Did the shock arrive yet? It was to arrive monday...
No delivery yet, good sir. We have, however, had two snowstorms in the last 5 days. Perhaps that has impeded the schedule. I know it has messed with mine!!
Work has been exceptionally busy and I haven't had the chance to do any disassembly on the shock. However, here are a couple of pictures that might be instructive. It appears that the lower mount is threaded into the body. But the upper end of the shock appears to be an interference press fit of a cap that incorporates the seal gland. As you can see in the pictures, this cap is deflected from what one would expect is it's normal condition. This kind of deflection of the cap would well contribute to the seal being out of true position and subject to abnormal wear. It also appears that to remove the cap, it will have to be pounded out from the press fit. Comments welcomed..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Useful info, Stu. Thanks. In the new Delta Vee end cap, is there an obvious tool means for screwing it in? Presuming the original is pressed in would require that the body of the shock had to have internal threads added and that the new end cap was of significant re-design from the original. The bent angle of the cap at the seal interface in my photos above really gives a good idea what could be going wrong with these and your comment adds to my suspicion of the end cap and seal gland design. Thanks, man.
Excellent. Very clearly a redesigned endcap!! Are those screws that I see? (The two silver spots on the endcap top surface. The third one is likely obscured by the bright reflection in the forward near field of the photo.) Likely a two piece assembly with one part installed in the shock body and the other part screwed to the first one and helping form a more stable gland for the seal. The issue is reaching greater clarity as we go. Again, thanks Stu!!
As I just posted, Dave. Might be three with the third kind of washed out in the glare of the shaft in the photo. Either spanner holes for threading an end cap into the shock body, or recessed socket head cap screws securing the top part of the end cap gland to a bottom part pressed/bonded/threaded into the shock body. In any case, it appears that the end cap is significantly redesigned to provide a better gland for the seal.
The plot thickens!! I believe at this point it is probably safe for me to try to press out that bent endcap and access the shaft, gland, seal, and shock body. That's the next move. Thanks for the photo and the info.
So I wrote to PSI about helping us or being the shop we go to implement the fix we come up with. Maybe they can help. Here is the response: Hello Ken, ... we are working to develop a solution. I have been working with some regular local shops to get in some Ferrari Bilstein adjustable shocks to test with, but that has mostly fallen though sadly. It’s recently come to our attention that we have access to Corvette ZR1 parts, which use the same design as your 456 as far as rebound adjustment. We only need to verify that the adjustment range is the same and the changes in position equate to the same force changes as you currently have. We also need to make sure we can fit the ZR1 shaft to your 456. I know you’re likely cringing at the idea of Corvette parts in your 456, but just think of them as German Bilstein parts. If you are still amenable to sending us a shock to use in testing, we would appreciate it. Thank you and Happy Holidays, Thomas Performance Shock, Inc. (PSi) Dealers and Service Center for Öhlins, Koni, Penske, AST, Moton, Bilstein, Sachs and JRZ Shocks. Dealers for Eibach and Hypercoil and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Products! http://www.performanceshock.com Phone (707) 938-5664 ext. 102 Direct (707) 934-4187
I'll get in touch with PSI and discuss this with them. Perhaps they would rather I not do the dis-assembly and obscure evidence of the failure mode.
For what it's worth; I have sent shocks from my 550 and 365 to Thomas. Excellent results! As a community, I suggest we support PSI in their effort. Flaccid suspension is the alternative.
Looks like PSI is now able to handle both front and rears including the leaky actuators. This is no endorsement, just a possible alternative to Delta Vee. RE: Bilstein shocks Inbox x Image Unavailable, Please Login Thomas Haugg - PSi Service Feb 15, 2019, 1:27 PM (18 hours ago) to me Hi Ken, I’m not expecting any issue with dimensional differences that would be found in front to rear fitments. As we work through the different shocks we’ll deal with those differences, but I’m not anticipating problems we cannot manage. Thank you, Thomas Performance Shock, Inc. (PSi) Dealers and Service Center for Öhlins, Koni, Penske, AST, Moton, Bilstein, Sachs and JRZ Shocks. Dealers for Eibach and Hypercoil and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Products! http://www.performanceshock.com Phone (707) 938-5664 ext. 102 Direct (707) 934-4187 From: Ken Andrews [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 15, 2019 11:08 AM To: Thomas Haugg - PSi Service Subject: Re: Bilstein shocks Great. Just confirming this is for both front and rear on Ferrari 456 Ken On Feb 15, 2019, at 10:55 AM, Thomas Haugg - PSi Service <[email protected]> wrote: Hello Ken, I hope you are doing well. In keeping my word, I’d like to inform you that we are now servicing the Bilstein electronic rebound adjustable shocks. The service includes standard seal replacement on the shock and additionally includes a new seal assembly which replaces the original seal in the piston shaft. We had explored using ZR1 shafts, but those were too short for the applications we’ve seen so far. Service pricing is $500 per unit and as with all our services, once the tech has inspected your shock he will contact you with an evaluation. Additional parts may still be needed, including bump rubbers and bearings. Pricing on those will be provided as needed for the specific application. Any damaged units which may include a damaged body or shaft may still cause an issue as currently we’re not sure if Bilstein can supply those parts. Our current turnaround is 4-6 weeks. We are not doing a core exchange system, so any units you send in will be the units you receive back. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you, Thomas Performance Shock, Inc. (PSi) Dealers and Service Center for Öhlins, Koni, Penske, AST, Moton, Bilstein, Sachs and JRZ Shocks. Dealers for Eibach and Hypercoil and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Products! http://www.performanceshock.com Phone (707) 938-5664 ext. 102 Direct (707) 934-4187
Love it PSI comes through again...but I'm disappointed at the $500 price/shock. They rebuild our race motons and penskes for 250 a shock with dyno and that seems high. I just can't see the bilsteins being that special. But if they are the only game in town that's life. PSI has never let me down and are strong performers with us racers. IMO if PSI can do it then others can too. ANZE suspension comes to mind for the EastCoasters. They are very highly rated by the EastCoast racers. I wonder if they could provide better pricing?
Their pricing seems to be in line with DV although DV may offer better service on the rears with their end cap. From my perspective their price is cheap if they meet their timelines and communicate with customers. My experience with DV was that bad and they are the only alternative.
Do shocks that haven’t failed need to be reconditioned because of age. My car is now 20 years old with the original shocks, I would think the car would perform better if I had it done. The overall costs though are high enough that I would want to be sure that it would make a difference. I’ve also been thinking about moving to KW or Moton’s. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Has anyone used PSI to rebuild their 550 shocks? I’m considering sending all of mine in to be reconditioned.
I wish I'd seen this thread prior to hiring Delta Vee to rebuild my 456 shocks. Completely dropped off the map while I'm stuck paying $500/month for storage at the shop that removed them. Despite us having an agreeement to wait to send them until he could service them right away to avoid this situation. Was really quick to respond when it came to paying for everything but once he had the money, zero communication. Total regrets at this point. I do not recommend this place and I'm currently working with the FCC and an attorney to figure out my next course of action. No excuse to conduct business in this manner.
