Bilstein strut question

[911buff]

OK, so I am trying to replace the bushings on the control arm but am unable to separate the strut from the ball joint. I have soaked the "pin" with PB blaster but it will not budge. Can I use heat to try and loosen the pin?

Thanks

[911buff]

BUMP

I am trying to remove the "threaded Pin", P/N 911 341 119 06, illustration 402-00 in the 914 PET. The nut and washer have been removed but the pin will not budge. What is the trick to removing the pin? I do not want to apply heat if it will damage the insert. But trying to drive it out with a drift punch is not working. Any suggestions?

[Plays with cars]

Sorry, I'm not going to be much help because I haven't ever taken mine apart. But, since the parts are the same, I would suggest posting on the 911 board where there is a lot more traffic. Or, post your question over on 914world.com where, again, there is a lot more traffic.

Good luck with your project.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

OK, a look at the PET says that is the "wedge pin". BTW, the 911 shop manual seems to call it the "Wedge Pin (always replace)", which is a hint that you might not want to re-use it.

If you are replacing the ball joint and the pin, feel free to use heat on the pin. Also an air chisel. You may be able to get a press set up on it. If all else fails, cutting it may wind up being an option.

--DD

[mepstein]

Don’t cut it. I would heat it red hot with map gas. Touch a candle to it while it’s hot to let the wax wick in. Tap on it firmly and heat again if needed. If you cant get it out, Take it to a shop. They will get it done.

[Tobra]

^clever, I like it^

[911buff]

Finally got it separated; ended up drilling out the pin to the point where it was able to be driven out with a punch.

All went back together very nicely. What a difference in the ride. The rear is the next area to address. It is saggy back there. Lots of negative camber! The springs will get replaced and aligned. There are no shims on either side, so that is a contributing factor, also.

Had fun this weekend, though. Drove up to Savannah, GA (Hutchinson island) for an autocross. A good time had by all. That is a neat old track. The autocross is run on the paddock with the staging area in the old pit lane. Would be fun to run the whole track. I have heard HSR runs it but cannot confirm.

Anyway, thanks for the advise. I am quite certain I will be back with another question before too long.

[911buff]

OK, so a sanity check and a few questions.

Sanity check; doing some basic trig to figure out how much negative camber my '74 2.0 has, I have calculated it at -2.8 degrees. That translates into 170 minutes of angle. The factory recommended setting is -30 minutes. So that leaves 140 minutes of correction. Each 1mm of shim correlates to 10 minutes of angle adjustment... so 14mm of shims, that seems like way too much. Do my calculations make sense?

Questions; to what extent would fresh springs remove negative camber? My springs are factory original and I would guess have lost some "spring" over the years. I plan on replacing the springs before I tackle the shims. Since the car will mostly be a street/pseudo track day car, stiffer springs are going on. However, the stiffer springs, 165 or 180lb variety are somewhat shorter, right? So, how does that play into the equation? And since it is to be a street/track toy, how much camber is recommended?

Advice is greatly appreciated.

[mepstein]

If you get Bilstein shocks, you can adjust rear spring/ride height. 165 or 180 is a lot on a 4 cylinder car. 140 is usually a good street upgrade.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The only way springs affect your camber is by raising or lowering the car's ride height. Or, more specifically, changing the angle that the trailing arm makes to the body at its static ride height.

The ratio of shim to camber angle is not constant; expect it to change at least a bit throughout the range of adjustment.

A static camber measurement of -2.6 degrees with no shims is a bit outside the norm, at least at something close to stock ride height. If your car is slammed, that becomes more reasonable. But most likely a slammed car won't be shooting for the -0.5 degrees of negative camber that is the stock spec; that is for a street-only car with stock soft suspension at stock ride height. A lowered car with stiffer springs being driven in an aggressive-enough manner will definitely want more negative camber than the stock setting.

Your suspension is a system, and must be approached as a system. Changing just one part is going to change the behavior of the car. For instance, just changing the rear springs to 180 lb/in and leaving everything else stock is going to give you a harsh ride and a car that oversteers quite a bit. The oversteer can be reduced by going up in torsion bar sizes in front, or by adding a larger front sway bar, or both. Or you can go with a more-moderate spring rate in the rear, like 100 lb/in. (That is stiffer than any stock 914 spring, but still not that stiff.) It might be a good idea to add a front sway bar if you do that swap and your car doesn't already have one. The 140 lb/in springs definitely require front suspension changes to tune out excessive oversteer, in my experience.

Alignment settings depend on the suspension parts, driving style, and more. A decent starting point for an aggressive street driven car with stock or close to stock suspension is -1.5 degrees camber in the rear and -1.0 in the front. That is just a starting point, though, and you should pay attention to the behavior of the car at the limit, to tire wear, and if you are tracking the car to tire temps. Those will help you dial the adjustments in for your particular application.

--DD

[mepstein]

I agree, these cars need a front sway bar.

[911buff]

Good advice! Luckily it came from the factory with front and rear sway bars and Bilstein struts and shocks. -1.5 in the rear and -1.0 up front sounds like a good set-up, since it will be driven in anger, at least a little bit, anyways. Thanks

[911buff]

I was unable to add a photo earlier, so I am now. On our way back from Savannah.