendation of Mr Barham
I have been looking at loadsa different makers of Cold Galvanising Spray..
The 1 in the following link seems to be the best spec i have come accros wothout costing Mega Bucks..

http://www.rocol.com/lubricants/engl...20%2069515.pdf

What are Peeps thoughts on this product ?

Cheers

Wodj

[peter thomson]

where do you get the Bilt hamber stuff from?.

Direct from Bilt Hamber or Agreimach. Vactan can be bought on ebay

[Dom B]

Which cars were these shocks standard on? I seem to have them on my plain VR4 manual, ayc, per facelift which i didn't think came with them. I was thinking of some sort of refurbishment. I have some zinc brush plating stuff that works a treat on body work where you actually electroplate the metal not just spray on.

Got quite a bit of it, might post some examples of the stuff if i can find a bit of time, incase anyone is interested in buying some.

[Davezj]

Which cars were these shocks standard on? I seem to have them on my plain VR4 manual, ayc, per facelift which i didn't think came with them. I was thinking of some sort of refurbishment. I have some zinc brush plating stuff that works a treat on body work where you actually electroplate the metal not just spray on.

Got quite a bit of it, might post some examples of the stuff if i can find a bit of time, incase anyone is interested in buying some.

They were never standard on VR4 it was just a common upgrade for suspension at the time. you can't by these shocks any more. but you can get equivelent, super wagon, super street, coilovers. not sure what the actual name is but you get the picture.

[Wodjno]

just thought i would let you know my shocks were more rusty than yours but i got them cleaner than the buttom pic you have taken.

As it says in the post.. "AFTER A BIT OF WORK"

Far from finished yet..


PS... And i am using a stiff wire brush attachment in a drill..
The wire brush you see hardly makes a scratch on them ...

[Davezj]

Just testing!

i am sure they will come out fine.

but you should have seen the mood i was in when i found out the rust had come back on my shocks, foul mouthed doesn't come close. i could have made a porn film by breathing on a video tape.
i spent ages refurbing mine. i just don't want you to go through the same disapointment i did.

[Wodjno]

Heres another 1 with good spec and longer test time data ..

http://www.liquiguard.com/PDF/ZRC%20...20Compound.pdf