Too much bad luck - down on my knees - need help....

This morning I went out to the garage. Opened the gate and saw something bad, very bad. My 911 has collapsed at the front end. It's so low that something serious must have gone wrong. Yesterday everything was fine. I can't get my head in a see what's wrong. There isn't enough room - yes it's REALLY low now.

I know this will cost me a lot. What might be the problem???? Could it be my A-arms that have collapsed? The shocks are only 10 months old. Could any other parts cause this?

This problem comes at the worst possible time. I still have the problem with the engine cutting out at 3600 rpms (no idea why?) And to make matters even worse I also have problems with the tax people who try to charge me tax for the same money twice. I just can't take any more bad luck now

Please Warren, Roland and the rest of you Porsche geniuses. I need any hint that you might be able to give.

[turbo dave]

Hmm, strange. Are both sides drooping the same amount? It seems almost inconceivable to me that both suspensions would fail at the same time, unless the stress caused by one side failing caused the other to give way in a similarly weakened area.

Some ideas: corrosion on the adjusting bolts, causing them to fail? Front suspension support pan corroding/collapsing? Flat tires?

[AirCooledExcellence]

Broken torsion bar???

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

The drivers side is the lowest. (If only I had a digital camera).

I will look for the obvious but in order to gain access I'll have to raise the car on a jack.

[dickster]

mikkel

is it drivable??

imho, you need to jack the car up and get underneath. something as severe as you are describing will be obvious.

i also thought it strange that both sides have dropped.

items to check are torsion bars (both???), area around adjusting bolts, shocks, etc.

let us know how you go, good luck.

I can't drive the car. If I turn the steering wheel the front wheels will be stopped by the fenders.

What I don't understand is that I have felt no warnings prior to this. The car felt absolutely normal last time I drove it. Anyway it's good that this didn't happen as I was doing 180 km/h....

[Sean Hamilton]

Originally posted by Mikkel
it's good that this didn't happen as I was doing 180 km/h....

Too right, Mikkel! Crikey
Lift the bonnet. What do your tower mounts tell you?

[Oldporsche]

What are you driving?

In the olden days of yore, the 911E's with the hydropneumatic front suspension would have such failures.

One could drive it into the garage in the evening and find one of the front corners practically on the ground the next morning.


Good luck,
David Duffield

[rcilurso]

This happened on the rear corner of a car the local P mech had in his garage. Called the owner to come pick it up and when he came they opened the door and the car was sitting on the ground. Torsion bar just snapped. He said he never saw that happen before and he really couldn't believe it. Dunno if that's your problem, it sounds like it, and I just wanted to let you know it does happen, as strange as it sounds.

[Joeaksa]

Mikkel,

Had the same thing happen. One torsion bar in the front snapped without warning. Car was high enough I could drive it straight but no turns. Took it to the garage and we switched the bar out and it worked fine...

Maybe time to upgrade to stiffer bars?

Joe

[Chuck Moreland]

Not to worry.

There are only a couple of things that could cause that and neither are tough to fix. You just need to get under there and look.

Either you have a snapped tbar or one of your tbar caps has come off. Both are easy fixes.

The only other choice would be massive rust and if I remember you car is too new for that.

Have a look and keep us updated.

[Glasgow 911SC]

Hopefully just the torsion bars.

Good luck!

Hmm one thing that I have noticed is that the front wheels don't point straight ahead when the steering wheel does? Also it almost looks as if the left front wheel points straight ahead and the right front wheel points slightly to the right...?

What tell tale signs should I look for at the towers in the front compartment? (Can't see any cracks or obvious signs of broken parts). Regarding the torsion bars; if they break, will they then crack in two?

I'm trying to get a nice and helpful mechanic to help me with this. You know "moonshine work" as we say here in Denmark. Unfortunately he's very busy this week... He says it sounds like a broken torsion bar.

[Adam]

Mikkel,

Did you end up getting it fixed? Let us know what it was/could have been?

[Wayne 962]

Surely sounds like a broken torsion bar. $500 for a new pair, and you should be good to go. Also get a copy of 101 Projects, and replace them yourself. (Project 64)

-Wayne

[72SMFI]

Ah the ol tax man gotch ya And the Porsche Gods are giving you grief. I got a set of front Tbars off of my S cant remember the size but it stock 72S you pay shipping they all yours!! Wayne, :Needing to make them P gods happy:

I think it's likely the left torsion bar, but I haven't had the car up on a lift yet. Since you say that it's not that complicated to replace I'm somewhat calmer now. I will rely on the Porsche mechanic's help since I'm not a DIY kind of guy (I often break more than I fix when trying to DIY)

When I know exactly what the problem is I'll post it here.

[RatBoy4]

Alright then, Keep us updated...

[glickster]

mikkel,

You sounded so dejected and frustrated, I hope everything is looking a little bit brighter for you now.

Well I was frustrated. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong (other things beside the tax and car also). All at once. I can take problems, but that many at one time....No thanks.

Luckily I think I can solve my problems with the tax people... If not there'll be no money left to fix the car for.