Dodgy shock from Texas. Problem?

[myzomela]

I recently got two rear shocks from an online supplier in Texas. (Shipping to Oz wasn't cheap, but still better than getting them from the local $tealer$hip.) But one of them just doesn't look right.

Here's the bottom end of an old one - note the location of the 'stop' for the end of the spring.
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz180/myzomela/Miscellaneous%20Cars/IMG_1932.jpg

And here's the bottom end of the normal looking new one, installed. The stop is in the same position.
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz180/myzomela/Miscellaneous%20Cars/IMG_1933.jpg

But the second new one has the stop rotated about 45 degrees out of line:eek:
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz180/myzomela/Miscellaneous%20Cars/IMG_1930.jpg
It's a genuine Sachs strut, with all the same numbers on it as the good one.

Does anyone think this is a problem?
- Is the stop just there for assembling the strut, to ensure that the shock is sitting in the right place before tightening everything up?
- Or is it really going to stop the spring shifting on the shock while on the road? This seems somehow unlikely; it couldn't stop the spring rotating anti-clockwise (viewed from the top), so why stop clockwise motion?
- Or if I use it as is, with a gap between the end of the spring and the stop, is the spring not adequately supported?

I'm reluctant to have an argument with the supplier, send it back and wait for a new one. The cost in time and money is ugly.

For the record, MY2001 with 227000km - but not really relevant for this question.

[billr99]

There should be no problem with the bottom seat in that position. I can't recall but isn't the upper seat ground flat or able to be turned? In which case, the spring will just fit in there without any effort to match up the seats.

Cheers,

Bill

[myzomela]

Thanks Bill. It might be possible to turn the upper seat. But the VIDA instructions warn me off doing that. They say:


"Note! The lower end of the spring must be turned in towards the center of the car. This applies to both sides."

in bold type.

Reckon I'll run with it as is, with a gap between the end of the spring and the 'stop' on the shock. I've had another look and there's no real lack of support where the spring first touches the bottom seat. Might post a pic when it's done.

[n00bkiller944]

Post a pic, but you should be fine as I agree with Bill. Seems funny that they are in different places though. What brand are they?

[myzomela]

What brand are they?

OEM Sachs.

Here's how it ended up:
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz180/myzomela/Miscellaneous%20Cars/IMG_1934.jpg

The spring runs off the outside edge of the bottom seat just before it gets to the misplaced stop, so it's no less supported than with a normal shock. Between that and advice here, I'm pretty relaxed about it now. It's just weird.

Ta!