Anybody ever replace a rear broken sway bar mount on an 87 930?

Just lifted up my car to take off the race tires for street tires and noticed the right rear was broken. The left rear is cracked.

I can see that I can cut and grind down the right rear, but do I have to completely remove it flush to the body or can I cut and grind it down until I can mount a new one?

On the left rear, it's awfully close to the rear fuel pump and somewhat behind it. Much harder to remove and weld I would say. Any thoughts here?

I know Perf Prods and WEVO both have an upgraded version. Are they worthwhile? Or just go with the stock version?

Thanks
Jim

 

I have seen cars where they have been welded.

 

Jim, you definitely want to update to the factory "butterfly" reinforced mount or the wevo. In your case I would recommend the wevo since you track your car so much. For the extra $80 difference for a pair of wevo's you get an infinitely better mount that you should never have to worry about. The reinforced factory mounts are better than stock but not by much. When I installed SRP bars I reinforced mine with a homemade butterfly and barrel nuts on the right side and on the left I installed barrel nuts and welded in a small plate between the mount and the fuel pump cover which is pretty substantial.

Check this out:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...evo+sway+mount

 

Thank for the link Mike. For $50 extra bucks, it looks like the best deal. Funny though, I couldn't find them on Pelican. Only the butterflied mounts.

I can remove the old ones, but will need someone to weld the new ones in. The rear fuel pump looks like it make the left rear a bitch to remove and reinstall. It only has a very, very small crack, so maybe I weld and beef up that side like you did?

 

I'll take a pic of the mod tomorrow for you. I didn't want to deal with cutting out that fuel pump mount, it's made out of at least 1/8 plate. The tough part is you really don't have the ability to tie the barrel nuts into the reinforcement very well.

 

This is a pretty common 911 problem. The stiffer suspensions and sticky race tires are too much for the mount and it eventually tears off. The "butterfly" mounts can tear off too. The Wevo "RARB" mount is really robust and would take a ton of punishment and probably not break. BUT that thick cast Wevo mount is welded to the thin sheetmetal of your tub and I'm afraid the failure would just move from the mount to the next weakest link which is the tub. Personally I would rather have to cut off the old mount and replace it then have to patch the tub. That said Wevo has an excellent track record of producing well engineered products and I haven't seen any failures af their mount, but it is a brand new part so I'm going to wait and see.

 

The issue of welding it to the tub was brought up in the Pelican thread. The reply was that the tub was three layers of sheetmetal, not just one. But, I share your concerns. It would be a bitch to patch the tub, I have to do something.

 

Hey SoCal Mike. How about those pic?

 

Jim,

Sorry to hear it.

I just used the Wevo and replaced the passenger side, for use with SRP's ARB. It's MUCH beefier than stock.

That said, I skipped the fuel pump side for now. It looked like a pain to do, a huge fire hazard, and mine was proactive (not yet damaged).

It's not too bad once you grind away the undercoating for a good weld.

Good luck!

Glenn
'87 turbo

 

Glen,

Did you completely remove the old mount, or just cut and grind the old one to where you could install the new WEVO mount? I'm thinking I can cut it off until it's flush and install the new one.

Jim

 

I've seen some tear off with some of the body sheetmetal, but since I've done some more research it seems like the majority of the failures pull the threads through or break off the mounting pad itself and leave the rest still attached to the body.

I think I am going to try out the Wevo mounts, because it would suck to go through the work of replacing them just to tear the nuts out and have to do it again. But before I weld it to the tub I'll probably stiffen the area up with another layer of sheetmetal. I think the best way to do it is to weld the edges of the reinforment panel as well as to drill a bunch of holes in it and use plug welds.

Replacing the mount on the drivers side looks like a nightmare. The fuel pump should be removed and pump bracket will make removing the old sway bar bracket a real pain...

 

Cory M,

I got my WEVOs yesterday and plan on stripping the right side off tomorrow. Adding another layer of metal to spread the load sounds like a good idea.

I think I'm going with SoCal Mikes and Odellconsults idea of doing the right side only now and repairing the left side with some bracing. When it really gets bad or tears off, I'll replace it by removing the fuel pump and housing.

 

Sorry to take so long with pics When I did this mod, SRP was out of the butterfly reinforcement kit as the Wevo was due out in a month. So I fabbed my own. Here is the right side prior to welding and the left side with small peices of 18 ga.

 

Thanks Mike. Looks good. I'll see what I can do with that on my left side.

 

Jim,

Sorry for the delay; out of town.

Using an air chisel we basically removed enough of it to fit the Wevo, then ground down everything to ensure a good weld.

You'll see how much you have to take off when you put the Wevo up against the metal. Just align it by eye/tape measure with the remaining side.

Good luck!

Glenn