Michael Stephenson

I will soon be replacing my A-arms on my 1989S2 and I have a few questions:

Are there any "gotcha's" of which I need to be aware?

Do I need additional parts, such as bushings or new bolts?

Do I need any special tools?

Does the car have to be aligned after I have installed the rebuilt A-arms?

Any horror stories? I find them both entertaining and educational - I always learn something from the trials and tribulations of those that have gone where I have yet to venture.

Thanks.

[ 06-19-2001: Message edited by: Michael Stephenson ]

Skip

Um, well, I still have the blister from pinching my finger in the arm to cross-member mount on a 924 two weeks ago

The rear mount (caster eccentric) is a pretty hardy bushing and will likely be fine... they are known to fail if you've been leaking oil on 'em. The center bushing should come with the rebuilt arm (pressed in). Don't over torque the arm to cross-member bolt... that cast aluminum will bend a little, but not too far. (~$150 for a used one from OK Foreign... a friend told me ) The sway drop-link bushings are usually cracked, but don't pose a real threat, and are easy to change out after-the-fact.

Replace the cross-member pinch bolt if suspect. I use a mild loctite (243) on the caster block bolts.

You'll likely need an alignment, but you can paint/scribe the rear mount to get it close (also be familiar with where the caster eccentric was located on removal).

Here's a pic with the torque settings:

I remember one of them is a little off... I'll check it out tonight and report back any discrepancies.

Good Luck!

[ 06-19-2001: Message edited by: Skip ]

rpm's S2

Michael- what symptoms did your A arms give that have caused you to replace them? How many miles does your S2 have?

Michael Stephenson

At my inspection for the local PCA Drivers Ed events, my Porsche mechanic has mentioned to me twice now that I have an A-arm that has a little play. He says that at my skill level (beginner) that I would be OK, but I want to get it fixed before my next event.

My car has about 77,000 miles. I am going to get two rebuilt A-arms from Markus Blaszak ( mblaszak@kos.net )Markus's web page. I am getting a pair because he puts grease fittings on them. I heard about this from the list quite a while ago and, if I remember correctly, the grease fittings are to lube ball joints and make them last longer.

Roy LaZelle

How much for the A-arms w/grease fitting ??

Michael Stephenson

They A-arms are $145 each plus shipping and handling. He is Ontario, so S&H may be a chunk-o-change. There is a core charge of $125.

I asked about the new bushings, and he said that they are not part of the price (He said the bushings were “NLA”, but I do not know what that means ), but he said he could do delrin or nylon on request. I did not get a price for the new bushings.

Best thing to do is to contact Markus, if you want to know more. I do not want to misrepresent him. His website and E-mail are in my post above. Note that I did not see any info. about the A-arms on his website.

I have not pulled mine off the car yet, I will probably do that in about two weeks. I am planning on shipping mine up there at the time of the order to avoid the core charge. I am getting my ducks in a row for now.

Tabor

NLA: No Longer Available.

It means you can not get them. But I find this fishy since I thought Auto manufacturers had to continue to produce replacement parts for 20 years from new.

Myabe what he meant to say was that you have to buy a new A-arm to get them. This is the case for some cars.

TomH

I was under the impression that you had to buy new A-Arms, when the bushings went out. So MS, if you have play in the A-Arms, isn't it because of the bushings? And wouldn't you want new ones when you replace the arms?

Tabor

I think what Michael Stephenson meant was that he had play in the ball joint. On the aluminum arms, they are not user serviceable, so you have to have them professionaly rebuilt.

[ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: Tabor Kelly ]

billybones

Hmm,

Michael Stephenson

Man, this stuff is more complicated than I thought.

I have not a clue as to what I should do about replacing the bushings, even if that is to do nothing at all. I guess that Markus can advise me once I send him my A-arms. However, if any of you guys have opinions it would be nice to hear them.

Also, Tabor is correct in that I have a loose ball-joint. I have heard very bad things about people dropping a ball joint at the track during a hard corner and I do not want to be one to tell that story from first hand experience.

billybones

geeze. that was weak... christ how long has this gone on?

MadMax

You could also go with bushings from Racers Edge. They are expensive and I don't think I would personally drop that kind of cash unless I was putting them in FABCAR A-arms or something similar. If not the Racer's Edge style of bushings I think I would go with the Delrin bushings. A little tougher and stiffer than the nylon (from what I've heard). The A-arms on my car are stock Porsche put on about 15K ago so, hopefully, I won't be doing this job anytime soon.

I am interested to know what result you guys come to though for future use.

Good Luck,

instigator

hey billybones have you found a cure yet, i have taken one of my arms apart but i haven found a replacement yet, i still waqnt to try an early ball setup but havnt gotten around to buying one to tear open. if you have an early ball joint handy take it apart(if it will come apart) and compare them with the later ball setup.

billybones

Instigator? By early do you mean the steel arm? I have an 85.5. I was talking strictly the alumminum arms... And they changed that in like 87 again... whether any of these are compatible I have no Idea.. I had a bad arm.. I bought a used one and when I took my old one apart I noticed all that was wrong was the top plastic piece was cracked and missing piece's. that was the looseness. So I have a good arm with a bad piece of plastic..I have not gone looking for parts.. But I would assume that some one is making them. I think most people actually stretch the alluminum so the joint is bad then.. but at this point I have a good arm with bad Plastic.. The point of the original post was that you can grease, atleast the early ball joints by disassembling it....