John Hervey Strikes again

[vwdmc16]

" well I have sold hundreds of those and I have never heard anything wrong with them, you must be doing it wrong."

-John Hearvy about everything he sells.

[nwotank]

more people need to see this image with the collars. I advise against them whenever i can, but still people buy them. They are destined to fail, regardless of how tight they are.

Why are they destined to fail? Just curious because I was considering doing an upgrade to them soon. I've bought many parts from Hervey and have had pretty good luck. He's answered tons of questions and he fixed my car when no other mechanic could figure out the issue.

[DMC-81]

Why are they destined to fail? Just curious because I was considering doing an upgrade to them soon. I've bought many parts from Hervey and have had pretty good luck. He's answered tons of questions and he fixed my car when no other mechanic could figure out the issue.

They are destined to fail because the shock body is not designed to bear the weight of a spring, not to mention on a rear position on a rear engined car. I bought that set up (with the red KYB AGX djustable shocks) when I first got my car before I learned some facts of the various vendors. When it arrived, I took one look at the way the collar fastened onto the shock body, and only supposed to be a "just snug" fit (Johns words and specific instructions) to hold up the shock. Both the inside of the collar and the shock body are smooth. That doesn't make sense to me.

Here's the worst part. I called KYB Technical Support and described the vendors modification on that specific shock model and then asked them if they would recommend that application. They said that the would definitely not recommend that application. Then I asked the thickness of the metal on the outer shock body ( the part that the collar clamps onto. They said that it was 1.2mm. Then I understood why John specifies "just snug", because if you tighten the collar more, it will rupture the gas charged shock.

I called him back a couple day later asked for return authorization...not without an argument of course... But when I mentioned the word liability, he conceded.

John will argue that it works. He even said to me that he can "prove KYB and my mechanic wrong". What he fails to understand is that he's knowingly selling a modified product that is not recommended by the manfacturer or any decent mechanic. Imagine the liability!

I asked myself.. Can I drive at highway speeds trusting my safety and those around me to a critical part that is basically on a friction fit to 1.2 mm thick metal tube? I imagined having one of the collars slip down (just like the owner in the post below) causing me to lose control. Then I wondered what my insurance company would say?

There is a discussion here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14...-drop-with-age . Note post #26.

My emphatic advice: spend the extra money and do it right.

Here's some humor: When I was looking at these parts that arrived from Special T Auto/DAP, and after listening to John rant about the Chinese parts that his competitors sell, I rolled over the collar in my hand, and found the word CHINA stamped into it.

[nwotank]

They are destined to fail because the shock body is not designed to bear the weight of a spring, not to mention on a rear position on a rear engined car. I bought that set up (with the red KYB AGX djustable shocks) when I first got my car before I learned some facts of the various vendors. When it arrived, I took one look at the way the collar fastened onto the shock body, and only supposed to be a "just snug" fit (Johns words and specific instructions) to hold up the shock. Both the inside of the collar and the shock body are smooth. That doesn't make sense to me.

Here's the worst part. I called KYB Technical Support and described the vendors modification on that specific shock model and then asked them if they would recommend that application. They said that the would definitely not recommend that application. Then I asked the thickness of the metal on the outer shock body ( the part that the collar clamps onto. They said that it was 1.2mm. Then I understood why John specifies "just snug", because if you tighten the collar more, it will rupture the gas charged shock.

I called him back a couple day later asked for return authorization...not without an argument of course... But when I mentioned the word liability, he conceded.

John will argue that it works. He even said to me that he can "prove KYB and my mechanic wrong". What he fails to understand is that he's knowingly selling a modified product that is not recommended by the manfacturer or any decent mechanic. Imagine the liability!

I asked myself.. Can I drive at highway speeds trusting my safety and those around me to a critical part that is basically on a friction fit to 1.2 mm thick metal tube? I imagined having one of the collars slip down (just like the owner in the post below) causing me to lose control. Then I wondered what my insurance company would say?

There is a discussion here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14...-drop-with-age . Note post #26.

My emphatic advice: spend the extra money and do it right.

Here's some humor: When I was looking at these parts that arrived from Special T Auto/DAP, and after listening to John rant about the Chinese parts that his competitors sell, I rolled over the collar in my hand, and found the word CHINA stamped into it.

Thank you for this detailed explanation I value safety over saving money

[Ryan King]

I forgot to add my ball joint story. I replaced my original LBJs with the "new" ones from SpecialT again back in the early 2000s. Installed them and not soon after did the passenger side fail while I was taking a turn just after exiting a highway, thankfully not on the highway! The passenger side wheel went up and into the fender shredding the tire. The LCA was damaged. Not only that, I had to figure out how to get the car home.

You're not alone. Been there done that with John's Ball Joints.
IMG_5105.jpg

[Nicholas R]

I cringe every time I see a shock with a shaft collar on it. That is definitely up there on the list of crappy home brewed engineering. Go ahead, throw a collar onto a hollow thin-walled pressure vessel of unknown wall thickness, tightened to a generic "snugness" and drive around with 30% of your car's weight on it (not to mention impact loading and unloading of the suspension). Why would you possibly need to worry??

[Ryan King]

I cringe every time I see a shock with a shaft collar on it. That is definitely up there on the list of crappy home brewed engineering. Go ahead, throw a collar onto a hollow thin-walled pressure vessel of unknown wall thickness, tightened to a generic "snugness" and drive around with 30% of your car's weight on it (not to mention impact loading and unloading of the suspension). Why would you possibly need to worry??

Hahahaha....so true. I had a set of Easy Riders as well. Same thing happened. They didn't slip ALL the way down, but the collar did come loose. John has some good products but also some that aren't. I have his fuel lines and they seem to be really nice. Plus a few other odds & ends. But never will I get a vital car part from him again. (IE Ball Joints)