Thread: B13 CSK Research Thread - OE diameter springs

THIS POST ABOUT THE B13 REAR STRUT HOUSINGS

DRY FIT

B15 Yellow Koni won't go into the B13 rear strut housing:


I didn't cut off much of the B13 rear strut housing, here was what the
inside looks like:

the indented ring about 1/2" into the housing appears to separate a thicker wall of the
housing from a slightly thinner wall in the housing, but I think even if I cut off that 1/2" or so, it would still be too narrow to accept the yellow koni insert.

THIS POST ABOUT THE B13 FRONT STRUT HOUSINGS

DRY FIT

The B15 Yellow Koni Insert slides right into the B13 Front strut housing


but it only gets this far:
top view

bottom view

the nub should be sticking out the bottom of that hole
(note, the hole is bigger than it should be, i didn't have a 1" hole saw, I used 1 1/8" hole saw.. )
with a large enough diameter washer and PLENTY of JB weld, I think i should be fine.

so i'm curious about forcing the Koni insert into the front strut housing.. I guess I need to wait until i'm ready to paint because it won't be coming out easy once it's in there..

do I need to force it in?

to answer my own question:

it looks like there is some amount of force required to get it in all the way

YouTube - Celica Koni suspension Insert pt 2

I'm glad your bumpstops fit into the dust boots, but mine did not. To answer your next question, I don't know which bumpstops they were. The Koni warehouse is located about 5 miles from my parents' house and they were nice enough to answer my questions and give me a tour when I brought in my newly acquired CSKs. He looked at the struts and took me to their bumpstop area and pulled several different sizes out of bins to test before deciding that I should use the ones I am using. Because they were hot off the presses and were not yet packaged, I didn't get a part number with them.
As for their effectiveness with the dustshield on the inside, I am no expert but I don't think it has any effect on the way they work. But I will let the gurus weigh in on that. However, I bet in my five years of use I've hit the bumpstops twice.
Good luck on your install and soon I hope you are enjoying the refined CSK ride!

5 years of driving and you've hit the bumpstops twice!?!? seems like a waste of $75 to me then.. how do you really know when you've bottomed out though?

as for the effectiveness of the of the dustshield being the first thing you hit, well the whole premise of getting Koni bump stops vs. OEM bump stops is that the material is better for compression/rebound than the OEM bumpstop, and if the first thing the strut hits is dustcover rubber, I'm sure you can't be getting the same results as you'd be getting with the koni bump stop hitting first; in fact, I'd say you'd be better off with OEM bump stops hitting the strut first, instead of the rubber of the dust boot...

when you say "i have driven for 5 years and it's fine".. i'm guessing you'd have been fine with OEM bump stops where they belong just the same.. especially when you say you've hit the Koni's twice in 5 years...

i dunno.. IMO, THE suspension thread should show a pic with the bumpstop INSIDE the dust boot where it belongs as "THE" way to do it.. while yours is "working" "all right".... i don't think it's what was intended by Koni....... had the guy at the plant you worked with known that it wasn't going to fit inside the boot, he may have come up with a different solution. Was this guy an engineer or just a tour guide of some sort? Seems like everytime i've bought koni bumpstops online, they've always fit in the dust boot..

i'm on my second set of CSK's right now - and in the process of making my 3rd set myself...

Steve Foltz made my first set in 2005 for my '93 SE-R, some guy on the forums made the set that is currently on my car (but my rear struts are failing which is why I'm making a rear strut thread) and this here thread is about my 3rd set, finally with the externally adjustable yellows.

Take sand paper to the paint on the insert, and it should slide right in.

Most general answers are in there, and most are correct. Further, it is difficult to even talk to a newb about suspension questions until they have a base understanding of our suspensions from The Suspension Thread.


I know that, and when it happens, I appreciate folks setting me right with the correct info, so I can update or modify the Suspension Thread.

Remember that the Suspension Thread is the sum total of our forumj members collective suspension knowledge.

Which now includes you and this thread.

One of the most aggravating, misunderstood, and difficult to decipher items under our Suspension Thread is the damn CSK's, which are one of the very best options for our suspensions.


I cannot imagine that it would actually affect the performance of the bumpstops whether a 1/8" thick layer of dustboot rubber was before or after the bumpstop.

However, I will want to update the Suspension Thread with "technically correct" pictures. Perhaps courtesy of Matt (VQman).

Rock on VQ, please shed as much detailed, picture intensive, part numbers included, light as possible.

whew.. i'm glad I didn't offend you with my posts about a couple of minor errors in the most comprehensive thread on this forum!! lol

I've been wanting to do this for a while.. the process of cutting/drilling the strut housings to get it ready for the strut insert is actually pretty easy.. I might start taking donation struts to test fit stuff... for example, I wonder if the old Altima's rear strut housings would work and accept a B15 yellow Koni insert.. ya know?

i definately want koni yellows on all 4 corners with my hypercoil springs..

I still am not clear if my B13 front housings will work in the rear of my B13 when using OE diameter springs like my Hypercoils. I know it says they will on the a quote by Chris Scarpula on the old forum when using coilovers.. but thats a whole different ballgame.. yargh!!

For me the biggest problem with the CSK is knowing what strut housings will fit what car.. i am pretty sure I got the insertion part down..

i should have made a smaller hole than I did on the bottom, but with the huge washers I picked up at Home Depot yesterday, I think i'm going to be all right...

cool cool..

i also shortened the housing a bit more... it seems like it'll work now with sanding and the strut being a little shorter than my original cut.. the upper part of the koni insert gets thicker after the nubs and I don't think that part is supposed to fit into the housing. Most pics I've ever seen show it not seated all the way to the yellow "lip" on the top of the koni insert.

So when I go to put it in FOREVER - with the JB weld smeared all on the bottom.. does it matter which way it goes in? hmm.. how do I explain this without showing you what I mean.. uh.. Do i just slide it in with no rhyme or reason or concern about anything facing towards the front of the car (when mounted) or the rear of the car??


Also the shaft itself spins, this isn't adjusting the strut is it? it will ONLY adjust with the knob on top, right??

another damn question (Koni's instructions aren't that helpful) there is no "full soft" or "full hard" is there? I think I remember reading that you should go to full soft, and then turn 1/4 turn towards "full hard" and that it's a pefect DD setup with the hypercoils.. but -> i've later read there is no full soft or full hard, it just spins and spins infinately... any truth to this?