OK Im gonna try this ride height ajustment thing but I need help

[Hans Batra]

ianc,

how hard is it to remove the rocker panels and rubber moulding? crap, i didn't realize the rocker panels had to come off.

regards,
hans

[ianc]

how hard is it to remove the rocker panels and rubber moulding?

Not terribly difficult, but this will depend on the age of your car. Mine is an 87 CA car, so the sheet metal screws came out fine. On an older car in less temperate climes it could be problematic.

Not only that, but after removing these pieces, you will find them so caked with crap that you will need to spend 2 hrs. min cleaning them with a brush to get all the gunk off. This is vital to ensure the rubber moulding goes in easily when you're reinstalling. I coated all threads with antisieze and painted the rocker panel end caps as well

ianc

[ianc]

Denty,

You are sagging in the rear slightly. Just like me.

I raised the front ~ 15mm but couldn't get the nut busted on the rear locking bolt so had to put it back to where I got it. My impact wrench was a bit too bulky to fit in properly and I think I only have about 250 ft-lbs on it.

The Bentley puts these (the height adjustment locknuts) at 175 ft-lbs. It took a lot more than that to break them loose. I would jack the car up as securely as you can get it and get a pipe to put over your breaker bar. On the lift is ideal for this since you can break the nuts from below without removing the roadwheel. Easy to see the results of your changes too.

ianc

[rnln]

redcoupe86,
please come back with steps of how you do it. If I can get it, I will do it too.
Thanks.

[wcc]

I used a impact gun and held the eccentric & locking bolts with a modified Park Tool. I used a pair of vice grips to hold the Park Tool to the Spring Plate so I didn't have to hold it. Then hit the nuts with the impact gun and they came right off. I removed the four bolts that hold in the torsion bar and removed that cap. Then I pulled out the torsion bar and re-indexed them until I achieved the angle I was trying to get. I didn't have to remove the little panel or the rocker to re-index mine. All the work I did was inside the wheel well.

If you are REPLACING your TB with bigger ones or whatever then the access panel and rocker parts will have to be removed as stated above.

When I reinstalled everything I tightened everything down tight but not to 175ft/lbs. The alignment shop has to loosen and tighten these back down to set your alignment anyways. Make them TIGHT and you'll be fine to drive to the alignment shop.

Good Luck!

[widebody911]

My own .002 cents

• Yes, buy the ride height adjusting tool
• If you plan on having the alignment done by a non-Porsche specific shop, buy or make a long (4" or so) 12mm Allen socket and lend it to them, so they don't munge the eccentric bolts by trying to use an SAE wrench on them.
• Find a shop that can do the alignment before you get started.
• after the alignment, double check to make sure the socket jockey really got everything tight.
• this is a good "while you're in there" opportunity to replace your suspension bushings.
• set the adjustable spring plates to the middle of their range before you re-index the bars.
• I like to weld the head of the toe adjusting bolt to the spring plate, so I don't have to use a wrench on the back side.
• Check out http://www.rennlight.com/howto/torsion/index.html
• Splurge the $5 for the magnetic protractor - you only live once!
• put a little grease between the spring plate halves

Wow, that's a lot of rake!

Originally posted by dentist90

[911pcars]

I'm lazy. I don't think the shock bolts have to come off.

After the spring plate hangs free with no rotation interference from torsion bar cover bolts, etc., place a reference mark between the spring plate and control arm so you have a reference point from which to adjust or return to. Use a floor jack under the control arm to realign everything when reassembling.

Sherwood