Bricksters,
Done the two front struts today, It was pretty strait forward with great results. Pulled out VOLVO marked original gas and I put in Bilsteins.
I could not get the strut body retaining nut to screw down as far. I know, the washer in the bottom of the tube.. I pulled the washer out, I flipped it over and eventually installed it with the chamfer upwards as it was on the old ones??.... The retaining nut is slightly different and the strut measures slightly longer in the body than the original which I think accounts for the difference.
Result....... about 10mm of thread showing when there was less than 1mm before. Is there something I am missing. Should I not worry (just a little less travel to the rubber stop than before?
Thanks All
Karl
86 245 196K Kms Australia

Thanks all,
I have heaps of thread engagement (2/3). I did the nut up nice and tight by hand and another 1/4 (approx) by belting on the slots (everyone says just nip it up, not to tight). Test drove yesterday and today with no clunks.
As I said, the bilstien is slightly longer (maybe 1-2mm) in the body. Comparing where they sit in the tube, it is slightly higher than the top of the tube (1mm) while the original was slightly lower. The big difference I can see is in the design of the retaining nut. The bilstien is a larger diameter body than the original so the threaded section is thinner. This is turned over to make the bearing surface (on the strut body) and spot welded to the top plate. This means the top plate also sits higher with respect to the bearing surface.

I just can not see how I could have done anything different. If I take the spacer out the shock may rattle or damage the base of the shock.

BTW do you guys re-install the rubber boot, Bentley says discard it when replacing original gas shocks?

Thanks again
Karl

You will likely notice a 'klunk' when truning sharply or going over bumps...try on a speed bump at 5-10 mph. I think I've heard that Bilsteins require bushings to make up for the 10 mm difference from stock...sorry to deliver the bad news..I'm sure others know more about this than I do, but encountered the same problem on a 244...after the bushings...solid and quiet...good luck.

-Dee Jay

I agree that if the strut cart. is loose it will clunk as you describe - but the original poster said he has 10MM of threads up in the breeze....if he puts a spacer in, he'll have even more thread hanging out (¿NO?)
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

I must have misunderstood...I read that as having 10mm extra inside the tower...I agree...my scenario would not apply of above the tower...thanks

I am in the middle of replacing my strut cartridges (left side is done, doing the right side tonight) and I wondered about this too. I believe Paul is right on the money.
I found this in the archives. Read the response from Steve about halfway down. Look for, "One thing to check..."
From this I take it that you should not be able to screw the retainer down all the way. There should be some threads showing. But 10mm showing sounds like too much although I can't say for sure. I don't think mine was showing that much thread. I get the impression some people leave it too loose and it can back off to the point where the cartridge will start clunking up and down.
I don't know what tools you are using but it seems to me that without proper leverage you won't be able to get this tight enough. I used two pipe wrenches with a two foot length of pipe on each handle to snug it up real good. But don't force it. It's a matter of feel. I think it could be easy to over do it this way. Please be careful if you go back in there for this.
I am not a professional mechanic and my comments are based on my own observations having recently engaged in this procedure. I trust someone will correct me if I am mistaken in these assumptions.

--
1980 240 DL

THAT was a BLAST from the past!!! Wow - pre-Turbo days....before my second kid...don't ever post a link like that again...I was only 39 then!!!
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

I was really starting to sweat the "spacer or no spacer" issue when I finally came across that one. It all makes sense now.
I think there should be some FAQ's for the 240 within this site and I would volunteer to compile it but I only have the questions and very few of the answers. Searching the archives can sometimes help but it's one of the few things in life that actually gives me a headache.
--
1980 240 DL

If I'm reading this correctly, you simply have encountered a difference in cartridge length between the Volvo strut carts and the Bilstein. As long as the cart is well captured, you have sufficient thread engagement and the nut is tight as hell, you should have no problems.

*see disclaimer in other post about changing shocks/struts.
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

Paul,

You said:

"As long as the cart is well captured, you have sufficient thread engagement and the nut is tight as hell, you should have no problems."

Do you put a dab of anti-sieze of lub on those threads, or will that lead to the nut backing out?