Ohlins R&T Strut Failure

[Thoglan]

Welp today was a bad day. A few weeks ago I had an incident where the top nut on the front left strut came loose while I was driving on the motorway. Yes, as bad as it sounds. It was done up properly and torqued. Upon closer inspection it looks like perhaps the nyloc nut is too tall and the spacing of the GC Street camber plate is such that the threads on the strut are not sufficiently engaging the nylon. If anyone is running ohlins with GC street camber plates, that might be worth checking to avoid the same mistake. The strut came loose and on a dip in the road came completely out of place in the strut tower. As soon as I knew what happened I pulled off and onto a side street to find I was looking pretty stanced out.



I had my brother drop some tools off and I wrestled it back into place on the side of the street. Nothing was broken, everything seemed okay other than a few surfaces being beat up from the strut being free. I felt like I got off scot free. Unfortunately not. Today I was driving the car and something just felt slightly off about the front left. Little bit more crashy and harsh. Difficult to explain but it just felt.. off. I went to jack that corner up and do the usual move the wheel around and feel for play. Only when jacking it up the shock was sticking slightly. Juddering almost as it rebounded. It wasn't slick and smooth like the other side. All the bushings looked good and the strut failing made the most sense. Pulled it out and sure enough.



So the strut is ruined right or is this something that can be rebuilt and fixed? Is it possible to buy a single strut to replace it?

[K-Dawg]

I'm thinking the strut got bent when it was banging around in the wheel well?

[jet_dogg]

Well that sucks.

I'd reach out to whoever the ohlins distributor is in Oz and see what they can do.

[r4dr]

Well that sucks.

I'd reach out to whoever the ohlins distributor is in Oz and see what they can do.

If they're not helpful, I'm fairly certain Barry from 3DM can get you individual components. Shipped from the US, but at least you have the parts.

[lvm3sm46]

I had the same issue with Ohlins on my Audi, The nut would keep coming off which ended up stripping the threads. I just ordered a set for the M and I was hoping not to have the same issue.

[r4dr]

Thoglan how many threads can you see above the nut on the side that's still intact?

[bmwfnatic]

Really interested to see what actually happened here, since I actually planned on getting Ohlins too :/

What did you torque the top nut to? Do you have any pictures of how well the nylon part of the lock nut actually locked?

[R1pilot]

I have been fighting something similar with the exact same setup, Ohlins and GC street camber plates.

My steering started feeling "grainy" when turning at VERY low speeds ... like when picking up my kids and sitting on the school line doing 3mph. I could also feel slop when the car would start rolling, like a tiny clunk. I tightened the top nut (which has barely any threads left seen, maybe 2) and the problems went away for a couple of days only to return.

I communicated with GC and they sold me a couple of bearings. When I removed the old ones, I did not think the bearings were bad but I assumed it would only manifest itself with the weight of the car, so I installed the replacement bearings. The noise/grainy feel went away for another 2 days and now its back.

I have not driven the car in a week. I was contemplating buying a new set of camber plates as mines have roughly 60k miles of which 99% were on the factory struts.

I also want to mention that I marked the nut and the coilover to see if it was backing itself, but it has not. No sure what the problem is here, might spring for some new mounts.

[Thoglan]

I'm thinking the strut got bent when it was banging around in the wheel well?

Yes I'm thinking this is the case. When I came to a stop the strut was pressed up against the inside wall of the strut tower (hence why the wheel is at what looks like -10deg of camber). The spring was completely unseated so the strut would have been taking a considerable transverse load. Not sure if this would be enough to bend the strut or just driving for the short time that I did with it thrusting against one side would be the cause of the heat scoring.

[Thoglan]

Thoglan how many threads can you see above the nut on the side that's still intact?

Took a photo of the other side, in hindsight this looks pretty dodgy...

[Slideways]

Took a photo of the other side, in hindsight this looks pretty dodgy...

Yeah, the locking portion is not doing anything there. The TMS street plates have at least 4-5 thread exposed and they use the OEM INA bearing.

[Thoglan]

Really interested to see what actually happened here, since I actually planned on getting Ohlins too :/

What did you torque the top nut to? Do you have any pictures of how well the nylon part of the lock nut actually locked?

I wouldn't consider this a mark against the ohlins, this was install error and something that in hindsight I should have been more aware of. I will likely pair with a different set of camber plates or turn down the top nuts on the lathe to ensure the nyloc is engaged properly. I believe the turner street plates are common to run with ohlins.

[Thoglan]

I have been fighting something similar with the exact same setup, Ohlins and GC street camber plates.

My steering started feeling "grainy" when turning at VERY low speeds ... like when picking up my kids and sitting on the school line doing 3mph. I could also feel slop when the car would start rolling, like a tiny clunk..

This is a good way to describe what I was feeling as well. When I went to jack the car up it was clear that the clunk was coming from the strut itself on rebound where it was sticking slightly.

[Thoglan]

Well that sucks.

I'd reach out to whoever the ohlins distributor is in Oz and see what they can do.

Yup already done. They seem to think it's probably repairable. Might as well do a front end refresh and convert to flat ride while everything is apart

[Thoglan]

Yeah, the locking portion is not doing anything there. The TMS street plates have at least 4-5 thread exposed and they use the OEM INA bearing.

Yeah, I'm thinking swapping to the turner plates is the best solution.