Funny story about 3rd time my rear Aldan shocks blew

[PhoenixGTS]

Well funny in a sad way. Ambients cooled, my Kumho V700s got a bit hard, I wheel hopped the car hard a couple of times, and the driver's side rear Aldan started leaking again. Today I took them off and shipped back to Aldan (who has great customer service and rebuilds them whenever they blow up). When I was backing off the spring perch ring on the driver's side to relieve the spring pressure before popping the top mount out, the two parts of the shock body started unscrewing. Apparently, the last time the shock was rebuilt, they did not tighten the two separate parts of the shock body with sufficient torque. I used a chisel and hammer to move the perch ring until it got loose enough to use the spanner. Then it tightened up again. Went back in forth ths way, I thought I had it under control, then bam the seal between the two parts of the shock body broke loose and shock oil started squirting out across the garage. The shock had been leaking out of the shaft seal, but there was still a lot of oil and all the nitrogen pressure was left. It was like I was performing heart surgery and I nicked the aorta. Squirted about 10-12 feet. It squirted for a good 30 seconds. One of those times when there is nothing like an epoxy coating on the garage floor. In hindsight it was pretty funny. Tomorrow I'll slide under the car and see if the wheel hopping injured any half-shaft universal joints. I guess they call this a hobby.

 

[Camfab]

I thought I had bad luck! I think you've experienced every page of "Murphy's law".

 

[plumcrazy]

those shocks are absolute JUNK. my car is undriveable with them. they're coming off very soon and going in the garbage.

aldan should be shot for selling junk like that

 

[2MANYTOYS]

those shocks are absolute JUNK. my car is undriveable with them. they're coming off very soon and going in the garbage.

aldan should be shot for selling junk like that

Plum I told you way back when you were asking about those things They are junkj!!!

 

[dave6666]

those shocks are absolute JUNK. my car is undriveable with them. they're coming off very soon and going in the garbage.

aldan should be shot for selling junk like that

What will you be installing in lieu of them?

 

[01ACR/VIPER]

Well funny in a sad way. Ambients cooled, my Kumho V700s got a bit hard, I wheel hopped the car hard a couple of times, and the driver's side rear Aldan started leaking again. Today I took them off and shipped back to Aldan (who has great customer service and rebuilds them whenever they blow up). When I was backing off the spring perch ring on the driver's side to relieve the spring pressure before popping the top mount out, the two parts of the shock body started unscrewing. Apparently, the last time the shock was rebuilt, they did not tighten the two separate parts of the shock body with sufficient torque. I used a chisel and hammer to move the perch ring until it got loose enough to use the spanner. Then it tightened up again. Went back in forth ths way, I thought I had it under control, then bam the seal between the two parts of the shock body broke loose and shock oil started squirting out across the garage. The shock had been leaking out of the shaft seal, but there was still a lot of oil and all the nitrogen pressure was left. It was like I was performing heart surgery and I nicked the aorta. Squirted about 10-12 feet. It squirted for a good 30 seconds. One of those times when there is nothing like an epoxy coating on the garage floor. In hindsight it was pretty funny. Tomorrow I'll slide under the car and see if the wheel hopping injured any half-shaft universal joints. I guess they call this a hobby.

I just took my rear set off today and the exact same happened with one of mine. I finally got my stock dynamic dampers back from a rebuild at Haas automotive.I guess I will send the Aldans back for a rebuild.Anyone interested in a complete set of rebuilt Aldans?...CHEAP

 

[plumcrazy]

im putting OEM ones back in with eibachs. im done with that aldan junk and cant afford the penske's

 

[PhoenixGTS]

im putting OEM ones back in with eibachs. im done with that aldan junk and cant afford the penske's

The problem is that the Eibachs are too low and too stiff and my car just did not work well with them. Perhaps if I would have adjusted the stock shocks to maximum damping they would have been better, but I hated them. The current state of my Aldans blows the Eibach/stock shocks away - they are just simply not robust in this application.

 

[plumcrazy]

i cannot DISagree more for MY car. my car is absolutely not driveable with the aldans on. doesnt matter how they are adjusted, it is too soft and the car wanders all over the road. at speed its downright scary.

glad they worked for YOU.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Heard so many bad strories about these aldans suprised people still buy them...

What about the KW's Mr Plum?????

 

[plumcrazy]

might do them next winter cause i dont wanna spend the cash right now...thats probably my only option other than OEM with eibachs

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Props to Aldan. They turned the repair around in less than 24 hours. Added damping too. Back on the road this weekend if UPS comes through.

 

[plumcrazy]

what they charge you ?

 

[ILLSMOQ]

they've gone bad 3 times and leaked all over your garage floor? I wouldn't put those back on my car.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

what they charge you ?

They always do it for free so I end up paying one-way shipping (me-to-them). I believe I have assisted them in improving their product (if they are smart enough to built others like they have modified mine). I hated the Eibachs that were on the car and I simply cannot spend $3.5k+ on shocks (I'm still crying about $2k for new tires).

 

[plumcrazy]

i agree with smoq, heck with the aldand junk and youve been screwed 3 times now...but at least they do it for free as well they should.

stinks you gotta do the labor for free though

 

[dave6666]

Are expensive shocks really worth it? And for what uses can you tell the difference? (street, strip, road course etc.)

Stock Shock Dave, supporter of the Full Race Sill Sticker.

 

[GTS Dean]

The simple answer is YES. I've had the Penskes on my car since 2000 or 2001 and they are absolutely first-rate. They knocked nearly 3 full seconds off my all-time best lap on a 3.5 mile, 15 turn road course in Corpus Christi. At the strip, I can tune the rate of weight transfer to meet the track conditions and control wheel hop. I check the nitrogen charge in them about every 2-3 years. No issues.

 

[DJ'sviper]

You get what you pay for. Most times. Sometimes the more expensive can be a better buy in the long run. Can you buy me a set?

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Follow-Up Post: I removed my shocks on a Saturday, Aldan received them on Tuesday and turned them around in less than 24 (now with more damping than before), I received them on Friday and the car was back to gether exactly one week later. Rear might have too much compression damping now, but in the past they have always seemed to soften up after some miles so perhaps I'm finally where I want to be. Right now little bumps are harsh but bigger bumps are perfect. Overall, weak product backed up by grear customer service.

 

[plumcrazy]

thats way too much work for a set of junk shocks. there is never a reason to do it what 3 times ?

god bless ya, you are patient

 

[PhoenixGTS]

god bless ya, you are patient

Saved eough over KWs to buy new set of tires so I'll put that in the bank.