front suspension overhaul

JimDog · 07-19-2002, 11:36 AM

I've got a '71 911T with approx 128K miles on it. I'm fairly certain that none of the front suspension components have ever been replaced.

I know for a fact that the ball joints and tie rods are shot, so I'm planning to start with new ball joints and the turbo tie rod kit. What else should I consider replacing while I'm in there though? Bushings? Torsion bars? Shocks?

Thanks,

-j

Jim Sims · 07-20-2002, 06:22 AM

If your car has a front sway bar then there are rubber bushings associated with it that likely warrant replacing. Also, if your front strut inserts (shocks) are original or have 40,000 to 50,000 miles on them they probably need to be replaced too. The front A-arm rubber bushings are also probably "shot" but the only sure way to replace them is to replace the entire A-arm (~$700 for parts for two arms) unless you want to go to the hard plastic replacement bushings. If you use the plastic bushings, the suspension will be harsher ( in some people's opinion way too harsh) and they will squeak unless you also add grease fittings to periodically regrease them. Torsion bars should be removed, checked and any corrosion cleaned up and paint restored. Finally if you are doing all this; also remove the steering rack, take it apart, clean it and regrease it. Cheers, Jim

Joeaksa · 07-20-2002, 06:32 AM

Jim,

You might want to look here:

Suspension bushing, the right way

Lots of good info and ideas here! Agree with the rest that Jim said about shocks and such. As long as you are that deep in the suspension, might as well do it right, especially on a car that old.

Joe

Chuck Moreland · 07-20-2002, 06:42 AM

You can be sure the control arm bushings are shot. And as a result of worn bushings, your tbars may be damaged. Only way to tell is pull them out and look. If they have been rubbing against the control arm they may be physically damaged. If the wear is significant, the spring rate will change. This is why tbars rust, the paint wears away and the rust begins.

You can get the hard plastic bushings that Jim mentions. You can also get a "street hardness" which is more compliant but still harder than stock. Both of those bushing types need to be custom fitted (sized on a lathe) to work properly and should have zirk fittings installed. Failure to custom fit properly is the cause of most squeaking. You can also have OEM type bushings put on by SmartRacing, maybe others too.

phaques · 01-21-2003, 01:38 PM

I dove into the front suspension of my 1979 SC with 105,000 miles without fully intending to get so involved. Planned on upgrading to stiffer torsion bars, but while I was down there I found that the control arms and brackets and all associated hardware looked pretty rusty and grubby, so I would up taking it all apart and replacing all the bushings, blasting and re-painting all the parts. Also found tie rods had dents in them, so I went with turbo tie rod upgrade as well. A brief chronicle of my travails here might prove humorous/helpful. I'm not done re-assembling, so I'll follow this up with posts later.

Tie rods: Tie rod end to strut housing separation wound up being difficult. I had to pound away with alarming force with the big fat hammer to separate the tapered fitting from the strut housing. (Question - can you screw up your steering rack by hammering on thes e joints with too much force?). Was able to unscrew tie rods from steering rack by bending the tie rod down and using it as its own lever.

Ball Joints: Twenty four years in place, these things did NOT want to come off. Tried the castellated nut removal tool with an impact wrench - no luck. Tried the breaker bar with the full length handle from my floor jack slid on to the end, creating about a five foot lever, with no luck. Bent the handle an a pipe wrench using the same jack handle. Finally went and bought the dremel tool and cut through the castellated nut, and then chiselled it off. Didn't expect to have a hard time removing the ball joint from the strut housing, but this was also extremely difficult - had to use the big fat fork and pound the living daylights out of the ball joint, destroying it, to get it out.

911nut · 911nut's Garage

Use liberal amounts of PB Blaster on such components like the wedge bolt, ball joint shaft to strut housing and the ball joint retaining nut.
Still, with all that I had to cut one retaining nut with the Dremel.
I was told by Steve Weiner that ball joints don't usually wear out but if the rubber boot is breached then water ingress will destroy them. Check yours and you may possibly save $100.

Randy Webb · 01-21-2003, 03:36 PM

You need to replace all the bushings -- and not just the front, but the rear also. It's not the mileage -- after many years the wt. resting on the rear rubber bushings kills them. Use rubber for street use, poly or brass for track. Contact Neatrix and peruse the color catalogs for diagrams.

phaques · 01-26-2003, 10:41 AM

Re-assembly...
Got my bushings and grease in the mail, and proceeded to re-assemble both control arms with their new poly-carbonate bushings and brackets. Right side installed on car (photos to follow at some point, when I can figure out how to make them smaller) and the fit was quite good. None of chuck's issues with out of round brackets. Not true, however, on the driver's side (where, for some reason, all fasteners and hardware seeem to be more heavily corroded and generally difficult to separate and re-install.....). The bushings were difficult to get into the brackets (both), and now that the control arm is back in place, it seems QUITE

phaques · 01-26-2003, 10:48 AM

(OOPS) difficult to move. Not binding, really, but very stiff.

While I was waiting for final parts, I took the control arms, brackets, and hardware to get them blasted clean, brought them home and painted all non-bearing surfaces with one coat primer, two coats "Cast Blast", and two coats of clear coat. They looked so pretty when they were done, I brought them up to the kitchen to show my wife whose only comment was to re-affirm that these parts do go underneath the car where no one will ever see them and where they will immediately become covered in grime again. (Some people just don't get it.....) Again, pictures to follow.

A side line question: despite careful searching of the BBS, I can't find a truly good method for measuring caster....anybody have the answer?

Also, in efforts to find a reasonable way to align the car when it is done, I ran across the following tool which looks perfect (have not used it yet). mytoolstore.com

more to follow...

surflvr911sc · surflvr911sc's Garage

I like the way you think...

You need a good alignment guy who can corner balance her for you too. Post your location and I'm sure someone will give you a recommendation. Good Luck!

phaques · 01-26-2003, 06:03 PM

Whoa!! EVERYTHING under there looks clean!

I bought a laser incline measuring level for the alignment, and the deco corner weight checker to try and do all this myself. We'll see how that goes....

How did you treat the hardware to prevent rust? I painted mine, but I'm not happy with that- changes the dimensions, and scrapes off when you tighten them down. I was considering painting them once in place....

Speedy1 · Speedy1's Garage

I just finished installing the new bilstien
sports, love the ride, however I need a shop in pasadena area to ballance and alighn. Can any one give me a quality place to go? Thanks for the help.

surflvr911sc · surflvr911sc's Garage

Speedy1- Darin at West End Alignment in Gardena is awsome. I drive 70 miles to have him do my C/B & alignments and it is well worth the drive. I would have anyone else do it. I can get you his number tonight if you would like it.

Quote:

How did you treat the hardware to prevent rust? I painted mine, but I'm not happy with that- changes the dimensions, and scrapes off when you tighten them down. I was considering painting them once in place....

I didn't do anything special to the hardware for rust treatment. I just cleaned everything up real good and used anti-seize on the treads.