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@pfarah7 : Do you have a technique in mind for removing the tie rod nut that you show in the last picture? I got scared off of removing them from online reading as there is not a place to counterhold on the rod to the rack and there were dire warnings of tearing seals and general internal mayhem if I went the route of trying to rebuild my rack on my own.
I ended up having the rack rebuilt and avoided the issue but the warnings have, obviously, stayed with me.
It seems that you are correct with torquing that top strut nut while the car's on the ground. That'll happen once the tie rod issue is properly sorted.
Zirconocene: I used the Schwaben Ball Joint Tool 00895SCH01A which works like a charm, just be aware of the loud pop (more like a bang) when the end comes off the spindle.
In case it helps anyone, HFreight makes a good version of that tie rod separator.
Question for the group: would installing a (custom) spacer between the top side of the inner fender and the upper strut mount be an effective lowering strategy? I remember- decades ago - BMW doing the opposite (spacer below the inner fender) to increase ride height.
Basically finished this project yesterday; I ran into an issue with a worn passenger side inner tie rod and had to wait for the part to come in...Top strut nuts were torqued once she was on the ground.
New tie rod...
All buttoned up and ready for an alignment. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
I continue to be deeply jealous of how clean your engine bay is.
Great work on this, and thanks for documenting it all. I have some suspension work in my future and I'm sure this will be part of what I consult when the time comes.
Don't know yet, the roads here still have some remnants of salt and I still need to properly adjust the strut rebound rates once the alignment is completed next week. I'll inform the group...
Well my friends, it appears that this chapter is closed. South Shore Autoworks in Kingston, MA performed the alignment today and all is good in the 944 world... I knew that the "before" readings were going to be off, since both front and rear suspension assemblies have been completely removed over the past year, but I was pleasantly surprised that my re-installation methods were not too far off. This is based on all new hardware so I just relied on photos containing pre-existing conditions. Here are the results:
Upon my arrival at home, I adjusted the Koni's 1.5 turns and will see how that feels. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't track the car, just cruising along with some spirited back roads consumption. Anyway, I think my next project will be a complete dash board replacement from Werk924 unless something breaks...
Thanks John; I'm actually engaging with 944Online (Steve & Ian) to see if they could start importing them into the US. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for their level of customer service (easy returns if defective, accepts PayPal, etc.).
The dimensions on a couple of the pieces that members here have installed have not been quite right. I have no direct experience but it sounds like Werk924 has been responsive and may update their molds.
Thanks for the tip about modifying the dust caps to fit the new style of bump stop. I used a 2 1/8" hole saw. With a handheld electric drill it was a bit tricky to center the larger hole but I figured out a method.
01-01-2021, 09:37 AM
