Fliud in struts with new inserts

[Conrad W Peden]

I'm gettin started putting my new Koni sports in my 73 and am faced with the question of how much of what kind of fluid to put in with the struts

I've heard everything fron a quarter full to right full and ATF to antifreeze....any suggestions.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The fluid is optional; its function is supposedly to help heat to transfer out of the shocks and away into the air. I wouldn't use antifreeze, as the water in it could help start corrosion. I'd use oil or ATF, and put enough in so that it comes most of the way up the shock tube when the tube is installed in the strut.

--DD

[URY914]

This was somewhat standard pratice years ago but I think with a new set of shocks this won't be needed. Shock tech is different now.

I mean, come on driving to work is not running Baja. Even on the track when is the last time you heard someone say after pulling into the pits, "I would have stayed out longer but my shocks were over heating"

I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do it I'm saying I don't think it needed.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I seem to remember that you dont want to have oil inside the strut if you are using gas inserts.

[Tidybuoy]

I don't know about Koni's but I recently put Bilstein's in my BMW 528e and the Bilstein literature said not to use any oil as you would with boge's.

Also, in my 914 front strut housing, I thought there was a small hole in the bottom of the strut - which would prevent the use of oil for cooling.

I remember this because I had to add oil to an old BMW 320i that I had many years ago.

Just a thought..............Vern

[Conrad W Peden]

OK, thanks guys.

So I've decided its going to be half full with oil. Cant hurt no matter how you look at it

Vern, yes there is a small hole in the bottom of a 914 strut housing, but it is plugged by the balljoint

[Rough_Rider]

On Bilsteins there are two holes, 1 for ball joint, other for a rolled pin. Which prevents the use of oil as it'd just spill out.

As URY & Dave state its optional / not required nowadays. More for ease of assembly & dissamembly but also to facilitate some heat transfer i used a liberal coating of marine grease.

[spoke]

I just removed Koni's from my 74 which had 50% antifreeze for cooling. Not sure if the antifreeze helped the cooling but it did attack the paint on one of the shocks.

Spoke

[Conrad W Peden]

So five days into it and the oil is starting to come out around the bottom of the strut housing.

So....no oil it is. I'm sure they wont overheat