" 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.
Location: sacramento
Posts: 1,415
My VIN: 1768
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
" 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.
Posts: 26
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.
Last edited by DMC-81; 10-05-2017 at 10:59 PM.
Dana
1981 DeLorean DMC-12 (5 Speed, Gas Flap, Black Interior, Windshield Antenna, Dark Gray)
Restored as "mostly correct, but with flaws corrected". Pictures and comments of my restoration are in the albums section on my profile.
1985 Chevrolet Corvette, Z51, 4+3 manual
2006 Dodge Magnum R/T (D/D)
2010 Camaro SS (Transformers Edition)
Posts: 26
You're not alone. Been there done that with John's Ball Joints.
IMG_5105.jpg
Living The Dream Since 2005 - VIN#3997
Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 2,734
My VIN: 01643
Club(s): (DCF) (DCO) (DCUK)
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)
Living The Dream Since 2005 - VIN#3997