Homer Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Any advice on freeing up the seats on these? The thread is very rusty and the seats refused to move with them on the car. They've been plusgas'd but it didn't help. I've only tried to shift the seat with the setup on the car so far. Is it better to remove the damper/spring from the car before putting serious force behind these? Should I compress the main spring (This didn't appear to help when on the car as the spring assistor just took up the slack). The main concern is snapping a seat and having a spring fly off, which is potentially rather painful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPRASUZUKI Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 How old are the units? You may find that they'll never move..... Mine (Teins also) were rusted to fcuk and immoveable when I bought the car (I think they'd been on since day 1). When I tried to move them a peice of the ally locking ring came away under the load of the C spanner (+ a small tube for extension). The fracture surface was quite corroded so had obviously been open to a degree for some time. I just finished it off. New locking rings and spring platforms all round were going to work out expensive so I decided to go for new units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adnanshah247 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 spray shyt loads of loosing fluids on them like wd40 etc. heat the up and cool them down. i did these to my old adjustables and managed to get them loose but the thing as that the threads were so badly rusted when i adjusted them the teeth were just being destroyed and crumbling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Compress the spring, remove the top mount, and then at least the threads won't be under tension. Get the units bead blasted clean of rust on the exposed threads and get rid of any abrasive. DON'T blast the seals or piston rods. Work on each ring until it starts to move and get into a clean area. Blast exposed rusty threads. But is it all worth it, they are dreadful things anyway? There's a good chance a ring will break or the threads are irretrievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adnanshah247 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Compress the spring, remove the top mount, and then at least the threads won't be under tension. get the units bead blasted clean of rust on the exposed threads and get rid of any abrasive. DON'T blast the seals or piston rods. Work on each ring until it starts to move and get into a clean area. Blast exposed rusty threads. But is it all worth it, they are dreadful things anyway? chris you have a lot of knowledge on these kind of things, what would happen if you get that rust treatment stuff and spread that all over rusted section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoSupra Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Make sure you put enough copper grease on them when you rebuild. I did mine before setting it all up on the car. 3 years later, they adjust like they came out of the box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreaseMonkey Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Just a thought. In the past on siezed stuff I've had, I've used some Engine Oil mixed with Diesel (50/50 mix) and soaked it overnight sometimes does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Thanks for all the feedback gents, some great suggestions and will try them all if the simple ones don't work Thanks Chris for the advice, much appreciated. You never fail to be the doom monger, but are rarely wrong so at least know what to expect So basically, it's best to compress the spring, remove the unit (I think these use stock top mounts so the spring and assistor will be taken off), use a good penetration fluid and see if they snap. Whifbitz have quoted £7 per collar (8 needed), so it's not so bad to replace them if they go. The car has barely moved in 4 years so things are quite frozen up. I would normally buy new ones at this point, but the car is due a 'different' engine change so will get some custom ones made after that. No point wasting money on a new setup if these can be serviced. It's only for the MOT and to make it a little more driveable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPRASUZUKI Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 £7 is a good price, I'm sure I was quoted £20ish per ring (not by Whifbitz, just to be clear) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandan Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Homer - mine were the same as yours and there was no way I could free them (and then trust the amount of alloy thread left) as the corrosion was too bad. I bought a full set of spring seats and locking rings from Mr Whiffin and they weren't THAT expensive - saved time and hassle and made the full geo setup much easier. I'd get some ordered asap if it were me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 If you buy new rings just cut the old ones off, get the units bead blasted and away you go, very straightforward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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