Ongoing Equinox Coil Ear Breakage Issue

[Joe D.]

Good find Pimento,

   You may be on to something! If ML is experimenting with the formulations, than I give them credit for at least trying to fix the problem, without a mold change! That would be the least expensive solution, if it works!! 

   Since we last visited this post, I have come to believe that their coil bolts are partly to blame! I have begun to alter them in different ways, to make them less likely to put too much pressure on the coil ears! And because I have several in reserve to use up!

   They can also be replaced with other brands/types to accomplish the same result!👍👍

 

[PimentoUK]

I had pondered the effect of the bolt, especially the large head size.

What made me largely discount it was my thoughts on the Fisher F75 etc coil fixing arrangement, with the 11" x 7" bi-axial coil.
I think those coil ears are not ideal. The tapered reinforcing ribs are OK, except they should NOT be tapered where the bolt/nut head sits, as the taper causes the bolt to bend significantly as it passes through the ears/clevis. I machined down my ribs to give a flat bolt/nut surface.
Back to the Eqx - Clearly the bolt on that will bend easily, too, so ears that are bent inwards will not be a issue.  You won't get much problem with excessive force being concentrated on the lower part of the ear, for example, because the bolt head will twist to align with the coil ear.

However .. if you fancy some experimentation, here's an idea:
Make a thin rubber washer the size of the bolt-head. Make a plastic washer to sit above it. Repeat for the other ear. Fit the pair under the bolt/nut head, rubber against the ear. This will allow more load-spreading.
Thin rubber could be salvaged from a bicycle inner-tube.

[Joe D.]

    That's the beauty of us brainstorming Pimento!! We (forum members) will always get it figured out, with or without, the manufacturers help!👍👍

 

[Kiwi RU]

I have a set of Ukraine CF shafts which had round rubber washers on the shaft unlike the ML ones. Talked to a dealer on his thoughts about what caused the ears to break,his thoughts were the rubber wears slightly and allows the the ears to bend in when tightened. On my shaft I have thrown away the rubber ones and replaced them with plastic washers that don’t compress and don’t seem to wear. These are a neat fit between the coil ears and require very little pressure to hold the coil firm. Have been using this system for several months now with no problems.

[rvpopeye]

More info ,,,and any pics ? 

What kind of plastic ?

[Kiwi RU]

Plastic is about 3mm thick,cut it out of a sheet with a hole saw,not sure how to describe the plastic but would say medium hard. Packed it out with some thin plastic sheet till it was a close fit in the coil slot,put a tiny  blob of glue to hold it all from falling out.