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Well guys, it's almost time for another round of repair/restoration on the 84. This winter's project will be a complete teardown of the front strut assemblies. I've procured all the necessary parts to rebuild but just need a proper tool to remove the strut gland nut (just found out what that was called).
I've read over many threads that most people use a vice and pipe wrench however; I wanted to see if there is an actual tool, which is shown in the service manual as Tool #9186.
After scouring the Internet, I managed to find a Bilstein Gland Nut Wrench from Sierra Madre Collection used for VW so I took a chance and bought to tool (#SMC.006.21).
Nice tool but the the tabs were too far apart and wouldn't catch the nut properly. So my local machine shop cut off both tabs and welded new ones that fit perfectly!
I think I'm all set now... Maybe I'll dive in after Thanksgiving; will provide progress pics.
So I got a little restless and decided to start tackling this project early (this afternoon since I've got the week off from work). The strut assemblies came off without fanfare; thank the PB Blaster gods...
Gave the wheel wells a nice cleaning (using more of the same):
I'm going to attempt to re-create the blue paint markings on the springs once painted so measurements ensued... The early models had either 1, 2 or 3 marks depending on which option code; mine has the 456 suspension so 3 it is!
Today's progress included disassembly of both strut assemblies; The Bilstein cartridge pistons are completely different (33.6mm vs 22mm) which pose an issue with obtaining properly fitting rubber stops/caps.
The original Koni's are completely worn so new units ordered today.
Amazing progress on the suspension. I will be following as I intend to do the same with my M456 85.2! I also noticed that my springs have three blue marks painted on them and was wondering what it meant. I think the mystery is solved, thank you for that info!
My pleasure. It's fun to keep learning about these cars.
BTW: The Bilsteins may be up for grabs if anyone's interested; I want to confirm that the Koni's fit correctly before they go to a new owner.
Strut housings and associated other parts made it to the body shop of bead blasting and paint yesterday.
Just a couple shots of her patiently waiting...
New Koni's adjustable strut inserts arrived.
Also, there's a fair amount of conflicting discussion on whether to add oil, coolant or leave the strut housings dry. So, I reached out to the source (Koni.US) and asked this very question; this was their response:
Patrick,
Thank you for choosing KONI shocks. The oil weight can be any shock or fork oil you have available or even some old SAE you have laying around the garage. The oil in the strut tube simply helps to dissipate some heat, and provides some corrosion resistance.
Ok, here an update: The remaining parts have finally arrived so I wanted to share my findings with the group. Please keep in mind that I'm referring to the early year cars (1984 in particular) and that I'm attempting to restore the struts with correct OEM parts whenever/wherever possible. My car does have the 456 option code suspension which came with sport struts. So here goes:
1. The upper strut mount bearings I originally ordered (VIBRASIL-ZBA.412.353) are quite different to the original Porsche units (944.343.073.00). The top bearing surface of the aftermarket mount is more deeply recessed and overall unit height is greater (Please note that the bearing sleeves are installed in the Porsche bearing mounts).
2. It appears that the original rubber bump stop design is no longer available (I've been told by more than one supplier that the design changed).
3. Due to the increased bump stop base diameter, a new dust cap has been developed with a larger hole to accommodate the new style bump stop. However, this new unit is taller.
I wasn't impressed with this so I went another route. The original Porsche dust cap style is still available so i purchased a pair to confirm and simply widened the hole so the new style bump stop would fit. I used a 2 1/4" hole saw and it worked perfectly!
I'm not sure if these other parts are designed for later cars but I did spend some time deciphering... The strut housings should be done this week so I hope to assemble and install by next weekend. More riveting adventure to come!
The paint shop called today; the parts are finished so of course I had to take off work a little early... Spring ID marks were retained. Bearing flange and concave washer were also restored!
I scrolled around a bit to re-read but didn't see the answer: are those parts painted or powder coated? I know you said they came back from the paint shop but had a memory of powder coating. I have powder coating on the brain lately, I think.
do you think the static ride height will change with the deeper recess of the upper mount bearing? the factory/wsm doesn't list the free length of the 'G' spring.
11-20-2020 | 05:25 PM
Preparing for additional Surgery
