It might just keep sharp edges, and dirt and grime from wearing the bump stop out.  It distributes the force more evenly than the ragged edges and holes of the gland nut.

Surely if the bump stops are being hit that often to take damage from the gland nut then the suspension setup needs rethinking! In all my crazy Z driving over 8 years I have only ever hit the stops twice while being very silly over a bump back bridge at speed.

 

BTW the Koni gland nut is pretty smooth with no sharp edges - not a great photo here as I was focused on the spring markings but you can see what I am talking about.

 

 

Also I used motorbike dust covers on mine which provide a lovely tight fit. So no dust / grim getting in

 

 

Back to the point[mention=6833]madkaw[/mention] raised, that steel spacer is missing off the pretty generic instructions from what I could tell.

9 hours ago, AK260 said:

I quite like the idea of making something that looks properly machined.

Agreed. I enjoy making little stuff like that that I get to use.

You might not have the right size tubing to use, but you've got a lathe. Just drill out the end of some solid stock and oval-ize it. With a few crude calculations, I think you could get close on the first try and then hit it on the second or third. If you've got tubing close to the right size but a little small, you could bore it out.

And then to make it looks "proper", glue on an old screwdriver handle* on the other end. Or turn a nice wood handle on the lathe and use that. You'll be the envy of all the other Koni-ites.   

 

* You know the one... The one that's all rounded off and is pretty much useless as a screwdriver. Heat up the metal until it melts the handle a little and then yank it out.  Haha!!

7 hours ago, madkaw said:

Freaking IKEA instructions - give me a break .

Good to know that I'm not alone. I was under the impression that I was the only one who found it impossible to decipher instructions like that.

I wonder if people in other countries have the same problem. I think those icon based instructions were supposed to make them easier to understand in all languages. I think they've done just the opposite.

16 hours ago, madkaw said:

Freaking IKEA instructions - give me a break . 
what about the spacer ? I can’t find it in the instructions . 

Steel bushing guys - on top of strut piston ! Is that on correctly ? What is it’s purpose? My KYB’s do not have this . Anyone ?

When I did mine I found that the way up you have it works best. It basically locks the top of the plunger to the bottom of the strut cap thing with the 3 studs coming out of it.

 

You can even put it on upside down and it will work, but you can’t install your shocks without it as far as I could see. Well you could but the lip on the small part of the shaft isn’t large enough to be strong enough.

 

Does that make sense?

 

 

My old tockicos didn’t have it but the shaft was uniform and fat all the way to the top, the Konis aren’t without that spacer.

 

My guess is that the plunger shaft is a generic design used for other models and they provide the spacer to fit the Z.

 

Here’s the comparison of tockico v Koni

 

 

That’s what I thought -but wanted to make sure 

Always good to do the job the once ;)

 

BTW as I’m sure you know, that bump stop will sit nicely on the spacer of you push it all the way up.

 

Looks like I’m in the same boat with the fronts too tall for the gland nuts - 9/71

Almost didn’t get one out too! 
Well I didn’t have much hope for Zcon - but all hope is gone . Not enough time in the day 

I had one once that I couldn't get out. Even chained between two trees with a come a long

MSA is sending me different gland nuts - probably as in the previous post - chamfered so they will fit . 

Is the bottom of the insert you removed narrower than the bottom of the Koni?  To allow it to drop down lower in the tube, past the shoulder at the bottom of the hole.

Just curious about why the Konis only seem to have this problem.  

Here is a Tokico HP with the replacement KONI - noticeably different bottom configuration, looks somewhat similar to the one in madkaw's second pic. The chipped paint on the KONI is from interference with the strut bottom.