Hi guys,
 
A quick search on the forums has turned up nothing. Anyway, with replacement Koni strut inserts for the SW20, are any modifications required to be done to the casings? Assuming you have the rebuildable type. Or is it simply a matter of off come the old ones, new Koni's go in and it's all hunky dory? Photos would be helpful.
 
Cheers,
SW20R.
 
 

It should be just a straight swap. I'm not far off tackling this myself once I get the housings to the powdercoaters.

SW20R.
Hi guys,
 
A quick search on the forums has turned up nothing. Anyway, with replacement Koni strut inserts for the SW20, are any modifications required to be done to the casings? Assuming you have the rebuildable type. Or is it simply a matter of off come the old ones, new Koni's go in and it's all hunky dory? Photos would be helpful.
 
Cheers,
SW20R.
 
 

Dave, Hopefully you have the struts with the threaded gland nuts, If its an import, (GT or GTS) more than likely it will have Bilstein suspension which are welded units (cannot replace the shock inserts).
 
If you have the threaded gland type struts, its as simple as undoing the gland nut on the top of the strut tube, where the shocker enters the tube housing, remove old inserts, empty out the oil from the strut tube & insert the new shocker insert (cartridge).  depending on the length of the new cartridge, if its shorter in length, you may have to put in some spacers - these go in first & sit in the bottom of the strut tube.  The new shock should protrude the strut tube by approx. 5-10mm. 
You may also need to get new gland nuts that suit the Konis.  Hopefully you can use the original ones.  
Hopefully this info helps.

The original gland nuts will not suit the Koni's
 
New Koni insert sets come with custom gland nuts that will need a special tool to tighten properly.
 
However before trying to fit them them, carefully check the threads on the supplied gland nuts to be sure that they are the same thread as on the stock gland nuts.
I have seen some that had the wrong thread and could not be used.
 

Reddtarga
The original gland nuts will not suit the Koni's
 
New Koni insert sets come with custom gland nuts that will need a special tool to tighten properly.
 
However before trying to fit them them, carefully check the threads on the supplied gland nuts to be sure that they are the same thread as on the stock gland nuts.
I have seen some that had the wrong thread and could not be used.
 

Yep.. the tool looks like this.

 

Just got off the phone with Josh (mrmr2). Long story short, I've bought the inserts off him and I've been given 8641 1422's for the rear (which on the Koni website says they're for a ZZW30?) and already modified casings so these should bolt up just fine.  The inserts have gland nuts already on them. These inserts have threads on the bottom which large hex bolts go in from the bottom of the casings to hold it together.
 

 Rear strut on the left, front strut on the right.

 Rear strut.

This is the Koni gland nut, yes?
 
 
 
 
The fronts I have 8641 1220, which on the Koni website says is an SW20 front insert. From what I know these are supposed to just go straight into the factory casings. He hasn't given me any gland nuts for the front and mentioned that I would be able to use the factory gland nut? This is virtually contradicting what everybody has said above.
 

 The front inserts.

No gland nuts? No official Koni gland nuts were supplied.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

You can't re use the stock gland nuts

8641 1220 should be the correct part no for the SW20 Koni front inserts.
 
Re gland nuts:
If you have access to a lathe you may be able to machine the stock gland nuts to fit to top of the Koni inserts.
The one Koni supply is round with 2 holes in the top that the tightening tool fits into.
I suppose you could use a pipe wrench but you could easily damage the strut housing.
 
Koni also supply a split washer to sit on top of the gland nut to prevent air being forced into the insert through the top seal when bottoming out on the bumpstops
They also recommend filling the space between the insert and the strut hosing with coolant mix or engine oil for heat transfer.

I should also mention that if you buy Koni gland nuts be sure to check carefully that the thread is the same as the stock ones.
I have seen some supplied with new SW20 insert sets that were the wrong thread and therefore useless

Thanks guys, gonna wait for the rest of the bits and bobs to arrive and hopefully I can get them on my car soon.