Mounting question... tech help needed

[awilson40]

Hello
I have a small steering stabilizer( a unit for a 1978 datsun p.u.) that I want to mount to my Porsche 924 with manual rack and pinion steering.. I have room to fit it in front of the steering rack between the rack and the sway bar. The shock end will mount fine to the tie rod, I was thinking of clamping the fixed end to the sway bar between the center bushings. Will this cause a problem or should I rig up a bracket to attach the fixed end to the steering rack mounting bolts?
Thanks
Andy

[mike944]

Don't mount the back of the damper to the sway bar. The sway bar rotates slightly in normal operation, and that will probably cause binding of the damper. also, the linear load on the sway bar could cause it to move side to side in the car.

why are you trying to add a steering stabilizer? although i have never tried to drive a manual steering 924 or 944, it seems like if one was needed, the factory would have put one on, or at least made it an option. it sounds like you probably have other problems with your steering system, that COULD be fixed with a steering stabilizer, but you should look at the rest of the suspension system for other problems.

if the car darts and steering is touchy, you should check caster angle, and maybe toe-in. I don't know if caster angle is adjustable in these cars, but if it's not adjustable, or cannot be adjusted to be within spec, there is probably some front suspension damage that you may not know about. A bent lower a-arm would definetly throw off caster.

Mike

[awilson40]

Thats what I thought, I will fab up a bracket to attach it to the rack mounting.
I found one cheap and I have a bit of a shimmy at 55-60 mph that I'm having a hard time tracking down. Plus, when on pot hole infested roads, I get some shock in the steering column. I'v put on new struts/ springs, had the tires ballanced, new and properly adjusted front wheel bearings, and new hard bushngs are on order. Like I said... this was only $15 so I thought I'd try just to see what happens.

[mike944]

well, i don't think a stabilizer would hurt anything, why not try it.

I've heard that a 55-65 mph shimmy is fairly common on these cars, it usually is a balance problem on the front wheels. People have had tires balanced again, and again, and it won't go away. The solution i've heard is to find a shop that can balance the tires while they are still mounted on the car.

Mike

p.s. you did check to make sure you don't have a bent rim, right?

[bill*924s]

I had this similar problem on my '86 944. It turns out the problem began between the steering wheel and the seat!!!! I was an idiot and bought some Goodrich T/A's at Sears to replace my worn out Pirellis. These cheesy tires had a built in shimmy on smooth roads (a left/right shake of the steering wheel). Balancing them didn't do squat. Ever since then, I'll drop the extra bucks to get higher quality tires.

[awilson40]

I'm sure my problem is the tires...They're a bunch of no-name crap, but I hate to throw away good tires, so I will just run 'em till they are worn. I needed to do the other stuff anyway.
I will be mounting the stabilizer this weekend and will post results.