2qwik4u

"Some adjustment"? enough to lower to at least euro specs?
Is the rear on an 88 as simple to lower as the front is?
I'm confused.

Ed Hughes

No, the rear on all 911's is harder than the front.

rusnak

The most likely guess would be that you'd have to remove the spring plate arm, re-index the torsion bar outer spline by one notch, and then counter rotate the spring plate cover. That will give you about 1.5 degrees of rotation. You should leave some room on the spring plate for future adjustments by the alignment shop/ corner balance guys.

I'm trying to remember the size of the inner spring plate hex. The ride height wrench has both 25mm and 32mm size jaws, I know that.

Edit: oops! outer spline! not inner.

ron mcatee

2quik, be aware that the spring plates are loaded and as such, you need a couple of jack's to do the job. One to get the car on jack stands and the other to take the pressure off the eccentric bolt and other harware. Then slowly release the second jack to allow for removal of the spring plates and torsion bars.

Ed Hughes

The same jack can be used twice.....Once the car is up on the stands, you use that jack for the plate.

rusnak

That is true. I would want to have the car on jackstands anyway.

A small clarification: the floorjack takes the pressure off of the lower spring plate bolt which acts as a stop support for the springplate when the car is raised off of the wheels. I know that is what you meant, Ron. Also, the lower shock bolt and the anti-roll bar bolts need to be removed with the control arm raised a little bit.

2qwik4u

um...guys, this procedure is starting to seem more complicated than I thought.
Also, Waynes procedure in the book is a tad vague.

Ed Hughes

I wouldn't use the t-bar tubes to support for this project....



Wayne's book can oversimplify sometimes. You really need the Bentley for a detailed synopsis.

rusnak

It's really not difficult. The torsion bar suspension is a difficult setup for shops who are not experienced with them. What you have is a good manual, and lots of time to ask questions and prepare beforehand. You don't want some shop to learn on your 911. So if you have a good independent shop and you trust them, you might call them to see if they're comfortable tackling the job. If not, it's doable in a weekend.

2qwik4u

I will order the bentley.

jtilden

i did mine myself...not to bad of a job...I have a guide which I used which clarified a lot of vague (to me) information in both wayne's book and the bentley manual...having all three available to cross reference made the job easy...when i get home tonight I will forward it to you if you shoot me your email...it is a word doc...AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS you will have no problems...PERIOD!

Ed Hughes

Don't jinx him. Search the forums and you'll see incidents of T-bars stuck, rusted tubes, etc. There SHOULDN'T be any problems as it is somewhat of a straight forward job, but when you are dealing with 20 or 30-something year old cars, there are wildcards.

jtilden

not trying to jinx him at all..merely providing some encouragement to get it done...yes there is a possibility that some unforeseen problem(s) may pop up but the important thing is to take the first step...as long as this board is here I am sure collectively we can help him through most any problem he may encounter.

rusnak

I agree, it can get hairy. The worst case would be to tackle it without the right tools, such as an impact wrench or maybe a gas torch for the springplate bolts. The t-bars can get stuck, and it's one of those uncertain moments when you're grabbing on it, pushing pulling, tapping with a hammer, pulling again, etc that you're not sure if this was a good idea. Then it comes out, you put some fresh grease on the splines, and you move to the next step.

It's not too difficult, and I think he tackled a difficult project with the oil return tubes. If he takes this on, I think his skill level will grow, and of course we'll be here with tips and encouragement.

M491

I've done it a few times.

The front end is very easy, you are not likely to run into any trouble there.

The rear - well, it's a job that isn't hard, in theory.

In practice, it can be easy, or can be very frustrating. Depending on how much luck you have.

Sometimes it's very easy to get all the necessary nuts/bolts, plates, etc. off. Sometimes it is not.

You have to set the plates, but there's plenty of info on the internet about how to measure/calculate the angles.

You also probably are going to want to replace the rear bushings while you are in there.

I did the home "tripod method" of corner balancing, which seemed to work ok on my street car, but took many, many hours.

I think the best way to do the job is to do the actual lowering yourself, get it close as you can, then get a professional cornerbalance and alignment.