Weltmeister sway bar mounting

[Chuck Moreland]

I picked up a set of weltmeister 22 mm adjustable sway bars used, which I intend to install on my '77. My car has factory sway bars front and rear.



Trouble is the weltmeister mounting points are completely different than my car.

My front has a loop on the control arm that holds a bushing which wraps around the end of the factory sway bar. The weltmeister want to bolt on using a rod end. Nothing to bolt to. This is the through-the-body type weltmeister bar.

Pelican sells a U-tab kit that I think might be intended for my applicatoin, but from the picture it doesn't look relavent.



My rear bar connects to the trailing arm with a nylon ball/socket. Again the weltmeister wants to bolt on.

I can fabricate, but don't think I should have to.

Looking for tips from others who have done this, hopefully illustrated tips.

[Early_S_Man]

For the front ... you have to remove the control arms, cut & grind away the 'loops' ... then weld on the 'U-tabs' ... problem solved! The 'extra' pieces in the pic you posted is to reinforce the inside of the body panel where the bars pass through the fender material ...to prevent stress cracks. There was an illustrated article in Excellence a couple of years ago on the installation of a front bar on a 914 ... the procedure is the same!

The rear bar you got was for a '78 or later car with tabs on the aluminum control arms ... I have not heard of anyone modifying the '74 thru '77 control arms to use the later style bars!

[Chuck Moreland]

Okay, I can see how that u-tab kit would work on the front as a weld-on. It looks like it is intended to be bolted to the control arm. Drill a hole and drop that bolt through? I imagine either operation could be done with the arms on the car.

For the rear I might try to combine the tops from my existing drop links with the bottom of the weltmeister. May take some welding.

[911pcars]

Hi Chuck,
The drop link on the rear Weltmeister bar attaches to the spring plate, not to the factory attachment point on the control arm. The hardware usually comes with the bar. If not, you can order replacement parts from Performance Products (I'm pretty sure since they took over from Automotion). Other WM vendors may or may not carry the hardware.

One of the factory eccentric bolts is removed (I don't recall if it's the camber or toe eccentric) and replaced by the Weltmeister eccentric which has a 5/16" female thread to attach the upper drop link of the sway bar via the rod end (heim bearing) and 5/16" socket head bolt.

I've always thought this skinny bolt to be a weak point of the WM design. The rod end ID is actually 3/8", but the collars WM supplies allows the smaller bolt to work. However, my WM is still on the car and I haven't heard of any one's sway bar dropping off or have other issues besides it not being as adjustable or as expensive as the other brands (Smart Products, Charley, and others). Unless you have a dedicated track car, I think the WM works fine - with the needed adjustments for corner balancing.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars
www.seinesystems.com

[Chuck Moreland]

Thanks Sherwood.

Yes the bars did come with eccentric bolts for the rear spring plates. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with those bolts. That clears up that mystery.

I don't have experience with those other bars. My first impression is that the Weltmeisters are fairly heavy compared with the factory bars. No surprise since I got the 22mm big boys.

Are any of the other brands hollow for light weight?

[911pcars]

Chuck,
Yes, some bars are hollow. They are slightly lighter, but not light. I'd think you might choose them for other reasons (better geometry, more adjustment range, higher quality components, ease of adjustment) rather than for any significant weight savings.

Sherwood

[MMARSH]

Dang Chuck

I wish I had known you were buying some Weltmeister bars, I would of sold you mine.

[Wayne 962]

Chuck, I know you have a copy of 101 Projects - check out Projects 61 and 62. Project 62 in particular shows you how the Weltmeister bar should mount...

-Wayne

[cashflyer]

Originally posted by 911pcars

I've always thought this skinny bolt to be a weak point of the WM design. The rod end ID is actually 3/8", but the collars WM supplies allows the smaller bolt to work. However, my WM is still on the car and I haven't heard of any one's sway bar dropping off or have other issues...

Just adding my 2-cents worth. This weekend my rear WM bar failed. I found that the stud of the eccentric, where it bolts to the spring plate, had snapped off.

The bar has been on for a few years now, and I could find no catastrophic damage to the bar or drop link. Maybe it was just fatigue?

cashflyer

[89911]

Weltmeister were most like the first aftermarket bar to come out for Porsche. And most likely the reason other, better manufacturers have come out since because of there high failure rates.

[911pcars]

cashflyer,
I'm pretty sure it was fatigue as well. I lost a WM drop link and bolt awhile back due to brain fatigue (or was it fade?). I forgot to tighten them.

BTW, I want to mention:

"...and I haven't heard of any one's...... "

Since I penned that phrase a few years ago. ......

I've tried not using those terms to justify that something doesn't happen just because I haven't heard of it. It sounds like a presumption that one is the world call center for Porsche issues and solutions. I am not and few, if any, are. There, I feel much better.

Sherwood

[alf]

101 projects outlines how to mount the bar.

My WM rear sways just broke at the bolt as well. The drop link scraped the ground after a realignment. It held up for 2 years till then (street & track) and FWIW, the factory sway bar mount gave before the WM bolt did and it took contact with the curb to do it. So the WM design isn't that bad, it is an easy fix compared to the sway bar mounts.

alf