Broken Rear Sway Bar Mount?

[Por_sha911]

Looks like its cracked. The bolt is coming out as well. I have no welding equipment or knowledge and the wrench is about 20 miles away. What do you suggest? Weld or replace? Is it safe to drive it if I go easy?

[Por_sha911]

[ischmitz]

Porsche makes reinforced mounts. Our host has them for about 80$. You need someone good with a welder to take the old ones off and install the new ones.

It is no big issue to drive in this condition. Older cars didn't even have rear sway bars and my 3.6 Targa still doesn't have one. In fact most people don't even notice much of a difference in handling when one mount breaks and it goes unoticed for a long time.

Ingo

[Por_sha911]

Is this fixable or is it better to replace it? Would I be better off taking it to a Porche mechanic with the parts in hand or would I hack him off for buying the part in advance? Anything else I should do while I'm there?

[ischmitz]

I would go for the reinforced mounts no matter what. The older mount style was simply weak. It's a comon problem. I don't think you'll be able to fix the old mounts permantly.

You can check your local Porsche garage and ask what they would charge for the repair including the updated mounts. If it's something rediculus I would find a skilled welder and buy the parts here.

ingo

[krichard]

I noticed I had one broken swaybar mount just like yours when I was lowering my car earlier this year. Who knows how long I drive on it like that but to tell you the truth I didn't notice a difference after I replaced both swaybar mounts. I wouldn't be to worried about driving on it in the current state but would replace both mounts when you get a chance with the reinforced ones.

[SteveF_911]

This is what happens when you drive with a broken rear mount.



It will not hurt the car, but it may affect your lap times a bit. Best to replace them with the reinforced ones.

[Jerome Ryals]

Joe, you may want to consider putting some type of temporary clamp around that side of the sway bar and the torsion tube just in case it breaks all the way through. I would hate for that side to drop down (I don't really think it would but there are strange things done in the midnight sun) and you hit something on the road creating a bigger problem. Just a thought for you to consider. Jerome

[89911]

Just take if off, buy two new upgraded replacements, and have a good body shop remove and weld both of them in. Driving without one is fine.

[IROC]

I broke one of my mounts almost ten years ago at Road Atlanta and drove all the way home (about 4 hours) with the bar hanging loose on one side. No problem.

Also, not knowing any better at the time, I simply had my stock mount re-welded. I haven't had a problem with it since, nor has the other one given me any problems. I have a theory that the stock sway bar mounts are more prone to failure with stock torsion bars as they allow more wheel travel and therefore higher loads on the mount. I upgraded my torsion bars right after my mount failed and have never had another problem.

Mike

[tops911]

Can the stock mounts be reenforced with the kit like Smart Racing sells or should the stock mounts be replaced?

[Wavey]

My driver's side mount broke, and I replaced both of my original mounts with the improved part. One of them broke again within several thousand miles. I replaced them both again and added the Smart Racing kits. No problems so far. This is more a problem on the driver's side. Ok to drive with a broken mount - it won't come down and hit the road.

[Rick Lee]

This happened on my Carrera too. Stock mounts suck! When driving over bumpy surfaces, I could hear the sway bar bouning up and down. It was annoying. Dr. Timmins has a homemade kit for this - materials were about $3 from Home Depot and $75 or $100 for his welding work. In the end they were super reinforced, much stronger and much cheaper than the stock mounts. Maybe check with him on this. Might as well replace them both. Stock Carrera mounts will break - not if, when.

[Schrup]

I just upgraded to Carrera sways & I'm taking it to the mechanic to have them reenforced. I'm thinking he is going to use some steel stock. I cleaned all the undercoating off around them to save myself some money. I personally think the bigger mounts are too expensive.

[Por_sha911]

I'm going to hijack my own thread!
Doesn't your mechanic have a problem with BYOP (bringing your own parts)? I'm a little concerned that if I walk in with the parts they will not be so accommodating the next time I call for an appointment (or they'll jack up my labor bill). What say ye?

[vash]

i would check with the mechanic first. i got both answers from two different bay area shops. but neither guy was rude about it or anything. i know the parts you carry in, will not be under warranty or anything.

[MichiganMat]

Timmins reinforcement is a 15 minute job with a welder and some steel stock. Any welder with a grinder and a floor jack could do that for pennies on the dollar, no need to buy 160 bucks worth of parts for a 5 dollar fix.

I swear, cars are such a racket sometimes. I should go into business as an automobile healer: Have a motor or electrical gremlin? Come over to my holy shrine, I'll put on the sacred robe and sprinkle some magic fairy dust (premium german quality dust!) on it to make sure it doesn't happen again. Only $99.99!!!

[Por_sha911]

I ain't lettin' no fairy near my car, dust or no dust!

[Paul Franssen]

POOF the magic dragon

[Por_sha911]

Well, I checked with my body shop guy (he builds custom rods) and he said he would personally do the work. He feels its better to start with a new mount. Ordered it from our kind hosts. Sigh. I think I've finally licked the hunting idle problem (I probably will need a new O2 sensor) and as I'm taking the car out after the valve adjustment, I found that the stabilizer bar mount cracked while it was up in the air. Prayerfully after I get this done, I can actually enjoy driving my car instead of just fixing it.
In the meantime, is the price of 93 octane starting to scare any of you guys out
there?