Shock Absorbers 6.0

So, i think i have a shock problem, but suprisingly, i don't think its the front one, which, anecdotally, seem to be more prone because of the lift system. Last time i drove, there were some groaning creaks, when i got the car home i noticed that the ride setting was on 2/3, rather than on 1, where it defaults. I read up in John Monahan's site about the diagnostic system for the shocks- he mentioned a switch- on the 6.0 there are 3 in a box, but one is marked Koni Diagnostic. Went thru the steps on the first procedure and after i hit the 'Auto' button, the error lite just kept blinking repeatedly- not in grouped pulses that would indicate which corner was problematic.

I do not want to screw around with it, so the good Mr. De Groot will pick up the car monday morning, and go over it. Any thoughts, or similar experiences on this? (I have not used the front lift system, per the advice of many). Also, reading Monahan's site, including the message from the Koni representative, it looks like an unfinished story, ie are there replacements that are less problematic/do away with the adjustable feature for more reliability? I guess my concern isn't replacing one or several shocks this first time round, but i'd like to know that the problem is not a design flaw that will recur simply because the shocks cannot withstand the weight of the car!@#?

My 99 is at Wil's right now for its major plus some upgrades, and my front left shock is bad but not leaking (Never any creaking, the error light is just on).

 

Because the only problem is that the shocks are not adjustable, and the car is safe to drive, I'm holding off on replacing any shocks and am waiting for a solution.

 

I read somewhere that Orange County Lambo was sending shocks out for rebuild, but I never heard any specifics.

 

This seems like an issue all the Diablo owners, suppliers, and mechanics ought to put their heads together on.

 

Whart, please pm me with any info if you don't post.

 

PS nice color. Make sure you don't get my car back from Wil by accident.

I had to replace my front right shock last summer. I dug around and koni and lambo have the market cornered on that shock. The only place it is made or available is from Holland. I even called True Choice which is the Koni distributor for Indy and they couldn't help at all. I kept my bad one in hope to get a rebuild kit one day if it ever comes available ? There is no upgrade or replacement other than what you have on it. Its a hit or miss. My service man even told me that they had some muric cars still at the factory with leaking shocks. I agree with you , i dont want to have to replace a $1500 shock every summer with the same kind that is on it but right now it looks like we are stuck.

Bill u may want to try calling Rob at Delta Vee Motorsport 847-638-4226.

 

The 355 has a special Koni with a modulator on top and only made for Ferrari. $1200 ea and you can only buy in pairs from the dealer. Rob has a racing background and starting rebuilding shocks...really knows his stuff.

So my extra right front shock for my 6.0 thats sitting in my garage must be worth big bucks?

My right front just started to leak.How much do you want for your spare?

 

Joe

Mine has never leaked but after reading what you guys are going through, I don't know if it would be a good idea to sell. Offers?

 

Doesn't Koni rebuild them? I had a Porsche 944 turbo S that had adjustable Konis up front, when they needed to be changed my mechanic told me that they were no longer in production but that he could send them to Koni to be rebuilt. We sent them out and a month later they came back as good as new.

I think you will find that nobody will be able to rebuild that shock. True Choice is the largest Koni distributor in the the US and they couldn't do anything with it. If you can find someone who can rebuild it please let me know. I too have a spare shock i would like to get rebuilt and put on the shelf for a rainy day.

Turboalex just bought a brand new one from the dealer for 1 rear if i'm not mistaken....shit happens!

I haven't took a close look at the shocks but I always just have it set to one setting, the other settings make the car too bouncy for comfort. If possible I'd rather have another product to replace the stocks but only one problem would be I'd lose the lift system. But then again it might be possible to modify another make that would work with a lift system, I've seen many aftermarket ones, just not made for the Diablo.

I know certain shocks on some cars require cutting up the old shock to use the mount and whatnot

im sure you could hack something up. its an external part of the shock, right? no internals dealing with the lift system?

I'd trade the lift capability and the adjustability for road conditions for reliability even if it meant swapping out all of them for a nonadjustable system. The car went to De Groot's yesterday. Let's see what he says...

I read somewhere that Orange County Lambo was sending shocks out for rebuild, but I never heard any specifics.  

 

No one remembers a post on one of the boards about this? I guess I'll do some searching . . .

I do like the lift system so I don't bottom out on steep driveways. There's someone I met who actually modified the lift system and somehow got it to lift twice as much.

Mine was replaced twice before I got the car. Its a very common problem

I tend not to use mine now. Some days it would lift the car in no time, some days it does nothing and after a few minutes the shock light would blink rapidly.

OK, here's the diagnosis, per Wil DeGroot- one of the left rear shocks has an electronics problem- the shock itself is not bad; but the message sent to the ECU is putting the suspension into the "3" setting by default, which as those of you with these cars know, is pretty stiff for your average NY road. So, while i could continue to drive the car in this condition, i think that's asking for more pummelling than the suspension deserves, and may (this is my intepretation, not attributed to Wil), only exacerbate the failure of that, or another shock.

I'm told while he and others have been mightily striving for alternatives, it's virtually impossible to rebuild these things, taking into account the electronics. So, another shock is on it's way-

I thought the 3 setting was less stiff than the 1 setting, and was a good all-around setting. Do Ihave this backwards? I am choosing to use the three setting rather than replace a front shock. I hope this does not turn out to be a stupid idea.

 

Edit- I see I had it backwards. Still hope it's not a dumb idea to wait.

My recollection- i don't have the book in front of me, i am in the office right now- is that 1 is the softest, and 4 the stiffest. So, 3 is pretty stiff. At least when i was driving it in that mode, it felt like it.

1 is the soft setting and 4 is the hardest setting . Your right whart , I have made more phone calls than I care to count on trying to find someone who can rebuild this shock. To this day I have found no one that can touch it. It is also funny how Lambo and Koni have cornered the market on a "bad" shock. Leaving us with no alternative whatsoever. I don't mind spending the money on my car. I never have , but the point of replacing a bad part on anything is to replace it with an update or a better part , especially if it is a "known problem". I was also told that both Koni and Lambo are pointing the finger at each other on the problem.

Just found this below, I thought I remembered it. Have not called him to follow up.

 

"yes guys it's true...We have successfully re-built Koni shocks for awhile now with great success on test cars. We are using factory Koni seals and some superior products also. I just sent 60 used Koni's out for re-manufacturing and will have them back soon. Currently these shocks cover model years 1996-1999 Diablo & 2001 Diablo 6.0. I will keep the board posted on pricing when my first batch returns in a couple of weeks.

 

Grant Johnson

Lamborghini Beverly Hills & Orange County"

Ecnal- saw your car at Wil's place this morning- met the redoubtable Jim Kaminsky there as well. My car now has a new rear shock- and i have a very expensive object d'art in the form of the old shock, for my garage. Car ran beautifully back home from De Groot's- the growl past 4,000 rpms is magnificent, and i opened it up, just a little, to avoid some road trolls along the way. DeGroot did say that if i was willing to forego the lift stuff at the front, and the 'auto' suspension stuff all around, he could install koni racing shocks all the way round which should be 1/2 the price of the Lambo ones, possibly be more reliable, and are without doubt rebuildable. He also seemed to think the car could be put back to stock if necessary, for resale. So, if I have more shock problems, this may be the way to go. In the meantime, I'm gonna drive it like should....

Ecnal- saw your car at Wil's place this morning- met the ....

 

We've sent a couple of sets of front shocks out west for rebuilding with mixed results. Not the man's fault, can't get the exact right parts.

 

We've got some ideas of what to try ourselves but have no leaking fronts with good electronics lying around to experiment on. If anyone out there is willing to take a chance with a leaking front shock and send it to me for experimentation I'll see what I can do with it. Unfortunately I have no solution for electronic failure and don't have the facilities for recharging the rears, which are gas shocks, so I'd rather work on a front shock.

 

I also have some ideas for replacing the load lifting system at the front of the car but to date have not been able to convince anyone to let me try it. I've got a 98 Monterey Diablo coming in later this week with the shock warning light activated so maybe this one will lead to an answer.

 

Wil de Groot

Wil,

 

I will be replacing my right front in the coming weeks if you would like mine.

 

Joe

Whart - It may be a moot point now, but your shock is doing just what I described to you on one of the other boards. The shock apparently has two electronic pieces in it. One is the motor to actually change the valving of the shock; the other is a potentiometer that tells the shock computer where the motor is in its range of motion.

 

On mine, the motor was working fine but the pot was sticking, causing the suspension error light to go on frequently. The more I drove the car (it was somewhat of a garage queen before I got it), the less frequently I got the error, and then it quit entirely. My assumption is that the pot was just dirty/sticky from having sat and driving the car regularly freed it up.

 

I don't have a shock to try it with, but I'd bet if you could hook up a little voltage source that would run the motor back and forth continually for an hour or so that it would free yours up too and you'd have a good spare.