While teching the 944 for a combined weekend of HPDE'ing with my Miata, I noticed some play in the driver's front end. It was only top/bottom when shaking the front wheel.

We chased it down and confirmed that the ball joints are good and the strut/knuckle bolts are tight so maybe it was in the bearings. We weren't sure, but they're cheap and easy to replace (and probably not a bad idea at 130k miles anyway) so I did it as a variable eliminator. That variable has been eliminated so we're on to the next idea.

Attacking it again, we can see that there is some movement in the strut when we shake the wheel (not sure why we didn't notice before. Maybe I shouldn't trouble-shoot with beer?) so we're thinking it's either something with the strut or the upper strut mount. There is a lot of motion in the strut but not nearly as much in the strut mount, indicating that the strut may have issues. But at teh same time, the strut still passes the "bounce test" with nothing but some extra clunking noise and driving feels fine.

So, thoughts? I think there's a problem with the strut, but I'd like to know if anyone has anything else I should look at first.

Thanks!

BB.

 

OK, how are you shaking the wheel? Grabbing the top and bottom (12 & 6) and wiggling the wheel about the spindle, or shaking the wheel up and down as it would compress/extend while driving down the road?

Can you clarify how you are seeing the movement?

 

Right, clarification would help!

I grabbed it at 12 and 6 and wiggled it about the spindle. I noticed this during my "bearing test" with the car on the ground.

BB.

 

Well whenever I have had something like this, it was always that the wheel bearings were not adjusted properly. I would have the car on the ground and just push in on the top of the wheel and get a light "clicking" sound.

Just went out to my car and checked, I do not have the clicking, but there is some play when I push the wheel in, more of a feeling it move rather than seeing it move.

Can you see where your car is moving?

 

The first thing I checked was the bearings but they were adjusted properly. For grins, I even tightened them further to see if it did anything but it didn't. They're now new and properly adjusted but that didn't help.

Getting underneath and with one person shaking the car, it seems that the strut body is moving the most. There's no movement where the body meets the control arm and only a little bit at the strut bearing. It's almost like the strut shaft is a little loose in the body.

BB.

 

You should really be putting a jack under the lower control arm and jacking it up so the wheel is off the ground, not just shaking the car side to side while on the ground. Load the suspension by jacking under the lower ctl arm, then do your shake down checks.

 

I'll try that!

BB.

 

Just a follow up...

I dug around it some more and found that the struts are flexing back and forth where the shaft enters the body. (Heh... that sounds dirty!) I have heard from a couple different people that this is a fairly common thing with 944s.

So, I guess the solution is to buy some Konis and be done with it.

Now to decide whether or not I want to lower the car...

BB.

 

now that's a silly question to ask

 

Yeah, I know. The problem is that with the amount I want to sink in to it, I'd end up doing a potentially half-assed job so I'm not sure it's really worth it for my backup track toy.

BB.

 

i had my S2 lowered to european height. i wouldnt go lower than that with the factory control arms. with M030 konis set on about 2/3-3/4 firm i was very pleased with the setup. im not sure what springs are in the S2 but they are just a little firmer than stock and i think the car is pretty balanced on the track with the sways making any adjustments. just my .02 on a topic that can be debated ad nauseum.

i forgot that the M030s i bought have the adjustable collar which made lowering the front that much easier. as a weekend toy DE toy i dont know if i would spend the $$ to lower the car if i was driving on the street too.

 

Right now, my suspension is stock save for a stressbar, front 968 M030 swaybar (hollow, 30mm?) and the 22mm rear Weltmeister bar. For the street, I have 205/55-16 f and 225/50-16 on the rear with 225/50-15s all around for the track. I'm not too worried about a proper street balance (I can fiddle with the shock and swaybar settings to keep things in line anyway) but am more concerned about having a good track balance.

My decision will end up being one of three options:

1) Put new Boges on the front and that'll save money and, quite frankly, meet my goals for whatever I want with the car.

2) Put spend an extra $300 or so and put Konis on all around but keep the stock springs and ride height. I'm on board with doing this unless there is some reason it'd be a bad idea.

3) lower the car with something like the Weltmeister 200 pound springs and adjusting the rear arms down. This won't cost that much more to do, so long as I'm "in there". But then, it's a pretty half-assed approach that could very likely cause more problems than it solves so I'm not sure it's really the best approach.

Right now, I'm leaning towards Option 2.

BB.

 

upper strut mounts are shot?

 

Nope, they're good. If you put your finger in the little corner formed by the strut shaft and the strut body and shake, you can feel a good bit of motion there. The motion pretty much disappears at the top and bottom of the strut.

BB.

 

two or three.