Boge Frt. Insert "Removal" Hang-Up

KTL · 02-13-2002, 11:05 AM

Removed collar nut on strut housing to remove damper insert. With nut removed, clamped damper piston in vise (with pads) and tapped (quite lightly, HONESTLY) on caliper mounting ears to coax the insert out of the housing. What came out is a piston with a bunch of damper guts attached to it, but no casing. Plenty of stinky shock oil abounded. This happened on both struts!!! Anybody ever seen this before?

What might be a good method to remove the damper casing? I was thinking of trying to roll the edges of the casing with a drift. Although, I imagine the casing is not too malleable since the dampers are under high pressure. Anyway, then I could get (maybe) a couple pair of long nose vise grips on there to grab the casing. Hold the grips in the vise and try the tapping method again? Don't know what else to try.

Thanks,

FrdzRed · FrdzRed's Garage

That's all there is in there. The strut tube is actually the outside for the original struts. All you need to do now is remove the oil from the bottom of the tube and slide in your new strut inserts.

Jdub · 02-13-2002, 11:25 AM

Finally I have my answer on why Haynes et al say "dump the oil out of the strut." Holding a replacement insert in your hands and seeing what comes out of the (BOGE) strut are two birds of different feathers!

John

dtfastbear · 02-13-2002, 12:41 PM

This scared the CRAP out of me when the same thing happened to me...

I was more than a little shocked/disappointed that the "101 Projects" book didn't even mention that there might be fluid in there!!

I put my new inserts in and everything works as advertised, so don't worry, KTL, all is well...

Dean

KTL · 02-13-2002, 01:11 PM

Ahhhhh,

Now I thought the same thing. That is, the strut housing is the casing for the original damper. I spoke with a couple other fellas and they thought that the insert should come out with a casing (seems logical of course) like the replacement inserts. I didn't have a chance to check the strut housing for a tube as i'm at work and it was starting to nag at me. Had to ask the board.

Thanks for the reassurance fellas.

John/Jdub you're supposed to have burned that Haynes manual by now! Actually the one for my 92 Laser covers 90-94 and is pretty decent. I think the Porsche version tries to cover too many years. Just doesn't help much.

Dean,

I was surprised that the Bentley or the 101 didn't say anything as well. Plus, after asking a few guys with plenty of experience, I figured there might be a problem.

jay castriotta · 02-13-2002, 03:22 PM

Some people used to leave some oil in to enhance heat transfer from the new insert to the exterior of the the strut. Not sure if this has any 'real world' value though. I was very surprised at how hot shocks got a rally car, but I doubt this is a issue with a street car.

autobonrun · autobonrun's Garage

If you are saying you can see the internals when you removed your insert, you must have a far different model than I did. When I replaced the boge inserts on my 79SC, the entire insert came out with the casing. There was a small amount of oil in the bottom which I soaked up with a rag. Have you looked down into the strut to see if the housing is still there? I also did not have to clamp the piston to remove the insert, it came right out easily. I replaced it with a Bilstein. I'm curious what you're using for a replacement and is it in a casing? If so, I don't know how that will fit if your other casing is still there. Could you have Boge inserts in Bilstein struts with the pin at the bottom?

KTL · 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by autobonrun
If you are saying you can see the internals when you removed your insert, you must have a far different model than I did. When I replaced the boge inserts on my 79SC, the entire insert came out with the casing. There was a small amount of oil in the bottom which I soaked up with a rag. Have you looked down into the strut to see if the housing is still there? I also did not have to clamp the piston to remove the insert, it came right out easily. I replaced it with a Bilstein. I'm curious what you're using for a replacement and is it in a casing? If so, I don't know how that will fit if your other casing is still there. Could you have Boge inserts in Bilstein struts with the pin at the bottom?

When I removed the original insert, the piston rod came out with an arrangement of seals beneath it and a long tube in which the oil is compressed. Therefore, PLENTY of oil came out as well. Never seen/heard of anything like this, and after talking with a few people I thought there might be a problem (case still inside housing).

Looked at strut housing last night when I got home. No detached casing left inside the housing. I slipped the new Bilstein HD insert in there and it slid right in. There's some room to spare around its casing if you wanted to do what Jay mentioned and put some oil or antifreeze/coolant in the housing. The housings are definitely Boge, as they say it right on the tube. Also, there's no roll pin at the bottom of the tube. Looks like everything is in order as Frdzred, John and Dean described.

Kind of a strange way to build a damper, no?

Thanks again,

Jdub · 02-14-2002, 06:19 AM

Burn the Haynes manual, BURN IT!

Ahem. I don't think it is possible to put a BOGE insert into a Bilstein strut. That is, the BOGE strut accepts many other manufacturer's inserts, but the Bilstein/Koni/KYB setups don't allow other manufacturer's in.

Think political parties...

John

Joeaksa · 02-14-2002, 07:16 AM

KTL,

What you have in your hands is a completely stock shock housing and guts. The factory did not use the "cartridge" type assy on all the cars. My guess is that they purchased these directly from BOGE already assembled.

The moment you loosen the nut on the top, all the gas inside the strut (if there was any left) escapes and you are grounded. There is no way to reuse this shock because there is no way to get the gas back in the strut assy. Had the same thing on my 85 model.

Be very careful about leaving parts in the bottom of the strut. I ended up taking a magnet and picking up the loose parts at the bottom of the strut, then getting the old oil out. As you have the strut off of the car it should be easier.

The new cartridge should just slide back in the housing and use a new nut to tighten the puppy up and go drive. Made a world of difference on my car and I still smile at every corner!

Joe

Harold_89_911 · 02-14-2002, 09:52 AM

Same for me on my 89. Used an old T-shirt to soak up the oil and a flashlight to inspect to make sure nothing was left inside. New Boge cartridge slit in there perfectly.

jay castriotta · 02-14-2002, 12:00 PM

This is not too unusual set up for a German car i.e. using the strut as the outside of the housing. Most (all?) of the old BMW 2002's were done this way.

KTL · 02-15-2002, 05:09 AM

Thanks for all of the replies!

Oldporsche · 05:29 AM

The original 911E struts were constructed this way. The tubes were a little larger and there was enough pressure in them to hold the front corner of the car up. Well most of the time.

To replace these guts (911E) with inserts was not a regular bolt in job.

I have recently been inside of Toyota front struts that were indeed the shocks. I just gutted everything inside and slid in the inserts.

Good luck,
David Duffield

rokemester · 08-19-2020, 08:34 AM

This is an old 18 thread, but quite informative. I replaced Boge dampers with Bilstein inserts. All is well on left front of car, but the right strut and insert have about a 1/4” gap. I get a clunking sound when driving over rough spots. Anybody else run into this? Suggestions on viable ways to close the gap. Large washers? Metal or elastomeric?