Large washers hold the shock rod bushings in the top mount. These washers are subject only to the compression and expansion forces off the shocks when they resist directional changes.

My system is about 10 years old and is only used for street driving.

The upper right washer broke from being too brittle which allowed the the shock rod to bounce up and down.
Notice that the washer is perfectly flat and did not bend, it snapped.

If you start having noise in your suspension and have GCCOs, be sure to check yours.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I had the same thing happen to me with my Advance Design coilovers from Ground Control. Only took about 5 years.

Jack

 

I sent an email with pictures to Mark at Ground Control asking for replacement parts.
Did you contact them about your problems and did they respond?

I know I can fix it myself but I want them to be responsible if possible.

 

looks like the washers are getting work-hardened and turning brittle.

~Mike........

 

Normally bending metal will work harden it. But when it brakes, there is evidence of bending. The pieces are perfectly flat with no indication of bending. Is this possible, any experienced engineers out there?

I just called GC to find out if Mark received my mail and ask if replacement parts are available. He was busy and some idiot answered the phone. How do I know this, he did not have any idea how the kit parts assemble together with the shock.

 

had my set for over eight years without issue.. is the washer aluminum..

 

Gio, might be time to replace the washers before they fail

 

You can easily break the metal without evidence of "bending." Think about breaking a brick. Does the brick bend when you hit it with a hammer? No, it just shatters. Same deal here with the washer. What you are talking about is related to ductility, and the work hardening basically eliminates any ductility that the metal had. Hard != ductile (in most cases).

 

I apologize for my moment of insanity caused by frustration. Actually the people I spoke to were trying to be helpful.

 

Chuck,

They sent me replacement parts for the rubber and washers but I had to purchase the mount. Not much interest in revising their design to prevent failure though.

I ending up using one or two thicker washers on top since that little spacer on mine was smaller than the hole in the mount causing the failure. A thick rubber bushing on top like the one on the bottom would be nice but it hits the chasis.

Jack

 

What sort of "noise" preceded the failure?

 

After about mor 3 emails and 2 more calls between them and me, they told me that they would send me new bushings and washers for all four but I had to pay shipping. I agreed.

They also said that they use thicker washers now than before. That implies that they have had other failures.
************************************************** ***********

There was no pre failure noise. One moment all is normal than the right front started making a metallic banging noise over rough sections of the road.

 

They could learn a bit about customer care from Respeed. I've been dealing with them (respeed) for a few years now, and I have without fail been impressed with their customer service and quality of their parts. I have a very low tolerance for things like you have gone through.

I even saw one thread where a guy had purchased used Gforce coilovers, and was missing parts. He was having trouble getting what he needed from Gforce, and Billy from Respeed set him up with what he needed (just a couple of spacers, but still) free of charge. That kind of care can not be beaten.

Good luck.

.

 

good to hear these last, i'll be buying a set soon.

 

Yep. Its hit or miss with them. Sometimes you get good service. Sometimes they are a pita.

 

the reason it breaks is because the shock has to move and the GC design doesn't let it enough. usually the shock nut just loosens...

a solution would be to change to a bearing like a normal camber plate, like the K2RD ones.

 

^^are the K2RD "coils" still available?

 

The bushing is supposed to offer the compliance to allow for shock movement on the cheaper camber plates... but if you over-torque the nut you pre-compress the bushing and take all the compliance out...

 

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets5.html

 

Yep. I agree with their findings. When I discussed this topic with Tripoint, they also confirmed that the shock needs more articulation at that juncture - especially in more race oriented suspensions as the G forces increase due to sticky tires, high spring rates etc. They have seen shock shafts break at that upper mount when using non articulating upper mounts. I've seen shock breakage and other nasty stuff on other cars that don't have an articulation point there.

 

Okay, so which camber plates solve the problem and still work with the KONIs? :-)

 

The Respeed coilover/camber plates come with a spherical bearing. Two seasons and no issues at all....

 

The GCs have sphericals, too. The question is where is the upper spring platform mounted? Does it rotate on the spherical, or is it fixed?

Edit: Sorry, my MazdaComp decade old [I assume] GC plates a sphericals front and rear on the uppers, but I don't remember the upper perch being on the spherical rather than resting against the plate in the rear.

 

Keep in mind that cew's GCs are for the FD. You guys are talking about FB parts, I think. The FD upper shock mount that GC and many other coilover manufacturers provide are flat solid pieces.