When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Suspension refresh for '87 944: Am I missing anything?
The suspension in my 944 is getting pretty long in the tooth so I'm just going to go ahead and refresh everything so that I only have to pay for one alignment.
My plans are:
* Tie rods... there's a little bit of slop in them so it's time. They are what actually got this whole ball rolling in the first place.
* Rebuild the ball joints. They are still good but past their service interval. I already ordered the Rennbay set.
* Shocks/struts: I don't track the car or anything so regular OEM Boges would be fine but they are getting expensive and, looking at Paragon Porsche, I can upgrade to Konis all around (and their modified strut bodies) for about the same price as the Boges so, well, why not?
* Caster blocks: I have new ones that were given to me years ago. May as well use 'em!
* Dust boots/bump stops.
Is there anything I'm missing? Last I checked, the camber bolts were fine but that was a while ago (is there any reason they should be proactively replaced?). I'm hoping to not need to do the steering rack but I'm sure I'll figure that out when I get in there. No leaks so far, tho.
As for other suspension stuff (in case it comes up), I have the OEM front swaybar (with swaybar braces) and a Weltmeister rear swaybar. Tires are 205/55-16 up front and 225/50-16 in the rear.
I would also add swaybar mounts/endlinks and steering rack bushings. Might want to make sure the caster blocks are the 968 design.
Next would be the rear suspension
Replace your tie rods if they are worn, if you are careful with measuring you won’t even need an alignment so just drive it.
Leave the ball joints if there’s nothing wrong with them and they’ll likely last a long while more if the boots are still intact. If the boots are torn but the ball joints are still tight then simply clean, repack with grease and fit new boots.
The original Boge/Sachs shocks/struts are a very good street option, the Konis are kind of harsh in comparison, you will notice a difference and you may not like it. So imo if it’s not seeing any track time stay with stock and enjoy. But again if they ain’t worn leave them alone.
Same for the caster blocks, replace only if worn and only replace with the 968 blocks.
I would also add swaybar mounts/endlinks and steering rack bushings. Might want to make sure the caster blocks are the 968 design.
Next would be the rear suspension
The mounts and endlinks were replaced at some point during my tenure so they should be good to go. The caster blocks are for the 944 (I recall them having a 951 part number but I don't remember for certain). I get the value of the 968 blocks but these are NOS blocks that somebody gave me so I don't really feel the need to spend more money for the 968 blocks when I already have these. The steering rack bushings are worth considering. Thanks for pointing all of that stuff out... these are the details I'm looking for!
Also, I plan on doing the rear shocks although I haven't looked at digging deeper into it, mostly because I feel like that's a bigger can of worms than I want to deal with right now!
Originally Posted by thomasmryan
upper strut mounts, spring plate bushings, rear inners can be added. if you are planning for an alignment, good time to do the motor mounts.
The strut mounts are newer. That said, are the '87+ mounts still available? I didn't dig too deep but they seem to be out of stock in the places I checked making me think that new ones are going to hurt. If not too much, I'd consider it while in there but I'm not sure if they are really needed.
Originally Posted by divil
Front control arm bushings. Also, when you're doing the tie rods, don't forget the inners. Also I second the suggestion of the rear suspension stuff!
All this over a couple of tie rods...
"While I'm in there..." and "For just a few dollars more..." are the two most expensive phrases I have ever muttered!
That said, yes, I'm doing both the inner and outer tie rods. I think that they are original to the car (I don't recall reading about them in the original records although I may have missed it) but, again, if I'm going in there, let's just do those.
Originally Posted by MAGK944
Replace your tie rods if they are worn, if you are careful with measuring you won’t even need an alignment so just drive it.
I have uneven tire wear up front so the alignment is necessary at this point.
Originally Posted by MAGK944
Leave the ball joints if there’s nothing wrong with them and they’ll likely last a long while more if the boots are still intact. If the boots are torn but the ball joints are still tight then simply clean, repack with grease and fit new boots.
To be fair, when I said that they are past their service interval, I mean that they are well past it. They have almost 100k miles on them. They may still have a lot of life left in them but I think I'll sleep better at night if I just did them and got it over with.
Originally Posted by MAGK944
The original Boge/Sachs shocks/struts are a very good street option, the Konis are kind of harsh in comparison, you will notice a difference and you may not like it. So imo if it’s not seeing any track time stay with stock and enjoy. But again if they ain’t worn leave them alone.
How harsh? I don't mind things being somewhat stiffer so long as it's still softer than my semi track prep'd Miata (to keep my wife from killing me!). Honestly, the bigger appeal of the Konis for me is being able to do future replacements with inserts rather than having to source full body struts. From what I've searched over the last few months, the Boges' availability has been inconsistent (for a while, only one side was available on every website) and I think I read that they were discontinued. There were plenty of other generic inserts advertised for the '87 (KYB and whatnot) which I would assume would also fit in the modified strut housings just like the Koni inserts would. So, that's more of a nod to "down the road" since I want to be that guy who is driving around in a 300k-mile 944.
As I'm thinking about it, would the Konis be too much for the stock springs and torsion bars? I don't think they would but I want to confirm this anyway.
Thanks again, everyone, for your feedback. This is going to be a bigger project for me so I want to make sure I'm ahead of the game when I do it!
Just to update, I finished the job. I did what I originally planned and am very happy with the results.
The rear Konis went in very easly. Then again, there is no reason those should be difficult.
Converting the front strut assemblies to accept the Koni inserts also went well. I was a bit worried but I spent more time waiting for the paint to dry than doing actual work.
Replacing the tie rods (both inner and outer) caused me the most stress because I was worried about a Dexron shower from a leaky steering rack when I pulled the tie rod boots back but it was all good.
The only real fight came from rebuilding the ball joints. One was done in about 20 minutes while the other one put up more of a fight. Adding to that, I screwed up the epoxy mixture and had to pull the control arms back off to redo the epoxy. I decided to give the control arms a quick scrub down, just to make them less ugly.
The new caster blocks were easy to do at this point.
Anyway, now that it's all back together. No, the car isn't a razor-sharp canyon carver but she is now much tighter and corners a lot flatter. The ride, while a bit stiffer, is also acceptable.
05-13-2019, 06:39 PM
Suspension refresh for '87 944: Am I missing anything?
