Infiniti G20 Nissan Primera Forum banner
1 - 20 of 80 Posts

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
So.. as I'm checking around to see where to get my Ohlins suspension rebuilt, I'm finding that it's not cheap and there is usually a wait. Also I'll have to ship the suspension somewhere to get the work done. (more cost)

So with that, I'm going to go ahead and tear them apart, and rebuild them myself. I'll post pics as I go (if anyone is interested in seeing).

More to come..
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #3 ·
MrFancypants said:
Youre already rebuilding it? Didnt you just put it in <1 year ago?
Well, the suspension was already OLD when I got it. And after having it on the car for only a few months the front right shock seal blew on it.

I've never rebuilt a suspension before.. but I'm going to tackle it. It doesn't look too bad..

I'll replace all the seals and probably the piston rings.. And whatever else is needed..
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Ok, though progress has been slow due to my schedule, some progress has finally been made. A HUGE thanks goes to Jon (Cavern) for coming over and allowing me to shoot shock oil all over him, me and the floor last night (that stuff stinks btw!).

Below are Pics of the disassembled units.

Front shocks:




Rear struts (the rears are actually shocks installed inverted into strut housings)






I had been trying for awhile to get the circlips out (there are two per shock). Jon was nice enough to come by last night and provide the extra set of hands I needed to hold the shock housing and press down on the dust cap while I tried to work my magic to get the circlips off (clearly the hardest part of the job so far).

I'll be ordering the parts for the rebuild shortly..and will take pics and post them when the parts come in.

I'm also waiting on a set of instructions, describing how to bleed all of the air out of the shocks during assembly. Thanks to Chuck (Octotat) for his resourcefulness on the web, he found a US contact for the company that built this suspension in Japan (Carrozzeria).

Anyway, just thought I'd provide an update for those of you that are interested..
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #7 ·
MrFancypants said:
LMAO... That just sounds wrong.
Well, I considered stating "Jon came over and held my housing, pushed down on my shaft while I picked at it.. and then when I pulled it out, it shot all over the place".. but I didn't want you guys to get the wrong impression! :lol:


Cavern said:
Ha ha, while I was holding his shaft he pulled off an awesome reach around.
Ah man.. you got to tell them about the reach around??
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #12 ·
MrFancypants said:
Cmon Justin... it all started when Terry and I stole your virginity all those years ago ;)

Youre a veteran now!


- Greg -

Ah, I think you might be a bit mistaken.. I'm thinking that Isidro got Justin's "Shy" virginity cherry.. :lol:
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
8,670 Posts
markbuts3 said:
Do we need a 'special' section for you guys ?? Is it the heat that does it ?? :p
No, its all Kyle's fault! :paranoid:

Yahnozha said:
LMAO!!! whats up with you AZ guys...sheesh, just get a room ;)
Awww you know you want to get in on messing with his shaft(s)....

rmyc said:
haha.. so i didnt get how you took the shock apart? dose it just unscrew?
Ha ha far from it, kinda alot of work.

Kinda just start with the bolts and work your way in..

- Jon
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #18 ·
rmyc said:
haha.. so i didnt get how you took the shock apart? dose it just unscrew?
Front shock:

Adjust the shock to its lowest setting (or which ever way makes the shock softer).
Remove the two 14mm nuts that hold the top spring retainer on.(please use a spring compressor or point the strut away from you and impact the nut off).
Remove spring retainer, spring, bushing, 2 bump stops and dust boot.
This is what it should end up looking like:



Tap off (with flat head screw driver) outer dust cap (the shock shaft runs through this, and it covers the top of the housing).
Displayed below:



Remove the small Phillips head screw near the bottom of the housing.
Wet the end of a needle and insert the needle (like used to draw blood) into the nitrogen filled blatter.
Push down on the shaft into the housing causing all of the nitrogen to be expelled out via the needle.
Remove the needle, and store it in a safe place.
(This is where Jon comes in handy, or just another pair of hands :cheese: ) Have someone (your Jon) hold the shock housing in place, while pressing down on the inner dustcap/seal. The dustcap/seal will compress down into the shock housing about 4mm. This should be enough to remove the first of two circlips. Removing them requires a small flat head screw driver and a set of sharp angled and/or hooked picks.
Once that first circlip is out, pull up on the shaft so that the dustcap/seal clears (comes out of) the shock housing. (this is where a rag comes in handy.. because as you clear the seal/dustcap, oil kind of shoots out all over the place).
Poor out what oil you can (use a funnel and an old bottled water bottle, that's what we did).
Now the second circlip must be removed, pull up on the shock enough to get the inner seal to be accessible (keep in mind that the shaft will not completely out yet because the inner circlip is still in place), and then push down on one side of it (the inner seal) so that it's no longer flat, and you can push it down past the second circlip. Now remove the second circlip.
Poor more of the oil out, as much as you can (by pushing the shaft in, most of the oil will move to the stop of the piston, making it easy to poor out).
Now remove the shaft with the piston and upper seal on the shaft.
This is a picture of the front shock housing, where the circlips go in:



Rear struts (a bit more work):
Keep in mind that the rear strut has a shock installed inverted into a strut housing.

Adjust the strut to it's lowest setting (or which ever way makes the shock softer).
Remove the 19mm nut that hold the top spring retainer on. (Please use a spring compressor or point the strut away from you and impact the nut off).
Remove spring retainer, spring and dust boot.
This is what it should end up looking like:



Remove the 17mm nut/adjuster knob and then the 17mm nut that hold the shock into the strut housing (located on the bottom of the strut).
Spray some kind of penetrating oil in this area (the cupped area on the bottom of the strut housing where the threaded shaft sticks out) and let it work before starting the next part.
Now insert the CORRECT sized flat head screw driver (or better yet socket attachment flat head screw driver) to the end of the threaded shaft that sticks out the bottom of the strut housing. And turn it until it's completely out of the strut housing (not easy because the bottom of the strut housing is like 1" thick or more). When the threaded shaft is flush with the strut housing bottom, a flat head screw driver of the correct width and depth will need to be used to turn the threaded shaft completely out.
Now remove the shock from the strut housing (there will be a bump stop that was inside the strut housing tubing). See the picture below:


Now use a 3mm (I think 3mm) allen wrench to remove an allen bolt on the bottom of the shock (but on the top of the strut if the shock was installed in the strut housing).
Wet the end of a needle and insert the needle (like used to draw blood) into the nitrogen filled blatter.
Push down on the shaft into the housing causing all of the nitrogen to be expelled out via the needle.
Remove the needle, and store it in a safe place.
Replace the allen bolt so it does not get lost.
Tap off (with flat head screw driver) outer dust cap (the shock shaft runs through this, and it covers the top of the housing). It will look like this:



Have someone hold the shock housing in place, while pressing down on the inner dust cap/seal. It will compress down into the shock housing about 4mm. This should be enough to remove the first of two circlips. Removing them requires a small flat head screw driver and a set of sharp angled and/or hooked picks.
Once that first circlip is out, pull up on the shaft so that the dustcap/seal clears (comes out of) the shock housing. (this is where a rag comes in handy.. because as you clear the seal/dustcap, oil kind of shoots out all over the place).
Poor out what oil you can (use a funnel and an old bottled water bottle, that's what we did).
Now the second circlip must be removed, pull up on the shock enough to get the inner seal to be accessible (keep in mind that the shaft will not completely out yet because the inner circlip is still in place), and push down on one side of it so that it's no longer flat, and you can push it down past the second circlip. Now remove the second circlip.
Poor more of the oil out, as much as you can (by pushing the shaft in, most of the oil will move to the stop of the piston, making it easy to poor out).
Now remove the shaft with the piston and upper seal on the shaft.
This is a picture of the rear strut housing completely disassembled:



Ok.. any questions? :)
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
4,351 Posts
Discussion Starter · #20 ·
Ok.. I'm FINALLY able to give an update on this project...

I got in contact with a company rep for Carrozzeria that lives in LA. He was able get the parent company in Japan to make more rebuild parts for my suspension.

I'm told these parts will reach the US shores by the end of this month, early next month. As soon as the parts are here, I'll finish my suspension rebuild.

The things I do for my G... :zoinks:
 
1 - 20 of 80 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top