GAZ or Protech shocks

[dapinky]

Jonathan, my only "wisdom" is to fully agree with you

I went for AVOs because I have had them on other cars with no issues, and they are rebuildable, and the company has always been good to communicate/deal with.

I had Protechs on my first Elan and had issues (which they have addressed by a change of design/material), and the company were not so easy to deal with (but again, it was a long time ago and others have reported far better experiences since then)

I have had GAZs on another car, but not on an Elan, and never had cause to worry about getting them worked on, so have no great comment to make.

BUT

As Jonathan says, any of them will be an improvement over 35 year old OE shocks, and even if not to exact OE specs, will seem good in use.

Go with whichever you feel happy with, whether it's because you like the colour or it is 10p cheaper - it will still be a good choice!

[FunElan]

Thank you both - your words are extremely comforting!

Unfortunately being in the colonies, "popping on over" to the manufacturers office is impossible, so I figured on that front, they're all kind of the same. If they need rebuilding, they all have to come out anyway.

The GAZ are the shiniest and cheapest, so that may be the move. They also have double the warranty that the Protechs do (2 years vs 1 year). I'll likely reuse my old springs, as they're federal specific, and for what I do with the car (cruise around with occasional mountain jaunts), they'll be fine.

Happy Elan-ing as we head into a weekend

[roy666]

Hi all.. just tagging on the end of this: in the middle of installing two front Protech dampers on my S2. I'm using the same distance from the yoke to the damper adjustable base, but I'm having to compress my original spring by at least 3 inches to get the top fittings and nut located properly. Is that the norm?... anyone done this recently? cheers Mike

[chrism]

roy666 I thought the same way as you with my rears and rather than force anything I adjusted the spring stage low to get the coil-overs in place, then wound them up - taking the weight of the car on the jack - periodically jacking down onto the wheels to check the ground clearance and so on. I reckon it's best to try to do both sides together if you can cos (I found) it frustratingly changes when you do the other side

Sounds 'clumsy' - but it worked for me...

[roy666]

Thanks Chris... got the o/s one in..no problem, and the ride measurements have come out the same as the n/s with the old damper still in place. In the process now of removing the n/s damper and discovered one of the mounting (M8) spigots (there are 3 of them which attach to the chassis) on the damper top plate has become badly threaded. The nut was just turning around and not moving up/off. Fortunately, through patience and pressure I did get it off and the damper is now on the bench; not sure how I'm going to fix this captive threaded spigot.. and of course damper top plates don't exist anymore!

[par]

I had a similar problem previously but ended up shearing one of the studs. I had to get an allen bolt welded in place as I couldn't source a replacement top plate either.

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[roy666]

Thanks Par.. I can get that done but I was able to 'die' out the thread a bit..recovered 11 mil of it, put a couple of extra washers in place and was able to torque up then to the required settings. Now lets see what these Protechs are like!

[Tuga2112]

i guess i could machine one. seems a simple enough design to copy... im only starting now to use a lathe i recently got access too. but if theres enough interest and its worth the time..

seems like the kind of part that wont be valued enough to justify the effort tbh. specially considering any scrapyard will be happy to sell it for a tenner.

[roy666]

I have Gaz shocks on the rear,... fitted about 4 years ago. I believe they are on the stiffest setting; however, while at Allon White I asked them to check that all was well with the shocks,.. and they said they are now seized and nothing happens when turning the setting knob! Anybody else experienced this problem??