So here's the skinny on removing struts - and some PSS9 comments |  |  |
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| So here's the skinny on removing struts - and some PSS9 comments grant - Sunday, 14 July, 2013, at 12:37:42 pm |
In the large, the struts - both front and rear - can come out with all the suspension pieces still attached. It does require that they be pushed down further than you may be comfortable with, but no damage occurs if you are careful.
You basically push the whole strut and control arms down as a unit and wiggle it under the fender lip. It takes some, but not herculean, force.
The strut slides into a hole and slot (in other words, its keyed) in the hub/ wheel carrier.
One bolt holds the drop link to the wheel carrier, and clamps the wheel carrier tight around the strut. It comes out easily. I did put some liquid wrench in there ahead of time.
1. The front is simpler than the rear, mostly due to no drive shaft and no parking brake
2. In the front i ONLY removed the caliper and wiring, and disconnected the 3 bolts at the top
3. In the rear i had all the stuff out anyway, but I,
3a) left the right outer driveshaft connected
3b) left the parking brake cable connected
3c) did not need to use a spring compressor to get it under the fender lip
Once you have the strut(s) out you need to re-use a few parts from them on the PSS9s. Many of those i bought new anyway:
a) two washers per strut -- NOTE the Bilstein manual omits one - the lower washer in the front strut pic - this could be big trouble, use BOTH
b) the mount, strut bearing (front only) and rubber seat (front only)
Some notes:
c) you do not need a spring compressor to assemble the pss9s
ca) but the damper is incredibly stiff - it nearly seems seized (but isnt)
d) don't push down on the strut when its supported on the floor by the adjustment knob - make a wooden support with a hole for it (big drill and wood scrap, Porsche special tool # 996-986-b&*$-me
e) you must align the strut mounts so that on of the screws is aligned with the tab on the strut body. They are not symmetrical - it is obvious if you look.
If you do control arms like i did, i found a trick when re-assembling. One of the most difficult tasks is tightening the ball joint shaft nut while counter-holding it with a torx t40 - because access is obscured by the CV joint. Its a conundrum. What i did is put a bottle jack under the ball joint end of the control arm and jacked it up. This forced the BJ shaft into it tapered seat tightly and kept it in place with friction. No torx required. Pats self on back.
[i40.tinypic.com]
Njoy,
Grant
Grant
gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com
You basically push the whole strut and control arms down as a unit and wiggle it under the fender lip. It takes some, but not herculean, force.
The strut slides into a hole and slot (in other words, its keyed) in the hub/ wheel carrier.
One bolt holds the drop link to the wheel carrier, and clamps the wheel carrier tight around the strut. It comes out easily. I did put some liquid wrench in there ahead of time.
1. The front is simpler than the rear, mostly due to no drive shaft and no parking brake
2. In the front i ONLY removed the caliper and wiring, and disconnected the 3 bolts at the top
3. In the rear i had all the stuff out anyway, but I,
3a) left the right outer driveshaft connected
3b) left the parking brake cable connected
3c) did not need to use a spring compressor to get it under the fender lip
Once you have the strut(s) out you need to re-use a few parts from them on the PSS9s. Many of those i bought new anyway:
a) two washers per strut -- NOTE the Bilstein manual omits one - the lower washer in the front strut pic - this could be big trouble, use BOTH
b) the mount, strut bearing (front only) and rubber seat (front only)
Some notes:
c) you do not need a spring compressor to assemble the pss9s
ca) but the damper is incredibly stiff - it nearly seems seized (but isnt)
d) don't push down on the strut when its supported on the floor by the adjustment knob - make a wooden support with a hole for it (big drill and wood scrap, Porsche special tool # 996-986-b&*$-me
e) you must align the strut mounts so that on of the screws is aligned with the tab on the strut body. They are not symmetrical - it is obvious if you look.
If you do control arms like i did, i found a trick when re-assembling. One of the most difficult tasks is tightening the ball joint shaft nut while counter-holding it with a torx t40 - because access is obscured by the CV joint. Its a conundrum. What i did is put a bottle jack under the ball joint end of the control arm and jacked it up. This forced the BJ shaft into it tapered seat tightly and kept it in place with friction. No torx required. Pats self on back.
[i40.tinypic.com]
Njoy,
Grant
Grant
gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com
Laz - Sunday, 14 July, 2013, at 1:34:23 pm |
My 71 could do high speed sweepers scary fast, even with the stock 185/70-14s, and the ride wasn't too compromised. A mistake with the 77 was using 15% stiffer springs that were also shorter (IIRC) instead of replacing the dampers. Constantly ran the rear axle into what was left of the bump stops.
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