75 911 questions

brents42gpw · 03-11-2013, 09:19 AM

just recently got my 75 911 back on the road. and had a couple questions. I need to know how I would tell if my shocks are bad. one indicator is when I go over a bump I do hear a loud clunk in the front and back. the car has sat for years and I am suspecting so. also I need to get the owners manual out. I need to figure the heat out. or have someone close to do that. lots of levers. it does have heat and I am very greatful for that. lastly the previous owner told me that when I turn the radio on. the antenna should immediately go up. and it does not. I have check the fuse. seems good. any thoughts? oh. and the horn just started working well kind of. I really do appreciate this site. and hope to get the hang of my car soon. I try to drive it every day. which is hard up here in north idaho

brent

CountD · 03-11-2013, 10:11 AM

You will need all new shocks (rear) and strut inserts on the front. Did you get the rubber brake lines (inexpensive) replaced when you got the rest of the work done? If you didn't, you need to do that now before you continue to drive it. They are probably 37 years old. I pulled all four of mine last week and I cannot believe how bad they were - they were almost all the way closed.

The suspension on my car, like yours, is 37 years old - so with that I have taken to replace both before I even drive it. The rear shocks are relatively inexpensive - you can find them used but you should buy them new at Pelican and save yourself the hassle.

You now see that getting it running is only part of the picture and the more you drive it the more you will find out what needs to be done. Unfortunately spending more money is part of this game and an old car is never really ever done.

brents42gpw · 03-11-2013, 10:34 AM

yes count. Indeed all the lines have been replaced. as well as all fluids new brakes and tons of other stuff. tires fuel tank etc. I spent a lot on it. but it is awesome and I drive it all the time

brent

Craig_D · Craig_D's Garage

Brent, the suspension clunk you hear may not be the shocks/struts, but one of a number of suspension components and their connections with the chassis. I would replace or have your shocks/struts serviced, but for the clunk, here are the things I would check first:

upper strut towers
rear shock connections (upper and lower)
rear sway bar end links
front wheel bearings
tie rods
rear wheel bearings
spring plate bolts

The next level of things to check, and which should be replaced at this point (if they've never been replaced);

Front:
A arm bushings
A arm ball joint
strut top bushings
steering rack rubber and bearings
tie rods and ball joints
front hub bearings
sway bar bushings
torsion bar (possibly...they do get old)

Rear:
spring plate bushings
trailing arm bushings
rear wheel bearings
torsion bar (possibly...they do get old)
sway bar bushings
sway bar end links

It's the kind of thing where you can chase problems from aged components all around the car and become frustrated, or, save up and bite the bullet. I collected the parts over half a year, and then attacked my car as a full project. When I'm done, there won't/shouldn't be anything that causes me trouble.

Hope that helps.

schumicat · 03-11-2013, 10:48 AM

to test shocks push down with all your weight on each corner and let go, if it only rebounds 1-2 times and settles the shocks are probably ok (but really could stand replacing if that old). if it bounces more than that they are probably dead. clunking could be lots of things (rubber bushings in shock mounts or sway bars, etc.).

Dodge Man · Dodge Man's Garage

I replaced the struts first thing on my 73 back in 85. Boing, boing, boing when hitting the in the street gutters here in SoCal. At the time, I still needed other components too but struts & shocks kept it in the road. As mentioned above, check the rebound static and the rolling rebound fell against other sports cars. Best of Luck.

brents42gpw · 03-12-2013, 06:19 AM

I appreciate all the help on my car. other then the clunnk here and there. it drives and handles amazingly well. even at highway speeds this things is so smooth and handles increadable. just about as good as my dodge 3500. I will take it back to richard and have him look it over again. I am pretty darn happy with my purchase

Craig_D · Craig_D's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by brents42gpw

it drives and handles amazingly well. even at highway speeds this things is so smooth and handles increadable. just about as good as my dodge 3500.

If it handles "just about as good as" your Dodge 3500, I think you need a full suspension workover!

It should handle a little better than that.

J/K

brents42gpw · 03-13-2013, 08:10 AM

these new trucks drive like a dream craig.. lol

7T7911s · 03-13-2013, 08:53 AM

I spent a month and a lot of money chasing a "thump".
turned out to be a can of soup in the smuggler box.
It must have got in during a trip home from the grocery store.
How the lid got closed i'll never know.

kenny

47silver · 47silver's Garage

Check the ball joints, they will cause a loud clunk

brents42gpw · 03-13-2013, 02:30 PM

a can of soup? that is a good one. how much money did that cost ya..
I am going to get it looked at before I throw tons of parts into it.

brent

BMWTom · BMWTom's Garage

Brent,

I might have mentioned this before, but I almost bought that car last summer. Congratulations-I'm glad that you have it back on the road (okay, I'm a little envious...but I have a Porsche project already).

I've been putting Bilstein shocks all around on all of my sports cars over the last few years. It makes a huge difference in the handling performance of any sports car.

Good luck with your 911.

NeedSpace · NeedSpace's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by brents42gpw

just recently got my 75 911 back on the road. and had a couple questions. I need to know how I would tell if my shocks are bad. one indicator is when I go over a bump I do hear a loud clunk in the front and back. the car has sat for years and I am suspecting so. also I need to get the owners manual out. I need to figure the heat out. or have someone close to do that. lots of levers. it does have heat and I am very greatful for that. lastly the previous owner told me that when I turn the radio on. the antenna should immediately go up. and it does not. I have check the fuse. seems good. any thoughts?
brent

Heat, I think your 75 is similar to mine. Here is my idiots guide to the heat controls. Bottom line, top 2 controls do outside cold air, bottom does hot engine air. The 1 or 2 knobs between seats, raise those up if you want to open heat exchanger vents and starts heat blower motor on top left of engine.
1976 911S – from garage find to on the road

As far as the power antenna, mine is not power. Try pulling it up, if it is power it won't come up. You can also look in the wheel well to see if there is a power component to it, the are fairly large.

brents42gpw · 03-17-2013, 08:33 AM

were good on the antenna. turns out it is manual. I will check out that link on the heat. I had a porsche guy in my car yesterday and he showed me a little on the lowere controlls were for ac. which I removed from the car. but it still blows cold.. I know its still winter up here lol I have almost 400 miles on the car since I have had it back righ around 10 days. almost everything is working properly on the car. I am in love with it. just got to diagnose the headlghts. and you all have helped me with a link to do that. just reporting back that I love driving the car. can't get enough of it.

brent

brents42gpw · 03-17-2013, 03:09 PM

I did notice today where my fog lights button was. I didnt' know they pull out. so the green one on the left is a mystery still. also on my tach the little screw below the vdo sign backed out. how hard is that going to be to screw back in? I am assuming the cover has to come off. I don't even know why it came off.