Broken AST 4100 Coilovers

[AB M2C]

So on the passenger side where the (upper ball joint?) attaches to the coilover the metal physically sheared off/ is completely broken. I'm looking for suggestions on what to do. As AST is a company based out of Europe getting in contact with them from over hear is pretty close to a nightmare. I'm thinking of just ditching the whole suspension and going with an aluminum sleeved coilover (money is kind of an issue right now so I'm looking to not spend 5000 dollars on a new coilover setup and would rather just replace the one coilover or somehow fix it). Any suggestions on what to do would be appreciated.
If the suspension does need to be scrapped new coilover suggestions would also be welcome. Don't know exactly how the tie rod broke which is strange (one would think there would be a loud snap or bang or something, but I heard nothing except some rubbing and when I checked that, found the whole thing broken).
--Alec

To see the not very exciting carnage:

http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/Th..._1121.jpg.html

[DietTab]

tie rods don't attach to coilovers.

[AB M2C]

Originally Posted by DietTab

tie rods don't attach to coilovers.

Cool, where the upper ball joint attaches (guess I'm not exactly sure of the part however in the scheme of things that really doesn't matter, look at the picture). Thanks for all of your constructive help.

[NA_Villhauser]

That's the attachment point for the tie rod end link. You must have wacked a pothole hard or hit track curbing to much!

Gee I always thought that the end links looked flimsy and would break before anything else.

[Suprgnat]

Sway bar end link.

[inline sex]

Yup Thats The Sway Bar End Link Mounting Point.
Is That The Stock Sway Bar/end Link??

[DietTab]

swaybar endlink, just weld a new tab onto the shock. it's aluminium in the case of the ASTs, it isn't going to be very strong - these are not street friendly shocks. simple fix

[NA_Villhauser]

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

Sway bar end link.

Sorry.. had a brain fart there!

Is this a common problem with all shocks on these cars, or just with ASTs?

[Reapur]

DO NOT WELD THE DAMPER !!! its filled with pressurized fluid!!! The damper must be totally disassembled before any welding can be done on the tube.

Contact AST direct for the repair. They have a US Office

www.ast-suspension.com/dealers/america/usa

[AB M2C]

I'll get in contact with AST tomorrow. But at the same time I am looking for an upgrade for the suspension. Any suggestions? I really do like the Ohlins I have on my Evo, but can't seem to find ones that are built for the e82. Definitely going to look for at least a 2 way adjustable setup. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[wjk_glynn]

Originally Posted by ThatOneKid

...I really do like the Ohlins I have on my Evo, but can't seem to find ones that are built for the e82. Definitely going to look for at least a 2 way adjustable setup. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Ohlins single adjustable option: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=582806

Karl.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by ThatOneKid

I'll get in contact with AST tomorrow. But at the same time I am looking for an upgrade for the suspension. Any suggestions? I really do like the Ohlins I have on my Evo, but can't seem to find ones that are built for the e82. Definitely going to look for at least a 2 way adjustable setup. Any suggestions are appreciated.

AST is great, but since they left the US, customer service can be an issue. You can get the one strut fixed or look into getting a replacement strut only.

Here is a brand new set of AST5100:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...&highlight=ast

Ohlins R&T will fit your E82 just fine:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=ohlins

[AB M2C]

Originally Posted by Reapur

DO NOT WELD THE DAMPER !!! its filled with pressurized fluid!!! The damper must be totally disassembled before any welding can be done on the tube.

Contact AST direct for the repair. They have a US Office

www.ast-suspension.com/dealers/america/usa

Well thanks for the advice. But I welded it. For free (didn't feel like giving AST 800 dollars for the repair, seriously dealing with that company for me was a nightmare, wont say anything else because of that whole libel thing). Also the coilover is kind of filled with pressurized fluid (mostly just pressurized gas, N2 to be exact). I majored in chemistry (and have taken fluids/thermo/heat transfer) so the expansion of this stuff isn't too hard to figure out and if they were going to explode from a weld thats honestly not even that close to the (slightly) pressurized fluid, then these dampers would most likely explode every time they were compressed from the weight of the car. In other words I wouldn't recommend putting a torch right on the fluid reservoir but welding a bracket thats several inches away is no big deal.