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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lacey, WA. USA
Posts: 25,308
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It would seem to me that if a front torsion bar were snapped, then the adjusting bolts would not be pressing tight against the pads. As suggested above, sit on the corners of the car. If a shock were frozen, the suspension would be very stiff on that corner.
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Man of Carbon Fiber (stronger than steel) Mocha 1978 911SC. "Coco" |
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Diss Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SC - (Aiken in the 'other' SC)
Posts: 5,022
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My idea of a quick and dirty way to tell if the problem is from or rear is to jack up each side of the car, one side at a time, so it barely lifts both wheels and measure the fender heights at the front and rear. look and see if the front or rear compress more on the bad side. That should tell you which end is having the problem.
BTW, driving really hard without the rear antiroll bar can be entertaining. I always wondered how much the inside front was picking up. ![]() Wayne
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- "Speed kills! How fast do you want to go?" - anon. - "If More is better then Too Much is just right!!!" - Mad Mac Durgeloh -- Wayne - 87 Carrera coupe -> The pooch. |
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Wayne, Just some clarifications on the aforementioned procedure. I take it I have to jack up one side of the car until the wheels just clear the floor. How do I measure the fender heigths? is it from the floor to the fender lip, and on the same side of the car that is being jacked up or the opposite side? Also, I take it that what I'm looking for is for one of the heigts to be off from the others. Thanks
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Registered
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Galivants Ferry, SC
Posts: 10,550
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Wait a minute !!!....
Did anyone notice Reuben saying that the rear wheel sits further forward on one side of the car compared to it's companion on the other side ?? --Is the wheelbase the same on both sides?? ---- Wil Ferch ---eek !
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Wil Ferch 85 Carrera ( gone, but not forgotten ) |
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Wil, I raised the rear of the car and took the wheels off. I found out that one of the alignment bolts (the one closer to the brake caliper) was loose on the rear driver side suspension arm (same side where the sway bar bracket broke). I am not sure if this is the problem but I re-tightened it and compared some of the dimensions against the passenger side rear dimensions. They appear to be close. I will mount the wheels tomorrow ant take her for a spin to see if it makes a difference.
Ruben |
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Diss Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SC - (Aiken in the 'other' SC)
Posts: 5,022
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Quote:
I think that requiring the wheelbase to be identical to the naked eye is a bit anal. How else are you supposed to get the correct quantity of wedge dialed in for all of them there left turns? ![]() Jeeze, that was an important detail. Seriously though. With the adjuster coming loose you HAVE to have the car aligned and corner balanced. You can't eyeball it. Wayne |
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Here is some additional info after having adjusted and tightened the loose alignment bolt (I adjusted it to be symmetrical with the other side). The problem still persists after having driven the car this morning. Let me know if this points to any potential root cause.
1) When I raised the rear of the car by placing the jack underneath the center of the engine case, the left (driver side) torsion bar cover cleared one of the equally extended jack stands, whereas it required another 1/2 inch of lift to clear the jack stand for the rear driver side torsion bar. The floor is level. 2) When the car is up on the jack stands the driver side suspension is 1/4 inch lower than the passenger side suspension (measured from center of brake disc to upper fender lip. 3) There is oil that has been leaking from the thermostat (I replaced an oil line recently when I added SSIs) and is covering the torsion bar cover with oil. I will be re-tightening this now. Don't know if oil can get in and affect torsion bar. 4) About a month ago I recall changing lanes in a road that was under construction an taking a approximately 3" drop at speed. I did not think it was a big deal then. This may have caused the sway bar bracket to shear and possibly the torsion bar to slip or break. My next step is to remove the rear torsion bars and inspect. Any other ideas are appreciated. Thanks Ruben |
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Registered
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Brighton UK since 11/2012
Posts: 3,170
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Why would you need to remove the torsion bars? If they are broken the car will have a severe height difference and the suspension on the affected wheel will be on the bump stop. 1/4" difference is well within Porsche 10mm tolerance. What you need to do is take the car to a good alignment shop. If the rear suspension is misaligned, the steering wheel will not be central. One or so hours of labor at the alignment shop will determine the EXACT problem rather than "looking" for non-existant faults.
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From November 2012; Precision Porsche Specialist Sussex UK, +44 (0)1825-721-205 2001-2012 Gerber Motorsport Inc. 206-352-6911 07.15.06 1996 Ducati 900SP. Suprisingly enough, it's red 08.16.09 1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100. Green. |
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Redondo Beach, CA
Posts: 542
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Quote:
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Oil on the torsion bar shouldn't cause any problems, in fact it can help inhibit corrosion. I don't think it's a snapped torsion bar as the car would sit against the stops on that side (or at least EASILY hit the stop on that side). Not much in new ideas but maybe helping to rule out some existing ones? Good luck!
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-Todd '89 930, '97 TLC (Toyota Land Cruiser), '96 T-100pick-em-up '95 BMW R100 GSPD (gone but not forgotten), '07 BMW R1200GSA |
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