Coilover adjustment help please.

AllThatGlitters

AllThatGlitters

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Hi

So as some of you may know I got my FK AK Street coilovers fitted on Saturday.

The plan was to let them settle for a week then adjust accordingly.
Problem is the rears have settled about 25mm and have (hopefully) stopped but is literally on its bum now - this is a major issue for me as there are several speed bumps and torn up roads ('improvement works') in my area at the moment.

The husband - non mechanic was planning on being the one to adjust them for me until he realised the entire thread is inaccessible due to it being sat inside the bottom arm and it looks like the only way to adjust it is to remove the entire coilover - effectively starting all over again!!!

Can anyone please suggest a way in which it can be adjusted without a refit everytime??
My husband isn't a mechanic and really doesn't feel confident messing about with this and its gonna be a nightmare if I have to keep paying someone.


Cheers guys :(
 
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with my ap set just take wheel of unscrew little grub screw and turn the spring
 
tdi-man said:
with my ap set just take wheel of unscrew little grub screw and turn the spring
Click to expand...

He watched them getting fitted and helped where he could so i'll ask him if that rings a bell - he said theres just no way to get the 'c' spanner in to turn the adjuster coz of the way the bottom bar comes up at the sides all the way round - it's really stressing me out coz we go camping through the summer and I really wanted these to be fairly simply adjustable - I read on a random google search that someone fitted the spring upside down so the adjuster was at the top of the spring (not at the top of the suspension) but im not entirely sure that'd be safe!
 
dont need the spanner just turn the springs
 
oh is it the rears take wheel of stand on brake disc to remove spring takes to people adjust and refit its a bit of a *****
 
tdi-man said:
oh is it the rears take wheel of stand on brake disc to remove spring takes to people adjust and refit its a bit of a *****
Click to expand...

Yeh its the rear - I'm really gutted about the difficulty actually - really seems to defeat the object of coilovers being adjustable and useful!!

I just wish my bottom arm was like the one in the video - ridiculous that its not :(
 
mine are a bi**ch to adjust on the rear too , the adjusters are on the top of the spring on mine (are they onto of the spring on yours too) , to adjust them what i did was jack the car up remove wheel then get a trolley jack with a block of wood and put under the bottom arm jacking it up just a tad ( to take off the pressure of the shock ) then removed the one bottom - bolt drop the trolley jack down this will drop the rear arm too - then you can adjust the rear - to refit jack up the trolley jack again to meet the hole on the shock put bolt back in - drop jack down - refit wheel - drop car down easy as that
 
FranA3 said:
mine are a bi**ch to adjust on the rear too , the adjusters are on the top of the spring on mine (are they onto of the spring on yours too) , to adjust them what i did was jack the car up remove wheel then get a trolley jack with a block of wood and put under the bottom arm jacking it up just a tad ( to take off the pressure of the shock ) then removed the one bottom - bolt drop the trolley jack down this will drop the rear arm too - then you can adjust the rear - to refit jack up the trolley jack again to meet the hole on the shock put bolt back in - drop jack down - refit wheel - drop car down easy as that
Click to expand...

Hey Fran! Unfortunately my adjuster is on the bottom of the spring sitting 'in' the bottom arm 'cup' - totally inaccessable unless the bottom arm is moved away - once they have been adjusted so that the adjuster/locking bolt is flush with the sides of the bottom arm it'l be fine to access but at the moment when I'm in desperate need of adjustment its terrible :( - to make matters worse the access road to where I work has conveniently been DUG UP! today :ohmy:

When they were fitting them, they did query this and wondered if it shouldnt be put in upside down for ease of adjustment but in the end they went with putting it the way the logo was written - seems like a massive design flaw.

Also (please excuse my utter lack of terminology here) if we try to do it how you do yours, does that skinny bar need to come off aswell - the one that comes with the coilies - a strut I suppose? and does the top part of your coilie stay in situ.

Thanks Fran :)
 
all the coilovers I've seen have the adjusters on the top of the spring thats weird lol , you can do it exactly the same way if its on the top or bottom as you're taking the pressure off the spring so its loose after you take the bottom bolt out , just do it the same way all will be ok , you might have to take the spring out to adjust it though but will still work
 
FranA3 said:
all the coilovers I've seen have the adjusters on the top of the spring thats weird lol , you can do it exactly the same way if its on the top or bottom as you're taking the pressure off the spring so its loose after you take the bottom bolt out , just do it the same way all will be ok , you might have to take the spring out to adjust it though but will still work
Click to expand...

Mine are exactly like the one in the video (above) but without that gap in the bottom arm cup that that guys car has.
Like I say they did wonder whether to put it in with the writing on the spring upside down but decided against it just incase.
Would certainly be of assisstance if FK put a general how to guide in the box!

Unfortunately, my bro-in-law who fit the coilies last weekend is working this weekend and on shifts all next week but thankfully an old school friend is a mechanic and hes offered to do them for me tomorrow night after work - how long do you reckon it'll take him to adjust them? - the fronts need to go down about 10mm and obviously the rears up about 20mm.

Cheers :)
 
AllThatGlitters said:
Mine are exactly like the one in the video (above) but without that gap in the bottom arm cup that that guys car has.
Like I say they did wonder whether to put it in with the writing on the spring upside down but decided against it just incase.
Would certainly be of assisstance if FK put a general how to guide in the box!

Unfortunately, my bro-in-law who fit the coilies last weekend is working this weekend and on shifts all next week but thankfully an old school friend is a mechanic and hes offered to do them for me tomorrow night after work - how long do you reckon it'll take him to adjust them? - the fronts need to go down about 10mm and obviously the rears up about 20mm.

Cheers :)
Click to expand...
haha yeah same as mine they didn't come with anything either lol , i wouldn't have thought it would take long at all , i fitted the whole of the rear in an hour when fitting them so shouldn't take long at all , i would say an hour tops
 
audi upgrades
FranA3 said:
haha yeah same as mine they didn't come with anything either lol , i wouldn't have thought it would take long at all , i fitted the whole of the rear in an hour when fitting them so shouldn't take long at all , i would say an hour tops
Click to expand...

Oh god - my entire set took half a day - and by that I mean LITERALLY! We got home at 20 past midnight. In my bro-in-laws defence he had just come off a night shift and it was FREEEEEZING and he very thorough but after 8 hours I was over it - by 10 I didn't care anymore haha

Oh well an hour for adjustment isn't too bad seeing as i'll be starving and ready for me tea - chippy me thinks! haha
 
i hate the FK cause ot that
when mine needed doing i got the car on a 2 post lift and they were still hard work
best way is to take spring out adjust and refit
 
AllThatGlitters said:
Oh god - my entire set took half a day - and by that I mean LITERALLY! We got home at 20 past midnight. In my bro-in-laws defence he had just come off a night shift and it was FREEEEEZING and he very thorough but after 8 hours I was over it - by 10 I didn't care anymore haha

Oh well an hour for adjustment isn't too bad seeing as i'll be starving and ready for me tea - chippy me thinks! haha
Click to expand...
the rears were easy as hell the fronts on the other hand were a mare to do they took me about 4 hours with air tools too haha , let us know how you get on
 
bez101 said:
i hate the FK cause ot that
when mine needed doing i got the car on a 2 post lift and they were still hard work
best way is to take spring out adjust and refit
Click to expand...

Totally defeats the object doesnt it! - Right carry on.
 
FranA3 said:
the rears were easy as hell the fronts on the other hand were a mare to do they took me about 4 hours with air tools too haha , let us know how you get on
Click to expand...

Yeh the rears seemed to go on ok but when he took the first front one out the original spring was snapped right at the top and they were a ****** to get out then the new ones were stubborn to get in. Felt really sorry for him he must have been as sick as a pig coz I was & it was for my car haha

Yeh, i'll update tomorrow - hopefully it'll be before half 6 and not after half 11! :thumbsup:
 
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