Ride height adjustment question

[BLK87S4]

Just a quick and hopefully not a stupid question about adjusting the ride height on my 87 S4. Should this be done with the car on the ground or should I jack it up and take the weight off of the suspension?

Also do I have to pull the hubs to install the longer lug bolts (rear) in preparation to install the 21mm spacer?

Thanks!
Robert

[Danglerb]

Any time the weight goes off the suspension it need 10 or 20 miles to settle before the height is back to normal, so NO JACKING.

Generally its a cycle of drive, measure, adjust, repeat.

I think so on the spacer, not really sure, but as a practical matter do it after the ride height is set and it should be ok no matter how it needs to be done.

[BLK87S4]

Thanks! That's my project for this weekend. That and checking my clutch's slave reservoir. It's slow to engage at times sending the tach to the higher RPMs if I'm not careful.

[psychII]

I found it easier to just jack the car and adjust, then drive to settle, measure, readjust, repeat as necessary. I got about a 9 mm height change with each full turn on the front and about a 2 mm change in the rear. YMMV

Make sure you get an alignment soon after.

[BLK87S4]

Oh, I didn't think about an alignment. That's a good point. Fortunatly I have the lifetime alignment at Firestone. :-)

I tried turning it this afternoon as it was tough. I felt like I was going to have to jack it up. It's soaking with WD40 right now to try to losen it up.

Thanks again for the tip.

[Danglerb]

Firestone, yipes.

Do you have them trained on how to align a 928?

Lifetime alignment would be sweet, as long as its correct.

[m21sniper]

The adj nuts are known to sieze. WD40 blows as a penetrating oil. Get a good penetrating oil, and let it soak for a couple days. That's what i did.

[Maleficio]

Are the rear edjustment fittings on the inside of the car at the strut mount?

[Normy]

You'll need a good motorcycle spring perch adjustment tool to adjust your spring perches. This tool looks like a "C", and the 911 people use it to hold their cooling fan when they remove the pulley to change the belt that cools that engine.

Your ride height is in the WorkShop Manuals, or WSM's.

[If you don't own the WSM's, check on eBay for a CD that has these. This set of manuals is INDESPENSIBLE. I have the paper copy in my garage [$375], and keep two CD copies in my rear glove compartment. These two are for 928 owners that I encounter that have no clue.]

The WSM's say that the ride height of the car from the reference points to the ground should be about 170 mm at all four corners. I discovered that my ride height had been LOWERED one inch, and when I raised the car, not only did it look about the same...but it handled BETTER and then the tires didn't wear on the inside edge. After raising the car to the stock ride height, I no longer scraped the plastic air dam at the front of my car. I then had the car aligned to Porsche factory specifications on a Hunter DSP-4000 alignment machine. I made sure that they DID NOT raise the car before they aligned it.

-Check this out: I had the car aligned at the Sears store in Fort Lauderdale- they had the SPECIFIC Hunter machine that this car needs for perfect alignment. When I brought it there, I told them that I wanted them to NOT raise the car. This ratty-looking fat black technician raised his hand and said: "Yeah, I got this one". Turns out this guy knows Porsche's backwards and forwards. "Yeah, you can't raise these things. They got springs so tight they don't never come down. You gots to put them on the rack the way they is" He said. That was two years ago, and my tires, Falken RT-615's, are worn out, but they are wearing evenly, and my car drives straight as an arrow.

Prior to finding out that Sears had this machine, I called all the famous Porsche shops in town in hope of finding the magic DSP-4000 machine. One of them is famous for its stupidity: Foreign Affairs in Pompano Beach. This place is an idiocracy owned by a professional idiot. When I called and asked if they had a Hunter DSP-4000, they had no idea what that was. Fair enough. But when I asked the owner of the shop about an alignment sans lifting the car, all I got was ATTITUDE.

"I don't know what you are talking about. My mechanics are trained in GERMANY" was all the pretentious prick that ran the place could tell me. I won't repeat what I told him, but trust me it involved several anatomical impossibilties and it would make you laugh~

I'm 100% sure that I am NOT welcome in that shop two years later, since I'm sure that clown peruses the boards. Good. I hope every Porsche owner in the area saw that post and now thinks twice about darkening that clown's door. They should think twice, considering how stupid that guy actually is. I have to change the timing belt and water pump on my car this summer, and I'm planning on driving it 210 miles to Orlando to have Zotz Garage up there do the work. THEY know what they are doing!

[Sorry, I got off onto a bit of a rant~]

Anyway, you should use PB Blaster on your stuck spring perches. This stuff is magical- it is WAY more powerful than WD-40. Spray it on, then let it sit for a day. When you go to move your perches, rock back and forth with the tool. WEAR A PAIR OF THICK LEATHER GLOVES. Moving that spring perch will require a LOT of force, and if you don't wear gloves you'll bash the s::t out of your hands!

Good luck!

N!

[Maleficio]

Thanks, Normy. My front tires are wearing out on the inner edge. I'm convinced the car sits too low, especially the rear.

Is that spring perch tool like this?

[Mrmerlin]

if your fitting spacers that are 21mm wide then get a set of bolt on bolt on spacers and you can leave the rear studs alone.
Otherwise you will also have to replace the rear wheel bearing as there is no way to remove the studs from the flange unless the flange is removed from the hub. IIRC RWBs cost is about 90.00 per side
The ride height collars will need PB blaster or Kroil to free them up use a tooth brush to clean the threads first or the dirt will foul the adjusters

[bwmac]

Sweet Ride

[baby shark]

i just installed my ball joints which went fine on my '83....Before my ride height was considerably lower than my '78. Now after the new ball joints, it seems its about 2 1/2 higher but I haven't driven it so it can settle....My request is this...can someone post pictures of the perches so I can adjust the ride height. I won't recognize it otherwise. Also i need the instructions and the specification measursument for correct height. Thank you

[Normy]

Originally Posted by baby shark

i just installed my ball joints which went fine on my '83....Before my ride height was considerably lower than my '78. Now after the new ball joints, it seems its about 2 1/2 higher but I haven't driven it so it can settle....My request is this...can someone post pictures of the perches so I can adjust the ride height. I won't recognize it otherwise. Also i need the instructions and the specification measursument for correct height. Thank you

The WSM's quote a ride height: It is a band, but in the middle is the number 170 mm. This is of course, based upon where you measure. The fronts are from a point on the bottom of the A-arm, and the rear is on a square section of the rear trailing link.

N!

[Hkp7]

I also got the lifetime alignment at Firestone because some of the stores have an alignment rack which does not require lifting the vehicle to set the alignment heads. They roll the car on the rack. My tires wore out on the inside edge also and the guy that owned the car before me had it aligned incorrectly. I bought new tires, replaced inner and outer tie rod ends, had it aligned and its been a few thousand miles without any abnormal tire wear. Looking at the picture of your car, I am more so wondering if my front is set too high. I will measure tonight.

[harborman]

Originally Posted by Hkp7

I also got the lifetime alignment at Firestone because some of the stores have an alignment rack which does not require lifting the vehicle to set the alignment heads. They roll the car on the rack. My tires wore out on the inside edge also and the guy that owned the car before me had it aligned incorrectly. I bought new tires, replaced inner and outer tie rod ends, had it aligned and its been a few thousand miles without any abnormal tire wear. Looking at the picture of your car, I am more so wondering if my front is set too high. I will measure tonight.

I had mine aligned here at Firestone as well. They know their stuff and was recommended to me by a local Import garage where he sends his cars. Naturally it all depends on who is doing the work! This place has been here 40 years, has experience with the 928 I got a print out of before and after alignment. I did adjust the front ride height myself before the work was done. I put marks on the struts and took measurements then applied to the other side and adjusted to same marks, worked for me!