Everything Elka and How They Compare

I've got the 650#x14.01" (C11.6X356) coils that came with it...but then again I didn't have the extra weight of the steel skid plates, hybrid steel bumper and winch up front when I placed my order. I noticed they also make a 750# set of springs, as well as various range of weight on a 15.98" length coil.

 

If you ask them, I think they can do just about any weight/length combo. I had them put 600lb 14" (C10.7x356) on mine. I get a full 3" of lift at 3/4" of preload (1" on driver side) set from the factory. That's with a gen 2 DCLB with no extra weight on the front.

 

It's been awhile. I have some updates. I would like to preface that I have only have had my elka suspension installed for 1 year 3 months.

I have been chasing a front end clunk which I am sure is coming from my elka 2.0 2-3" front coilovers (with the 11.6x356 springs). Steel skids, steel rock rails, no bumper, no winch, Sherpa rack, two 1750 pelican cases with recovery gear. Truck clunks/knocks in the front on both sides when tire drops into a hole.

I am on my 3rd set of SPC uppers. First set was both ball joints and xAxis joints, second set failed less than 2 months later (xAxis joints excessive play) and my current set has movement in the ball joints. I do not wheel my truck hard. Light trails and FSR's only. It is my daily. I used moly grease.

Had driver's side coilover rebuilt by KRave 5 months ago. It was leaking pretty bad. It is leaking again, started 2 months after being rebuilt. Sphericals were shot 10 months after suspension was installed. Parts provided under warranty by KRave, installed by 4 Wheel Auto $335.

Truck is going back to KRave Friday. Elka is replacing both front coilovers under warranty. Will see if the clunk/knock goes away finally.

 

Please keep us posted. Dealing with the same situation exactly. I ditched my spc for a set of Dobinson thinking it was the axis bushing but didn’t fix the clunk. GL.

 

Damn, I am sorry to hear that switching UCA's did not rectify your issue. After the new coilovers go on, if I still had the clunk I would've also gone to dobinson UCA's. Thank you for informing us this didn't work.

 

I applaud you for being this patient. Did Elka not offer to take in the shocks to rebuild them?

 

Pretty sure they're directing us to authorized service dealer(s), so State-side it's one shop in Ohio/West Virginia area...but like sourcing sphericals and misalignment spacers some of us are able to source them directly from Elka, others are directed to the authorized dealers (who have to turn around and source them from Elka, who then shipped them directly to me?!?).

That's what I've personally experienced and/or witnessed on this thread.

 

The one shock has already been rebuilt once and requires another rebuild. I both purchased and had the entire suspension installed at KRave (which is three and a half hours away from me). Last I spoke with Elka I was directed to KRave, an authorized distributor for Elka.

All of this for shocks that seem to be making this clunk sound that sure acts like it is the coilovers hitting an internal limiter within the shocks or to that effect. Both front coilovers do it.

The spherical debacle is another beast entirely. Seeing as I have already experienced problems with leaks and creaking sphericals while babying this truck, I have nearly lost all faith in Elka products given the price I paid for these. Perhaps I got a "bad batch" similar to my 3 sets of SPC uppers (which were all different batch numbers spanning over 11 months).

SPC must wonder if I'm like, jumping this truck daily or something. The UCA failures are part of the reason I have had to be so patient with diagnosing my coilover issues, as I did not know if it was just the UCA's going awry again.

 

I suppose I count myself as one of the lucky ones living 3.5h from an Elka dealer who also stocks parts. I cannot imagine trying to handle what I have experienced if I lived in the US.

 

A rebuild is comprised mostly of new seals, so replacing them with the same seals I would expect the same results. Thats sorta why I was curious if Elka wanted the shocks in their hands to investigate further. Could be more to the story. Hopefully the new set don't have these issues. Fingers crossed for you!

 

I'm fortunate that the dealer is about 6.5hrs drive for me.

 

Have also a front end clunk with my 2.0 Elkas which drives me nuts. So decided today to look for the culprit and it’s the sway bar touching the coils at a small spot. Have the relocates installed which came with the shocks but doesn’t clear it completely. Since I drive a lot of highway I don’t want to remove the sway bar.

 

Not saying this isn’t your issue but mine clunked/pop without and with the sway bar. It made no difference.

 

I have something similar.
But I found that my neoprene coil covers have a little hole in them. It's from the brake line mount on the spindle.

 

Been meaning to send both my rear shocks in to get serviced for months. Where the line for the remote reservoir connects to the shock has been leaking since I got them a year and a half ago. It isn’t a visible dripping leak but you can see where it’s damp and the dirt accumulates

 

Here are some pictures. The brake line mount on the spindle get close the shock when moving up and down.






Don't mind the icon logo... for some reason I forgot to reverse the covers. I'll fix it when I put my winter tires on.

 

Has anyone had their top O-ring come out?
I will try to put it back in before taking it all apart...

 

Same thing happened to me on all my o-rings. Fixed under warranty. I think you need new o-rings, they get crushed when they do that. Did you adjust your shocks with the wrench?

 

That o-ring design is terrible. I didn't adjust mine with a wrench when the o-rings squeezed out. 6 months on my Elkas when it happened.

 

I adjusted the preload right off the bat and never touched them again.
I will push them in and contact Krave. I am also going to talk to them about the SPC warranty.

Thanks for the info!