HOW do I change the front struts?

[Steve M]

I've got Bilstiens yellow and was able to replace the rear shocks easily enough. However the fronts seem to be more of a challenge.
That big washer with a notch at the top spins when I try to turn the bolt.
How have any of you folks who changed them yourself done it?

Also how have you folks change the ball joints?
I can't tell if this is another PITA by looking it.

Finally, after changing the rear shocks I found that the rubber stops that were in there along with that flat black rubber guide that sits at the bottom have seriously oxidized. Should I bother to replace those things?, are they THAT critical that they will affect performance or longevity of my car?

[This message has been edited by Steve M (edited 09-17-2000).]

[Steve M]

I'm going to try the pipe wrench thing that Dave Bell said he did awhile ago

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

If I recall correctly, I did the front strut replacement as a two-person job. One person held the very top of the strut with some vise-grips or a wrench (been a while so I forget), and the other loosened the nut.

I did not remove the bottom of the strut from the A-arm, but rather collapsed the insert (the "shock") and angled it out of the wheel well. Then my buddy held onto the roadwheel while I used a pipe wrench on the nut holding the insert in the strut.

Replacement was essentially the opposite of removal. I had to collapse the shock some to get it to go up through the bushing in the mount at the wheel well.

The rubber "bump stops" are probably at least somewhat important. That said, they are missing from the rear on my car. (I'll be replacing them relatively soon.) They provide a "last line of defense" to protect your shocks against bottoming out. If the suspension gets compressed that far, the bump rubbers stop it from collapsing all the way. That can damage some inserts.

--DD

[JP Noonan]

1. To keep the washer from turning you can buy the Porsche tool which is similar to the one used on the 911 fan pulley. Or if you have a welder make one. Or do what I did and buy a $20 set of extra wide "vise-grips" then vaguly resemble a Sperm Whale, in that they have a large bottom jaw. Holding the washer also holds the shaft of the shock from turning. Once the nut is loose push the shock out under the car and remove the dust cover. Now use another Porsche tool or a monkey wrench and remove the nut that has 4 slots in it. Remove the shock from the strut arm.

2. The ball joints are easy if you have the Porsche tools, I didn't so yes it's a PITA. Haynes shows how to weld up the right tool, I didn't have a welder so I used lots of PB-Blaster and a big 24" monkey wrench, or pipe wrench. The PB-Blaster is critical. The nut you need to remove is on the bottom of the A arm and is held on with a locking washer which is in turn held on with a cotter pin. Remove washer and cotter pin, then turn the nut loose. Oh, before that though you need to pound out the tapered pin that holds the strut arm to the ball joint. I managed to bugger the pins up pretty good and replaced them with new ones. New ones are about $10 each, plus I bought a new "ny-loc" nut to hold the pin in. After pounding on the pin for awhile I ended up using my bench vise as a press to get them out. After the pin was out the ball joint should fall out, but on mine I had to use a very long punch (actually I used a 24" phillips screwdriver) to pop the ball joint out from the strut arm. I sprayed PB-Blaser in where the shock was then pounded it out. I've been told many times that I have the worst luck when it comes to 914's so yours may not be so bad.

3. Read the instructions on the rear Bilsteins, the front ones advise AGAINST external bump stops because Bilstein has internal bump stops, don't remember if the back has them or not. The reason bump-stops are sooooo important is if the shock bottoms out WITH a bump stop you get a hard jolt as a warning. If a shock bottoms out WITHOUT a bumpstop the suspension acts as a solid peice of metal and something will break and/or the wheel will leave the ground on re-bound. You now have 3/4 the traction you had before and most likly you will loose control.

If you don't understand what I'm talking about, jsut ask. It's one of those, "You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it." type of things.

[Steve M]

I've recently heard that those 'rubber' bump stops are actually practically useless. The funniest answer I've heard is that they are dust covers. That's almost belivable because they were just foamy rubber that oxidaze.
I was thinking why those particular bump stops when I could get some kind of rubber stuff that I could cut to fit. Any ideas?

[Blu Flag Chicane]

Oh contrere mon frere. On newer cars bumpstops are an active part of the suspension and I believe are referred to as secondary springs. What you don't want is to be riding so low as to be over-using the bumpstops because they do not expand as quickly as a regular spring. A lot of times with aftermarket springs you will be instructed to cut the bottom 1/2 or 1/3 off the bumpstop to keep this from happening.

I also have to comment on the validity of the Sperm Whale Vice Grips for strut removal (great name, wish I had thought of it). I about ended up in an asylum after trying to remove the nut the "correct" way. The top of the shaft where the tool fits just started to strip and come apart. The washer is compressed under the nut and is as good a place to grab onto as any. I wonder if we had the same expression on our faces searching the tool wall for something to make this job happen when, AHA! :-)

-BFC

Originally posted by Steve M:
I've recently heard that those 'rubber' bump stops are actually practically useless.

The funniest answer I've heard is that they are dust covers. That's almost belivable because they were just foamy rubber that oxidaze.
I was thinking why those particular bump stops when I could get some kind of rubber stuff that I could cut to fit. Any ideas?