have i missed a bit out?

[blueninja66]

as some of you know, i fitted konis to my mk1 a while ago. whilst cleaning the garage out i found a bag with some bits left in it along with my original purchase reciept (so i know these bits belong to the konis).

there are 4 white plastic washers, quite big with slits cut into them. like a spring washer would be but not overlapped.

what are they? and should i have fitted them somewhere?

[Shorty]

Not that important. They go on the around the sylinder. Atlest thats what i did...
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/9254/koni93lv0.jpg

[blueninja66]

ah, suppose i could always put those on without un-doing everything eh?
just un-do the nut, snap these round and tighten the nut back up!

did you also have 4?

[Jim-SR]

PUT THEM BACK ON!!!

these are critical parts on the Koni dampers. most people leave them off thinking "what do Koni know, i dont need this, il just leave them off" without knowing their purpose (others just didnt realise what they were, as it appears with yourself). as with all dampers that run in the same way as Koni's, the top oil seal is just below the top of the damper where the shaft sits in. if you hit the bumpstop at any time (if youre not running bumpstops this isnt relevant, but in that case you should be running those too!) then the bumpstop compresses onto the top of the damper and creates a suction effect. this then sucks oil up past the seal. over time (especially on lowered cars or any car that hits the bumpstops often) more and more oil seeps out, until there isnt enough in the damper for it to operate safely. and it will either get overly hot and cook the fluid, or just not damp anymore, bottom out and smash its internals to bits

this washer creates a gap where air can flow freely so that no suction can be created between the damper and the bumpstop, and thus stopping this oil-sucking problem from occuring. this isnt a fault with Koni's, all dampers of thise design do it. this is why they provide the washers though, and they really do need to be fitted :)

[blueninja66]

cheers jim...........i must be one of those idiots you speak of then eh? lol.
straight on the case tomoz:thumbsup:

[Shorty]

Good thing i put them on then and useful info:) Never heard it to be a problem but better safe then sorry!

[Jim-SR]

99% of the time it probably isnt a problem, it only tends to happen on heavily lowered cars which are riding on the bumpstops (not a good situation to be in anyway!). but its better to be safe than sorry, and its one of the most common causes of leaks on the Koni's, theyre bulletproof everywhere else lol :)