tiddy1 Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Following on from my last posting about my AVO rear dampers which failed after 6 months and 2000 miles, I returned them to AVO who have repaired them and are returning them fairly rapidly, (but not rapidly enough for me to drive th ecar this week end !) Apparently the reason for failure was that I got them dirty, The dirt got into the seal and damaged it so all the oil leaked out they suggested that I should be more careful with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and not get dirt in the seals.. Well pardon me for actually fitting them to my car, they would obviously have lasted a full year if I had not taken them out the box!!! How the **** are you supposed to keep a set of dampers clean, it should be up their seals to keep the crap out (hence 'seal' the clue is in the word) Just thought I would let everyone know AVO's design philosopy as I am very grumpy at not being able to use the car in the sun this week end I spend a lot of my time designing actuators for aircraft and this is just b******s Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Shoot! I have got them as well though not fitted yet... I am not looking forward to another short-ife span dampers 😳. A ll standard, Classic 1.7 X-flow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Beaumont Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 That's a pretty crap thing to say to a customer. I've always thought that the shocks could do with a concertina rubber boot though, but never managed to find any to fit. I wonder if motorbike forks might yield something suitable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Would this be described as not fit for purpose ? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 I just fitted some silicone steering column gaiters to some Ledas that I fitted on the back of a rally car. There isn't any provision for a gaiter, which seems a bit dense, so I have tried to clamp them up using a stainless steel cable tie. I used to work with servo-hydraulic actuators to be strict about it I suppose a hydraulic seal is designed to keep oil in and not to keep dirt out but it is bl**dy daft to use this technique on a component that sits under a car. Shamban and Green Tweed certainly manufacture seals with wipers that are designed to keep the c**p out of seals and it cant be beyond the wit of man to use something appropriate. The coilover AVO shocks that I bought recently have another feature that I don't think is wonderful and that is the use of a 'grub' screw to lock the spring platform to the thread on the shock absorber body. I can accept that the spring doesn't apply any torque to the platform so this method will work but it isn't christian. A second locking collar would prevent damage to the treads on the shocker body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted March 21, 2003 Author Share Posted March 21, 2003 As I said I spend most of my days designing hydraulic actuators and fuel control systems for aircraft, its really not that hard to keep the crap out you just need well designed seals with suitable scrapers and back up rings, just apears that AVO havent used them. I don't want to dis there design as I have not studied it but it was there attitude that really pissed me off. I sent the dampers back last friday and asked for them to be back by this saturday at the latest. When I rang them today they said they were fixed but they would not send them overnight as it would cost them £30. What they said about the dirt etc was in a telecon, it will be interesting to see if they give any explination in writing with the returned shocks. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 I wonder where Len has any views on this thread as he must be selling hundreds of these units by now and wound not like them all to come back at him for warrantee repairs. Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrigsby Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Hmm sounds very wierd, I know Daren Ball has AVO's on his car and it's been through rain/mud/gravel plus everything else last year and they seem fine at the last count.... Cheers Rob G www.SpeedySeven.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted March 21, 2003 Author Share Posted March 21, 2003 My front ones are working fine and have been on longer, and I would expect them to get more dirt. Sounds to me like the dirt was built in on assembly which would make it a quality problem rather than one of design. I would like to think that as it would mean that the basic product is fine, and I just got a duff pair, but the fact that both went implies at least a duff batch...built on a friday by a trainee may be? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 Chris, I have just fitted the Ali AVO`s and had the same concerns about the grub screws. However when I removed one of the grub screws I was pleased to see that there was a Silicon Rubber plug between the the grub screw and the threaded damper body, only light pressure on the grub screw is necessary to lock the platform. Mine better not start leaking either !!!!!!!!!!! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 On a slightly different vien of the same topic.. Does anyone sell Sutable for a Seven shock with INDEPENDENT controls/valving for rebound and compression... as decent MOTO shocks have? Having both rebound and compression together is kinda lame, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrigsby Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 You can get 2,3 and 4 way adjustable Ohlins which they will valve appropriately for a Caterham but it starts to get quite expensive!!! Cheers Rob G www.SpeedySeven.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windy1 Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 I've had AVO's for years and not had any problems with them. I have heard that those people that don't use their cars much can have problems with the seals drying up if the car is layed up for long periods. if the seals stick they can then become damaged. The other problem that is quite common is that if the car is stored in a damp garage the damper shaft can become corroded and once it moves it then damages the seal. This is the same for all dampers, not just for AVO's. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted March 24, 2003 Author Share Posted March 24, 2003 Windy, My car is never stationary for more that a week, but it has to be said that my garage is not the dryest, the de-humidifier struggles to keep up. there was no signs of corrosion though The dampers should be back today so I will see what explination AVO give The fronts have been in longer and are fine simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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