Rod: If you're talking about the outer bushing covers, shop around. They might be available at places other than the dealer, but we don't often replace them in CA so I don't know that for sure. Definitely compare prices, I think it was you that got charged $25 for a ball joint wedge pin. Suggested dealer retail for the pin is about $16.50, and the nut is about $1.50, so your dealer might be adding an in-house charge to parts.
Pete

 

I was just quoted $125 for each cover (see pic)
The pin was $25 Canadian, so it's not that far off $16.50 US.
The nut is actually an all steel locknut. Not a castle nut. Pretty strange really.

 

By the way.
I guarantee that the ones in this picture are pooched on the inside.

 

Pete

Thanks for the pic with the tube. I really thought I would crush that area with a jack stand or put too much stress on the bushing and was worried about it but now think I will be fine. That picture you posted above will be invaluable since this is a commonly asked question.

I would be more than happy to send you a few pics of my " rust bucket" The only reason I don't change my exchangers to the early style ( which looks like a great project by the way ) is because I worry about busting a stud. The number one reason I wear eye protection under the car is because of falling rust. The paint on my half shafts and sway bar came off in sheets. The corrosion, as it tends to do , moved along under the paint. the sway bars were in fine shape on top. The half shafts actually peeled off paint.

I took them off and after about 5 minutes with emery cloth had them cleaned up . I sprayed them with some high etch primer and sprayed them semi gloss black. I really should have powder coated them I guess but that is expensive.

For the most part the rest of the underbody is in good shape, none of the a arms show any rust at all. I dream about working on a car with absolutely no frozen on nuts and bolts,,, but I need a hundred thousand dollars to have one of those cars I think.

 

Pete - can you post pics re the areas you are saying yes to and no to but are close to each other? graceful curve area...

 

Ice: LOL! "Rust bucket." That's a term that I hold in reserve for those cars that have large perforations in body parts, or cars that Fred Flintstone's braking procedure can be used on, primarily because there is very little floor left. The half axle deterioration that you describe is fairly common out here, especially on cars that live near the beach and have more than 100K miles, and they're pretty easy to paint. Porsche uses excellent fasteners, so exhaust hardware is usually removable, rarely do we have to use nut-busters or a torch. The exhaust port flange studs do present a problem from time to time, but they are generally good from the SCs on. Our biggest problem is the occasional gray market car that actually spent a couple of winters in Germany. The exhaust hardware gets eaten away so 13mm wrench sized hardware becomes 12.5mm with slightly rounded corners. The bolts/studs are still strong enough to not break with vise grips in place, but the nuts and bolts have become one. When you're removing a heat exchanger the best thing that can happen is the studs will come loose and unscrew from the exhaust port flange. That's an easy fix. But every once in a while you have to get out the drills and goggles...

Regarding the front control arms, the wall thickness of those tubes is substantial. I've seen cars so rusty that parts were falling off them as they pulled into my parking lot, but those control arms were still functional and solid. The load against the bushings seems insignificant compared to a one-time event with a jarring pothole, so I don't see that as a concern.

Pete

Randy: I would be glad to do that, let me figure out the best way...

 

OK, I mentioned above how I felt was the best way to lift a 911, and Randy asked for further clarification. The picture below shows a 911 underbody, with the vertical seams that I mentioned above hi-lighted in red, and the relatively soft parts of the floor shown with blue. The seams are incredibly strong, and when a piece of 2x4 (between 6 and 10" long) is used with a floor jack they provide an extremely safe lift point. They also work well as lift points for a hoist (we lifted show cars that way, using wood wrapped with clean, white towels). I don't like to use those red seams for jackstands, because stands usually have cradles that bend up, and there is no good way to set them, not dent the floor, but still have them be secure. Regarding the blue areas, I wish that I had a couple of bucks for every car that I've seen with the floor bent there. It's especially common in the front, somehow the guys at tire stores find the rear sway bar consoles to put the jack under instead of the car's floor. Floor jacks don't usually punch through the floor, but the dents they leave behind can be substantial. I have a couple of mallets that I use, with the mats removed, to reverse the damage as much as possible when I find those dents. I hope that this helps!
Pete

 

I think everything has been said - but I always stick the wheels taken off under the floor pan, just in case!!

PJC

 

me to , but i am strting to get fatter than my wheels ... this could prove to be a probelm in the future :-)

 

No, no, no - you have to go to Turbo bodywork, and really wide rubber!

Pete

 

Thx Pete - how do you lift on the vertical seam? Cut a slot in the wood for the seam itself?

 

Hey Randy: Nope, the cradle on my jack holds the wood flat, all I have to do is get the seam close to the middle of the wood and up she goes. I have seen jacks with small, really small, lift cradles, on those it might be a good idea to notch the wood to fit the jack.
Pete

 

Hey Pete would a hockey puck work well here also .... oh right I forgot... sorry .... it is a small dense rubber disk about 1.5 inch in thickness and about 3 inches across .. it is black .... I heard a rumour that in the USA they made sensors so it would light up on your TV as you had problems seeing a black puck on white ice

it actually sits great in the cup of the jack.

what am I saying.. at least Aneheim made the playoff s...

oh by the way ,,, the turbo wheels sound a way better option than a diet ..

 

Pete,

Thanks so much for the info and pictures. As you know, this issue gets plenty of discussion and it is great to have a "pro" weigh in on do's and don'ts.

 

just look at how many viws there have been , gives a good indication as to the confusion