Front spoiler problem...

[jeffmc]

Doing 85 down the interstate 2 nights ago I hit something on the road.. Dead animal or something fell out of a truck. It was raining,and with other cars and speed could not see to miss. After pulling over to make sure no fluid's were being dumped i realized the only damage was the front spoiler. It was separated or broke under the passenger side headlight about six inches from the turn into the fender. It's a jagged separation.... Three things-What is the spoiler made of and anybody have a replacement for sale. Has anyone ever mended one together if so how?
thanks

[Pete R]

Almost all used spoilers are damaged. I think I paid $275 for a new one. They are made of some type of hard rubber

[JK McDonald]

Hey Jeffmc, The grill work and air dam (along with the front and rear caps) can be repaired using a special flexible epoxy kit purchased at an auto body supply outlet. It has been a while but if I remember correctly the kits run around $50 - $100 depending on the type and amount of material needed for the repair. An experienced counterman can help you make the correct selection if you show him the car or a piece of the damaged part.

I have repaired the front grill work quite successfully using one of these kits and a few of the thin, black, coarse threaded wood screws. Thoroughly clean both sides of the break and pre-drill a small guide hole for the wood screw from the back side of the joint or attaching point. Mix the epoxy according to the instructions, apply the epoxy and quickly install the wood screws.

Because of it’s location, repairing the air dam can be a completely different matter because it is so vulnerable to routine accidental impacts. Although I’ve seen a couple of success stories, it is difficult to reestablish the original material strength of the air dam even when you have added a metal backing plate to the restoration effort.

I might mention that if the air dam is broken completely into two pieces - by the time you include the time, labor and materials (epoxy kit, paint, support/backup hardware, etc.....) that’s involved you will probably be much happier with replacing the air dam. This is especially true if you throw in the grief factor of a repeat repair. Some 928 owners prefer a new one but there are some nice used ones around if you do not mind a few scratches along the bottom edge.

Good Luck, Michael

[MPDano]

Heres a new one for $379. I found that if you wait, sometimes they will throw down a discount. I think I got mine for around $349.

Front Spoiler Porsche 928 928S Chin 78-86 - eBay (item 360298070845 end time Apr-04-11 17:21:48 PDT)

They are not fun to work with. I had a hellofatime with mine.

[jeffmc]

Thanks for the advice guys.. I have a hot glue gun which is holding it together at the moment. It's my everyday driver so needed a quick fix until the permanent fix. I saw the same ebay spoilers too Dano. A little high for me. Expected for a car that only produced 61,000 model's. I will take a used one. If not will try the poxy route for now..I thought of removing the spoiler all together but man to me it gives the car that extra touch. Lucky me as I was laying on the ground in front of the car this morning I took a measurement with my finger(from bottom of spoiler to ground)about 3 inches. Driving around Nashville,TN a few month in my 928 will let you know quickly how terrible our road's are..

[Mrmerlin]

raise the front end to factory specs if you can i used the 3 minute eurathane epoxy you have 3 mins to put it on till it starts setting,
a few rivets and some sheet metal behind the broken edge s will make it strong again

[jeffmc]

Originally Posted by Mrmerlin

raise the front end to factory specs if you can i used the 3 minute eurathane epoxy you have 3 mins to put it on till it starts setting,
a few rivets and some sheet metal behind the broken edge s will make it strong again

What is the proper way to raise the front back to factory?

[Normy]

The proper way to adjust the front end requires a motorcycle spring perch tool. This can be had on the cheap at any motorcycle shop.

At the bottom of the springs on your struts you'll find a metal spring perch. Under that is a silver aluminum disk with vertical slots. The strut is threaded and this aluminum disk is what adjusts your ride height. The motorcycle tool fits in the slots and you screw this thing up and down to get the ride height set. The exact setting is detailed in the manuals, but it works out to 170 mm. That is, from the reference points to the ground should be 170 mm. Offhand, 1000 miles from home/manuals, I cannot remember where those points are exactly, someone here can chime in.

Turning that tool takes a LOT of force! You'll need to remove the wheel obviously, and wear gloves to protect your hands.

Bear in mind, that due to the leverage of the A-arm, a small change of the disk location makes a large change in ride height. And a 928 needs a good 10 mile drive after it is lifted on a jack to return to the correct ride height; Since your car has four wheels and four disks to adjust....you can now see that this is actually a big job. An important one too, if you want to correctly align your car! A 928 that is not at the correct ride height CANNOT be aligned. It WILL wear its tires no matter what you do!

In the pic below [I was painting the caliper and brake disc], you can see the adjustment below the yellow spring perch.

Good luck!

N

[MPDano]

That is if he has adjustable shocks. Both my early 928's had non-adjustable Boges.