Ride height

[Silveresrty911S]

OK, I'm going to do it. Planning on lowering my car Sunday and still trying to gather info on the procedure. I've done alot of searching here and rennlist and still have some questions. I know the lower shock bolts come off, do the rear sway bars need to be unbolted also? I'm planning on the Neatrix bushing replacement and re-indexing the torsion bars so I can get down to 25" from 26" as it sits now. I've got the protractor with the dial gauge on it and know i'm suppose to be around 37.5 degrees when the car is level and the spring plates are hanging.
Is there a particular post someone could lead me to to print to get some more info? T.I.A.
I know, get 4 wheel alignment.
Rick

[maxnine11]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_suspension_bushings/911_suspension_bushings.htm this and the Bentley manual helpede me,...later, max

[Silveresrty911S]

Max,

Thanks that is just what I was looking for, good pics and article.

Rick

[Mike M]

Rick...try this site,it really helped me alot..
www.vintagebus.com/howto/torsion
Cheers
Mike

[RoninLB]

I compared the fender height measurement to the real height measurements.. the info is in the factory manual.. then I knew my tub wasn't twisted or factory imperfect.. I use a 3ft wooden ruller and a level to get fender height.. 1/4in off is easy without the small level against the wooden ruller.. I also did 3/4 tank of gas and my weight in driver seat

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by RoninLB
.. the info is in the factory manual..

it's also in Bentley

[Silveresrty911S]

Thanks Guys,

All the posts, tech articles (I printed), 101 projects and Bentley's helped with my Sunday project of lowering my car from 26" in the rear to 24-1/2," change out the old bushings to new Neatrix bushings & clean up springplates.
I started the job around 10:00 am and was done with it around 4:30. Most of the job was straight forward and on the initial pull of the spring plates the torsion bars stayed in place and I just moved the spring plate on the torsion bar splines after I had marked a reference point on the inner wheel well. I moved up close to 1" on the reference point after the spring plate was unbolted from the shock, trailing arm and the spring plate bracket that fits over the outer bushing that's being replaced.
Just a little low! 22-1/2" on both sides (at least consistent) I took it for a short spin to see if there was any rub and there wasn't, to low for me anyway. So I decided to split the difference and see what happens, going from 26 to 22.5". I figured a middle ground of 24.25 to 24.5" would work fine as I'm taking car in before paint to get 4 wheel alignment and use the ecentric adjustment to raise another 1/4 to 1/2" as I left them at the factory setting which was low as they could go.
In the posts and tech articles I read, they were right about taking 2-4 trys to get the desired ride height. After getting her up on jack stands again and disassembly I pulled the spring plates and this time the torsion bar came out with the spring plate (by the way, I had to remove my rubber trim and rocker to do this job). I hit the half way point on my initial reference point on both sides and after buttoning it all up and setting her on the ground it measured 24-1/4" on both sides. Needless to say I was pleased as I really didn't want to go through that process again as my wife was starting to ask when I'd be done.
The bushing replacment wasn't too bad, but you need a vice, sharp utility knife and some vice grip pliers. It's kinda like trying to remove 1/2' of tread off a tire. After the old (26years and trashed) bushings were removed I used my small orbital sander to clean up where the new bushings were to go and did a quick cleaning of the spring plates.
After a couple of cold ones and a quick clean up, Job done
My buddy still thought I should have left it at 22-1/2" (yeaa right). I'll try and post some before and after pics later today.

Rick

[Wil Ferch]

Rick says that most people are right....you need 2-4 trys to get reset ride height correct....
no! ...
Here's a method ( math) that I worked out that works...you either get it right the first time, or do one iterative correction: It's found in the tech section of Rennlist and also here:

http://www.vintagebus.com

..click on 911 area and click on spring plate angle calculator.

This is Thom Fitzpatrick's twist on my method, and he does a good job of translating all the hard stuff into a simple plug'n play spread sheet. My core article on how the math was derived is also listed on Thom's page....Should'a looked a bit further to avoid some trouble
--Wil Ferch

[poorsha]

Rick, nice article. Looking forward to pcs. By the way, your link is not working. I had to modify it to work. Nice lloking car. Make sure you take lots of pics during and after the paint work. She's gonna look great with those new (ala Al Reed) 7's on the rear. Did you buy the car with the 3.2 in the "GO compartment"? Steve (poorsha@shaw.ca)

[marcesq]

Rick:

Sounds like deer skinnin method worked better than the "tool." Congrats on getting the ride height set on the second go round.

22 1/2 = tooooo low. Opps hope I don't start a war.

Regards

[Silveresrty911S]

Wil,

I guess I'm a glutten for punishment.

Steve,

Thanks for the direct ship to Al's, the previous owner did the repower in "99" with new clutch, tach and all the goodies for 9,600 total. I believe the 84 3.2 had 103,000 on the clock when install and now has about 118,00.
It seemed like it had quite a bit more GO than the SC's I test drove, but it also has a chip in it
I'm still tired from yesterday

See ya, Rick

[Silveresrty911S]

Marcesq,

Thanks for the chat on the phone, I needed all the info possible before I started to tear her apart. All is well and she's going in for four wheel allignment and corner balance Wednesday. Take care
Rick