God_Bot

Okay guys, as far as I can tell my '87 N/A still has the factory suspension. There is a bit over 230k miles on the car. I know my struts are worn and body roll is worse when turning right than when turning left (or vise versa, can't remember).

This is mainly my project car because every car guy needs a project. The closest track is over 4 hours away so it's mainly driven on the street but I'll take it down dirt roads for fun sometimes. I'm looking to stay cheap for now, I just painted this car and shouldn't really be spending money on it again already.

I'm trying to decide where to start, should I just get struts and call it good for now? Should I do bushings before struts? Am I going about this all wrong and should I focus on something else?


Here are some photos for visuals.

86 951 Driver

Get some new Koni Strut inserts up front and koni shocks in the rear. You will need to hack your current struts, but it isn't that hard of a job. After you complete that I would change out your strut mounts for some new ones or some lightly used ones. Replace as many bushings as you can afford. That should be a solid start. If you still feel like the car is lacking get some turbo springs for the front and 968 M030 Swaybars.

JimV8

Do the sway bar bushings, the castor blocks,for openers. Next do the rear shocks, then the front struts, then the upper strut bearings. After that replace everything else.

Arominus

When you get done up front, move to the rear and do all the rubber there too. It's next on my hitlist

VirginiaF1

Howdy..
More critical than your aging but still functional susp, is your Goodyear tire with a DOT date stamp of "4905"...
December 2005 manuf date; which makes them nearly 8 years old.
IMHO, if I read that correctly, spend your first dollars on new, safe tires.
Peace and GLWR
Mike

odurandina

the tires brakes and suspension come before paint....

but it's never too late to call Paragon Parts, Zims, for your shocks, bushings, A-arms etc.

God_Bot

That's probably right, they're the tires that were on it four years ago when I bought it. I just got new tires for my DD a few weeks back. I keep going back on forth on these because I want to get larger wheels soon.


Usually, but I needed a car to do body work on at school last year so I did the 944. At about $500 total for me to paint the car it was cheaper then tires/suspension.

All of this was after the fuel lines of course.

MB968

IMHO you should check front and rear struts first. If their damping is shot, I'd replace them first and then bushings. If you only find one strut that is bad, and the other three seem reasonable, then replace the pair associated with the bad strut. Then it's up to you if you replace bushings or the other pair of struts next.

william_b_noble

I have a 944 with more miles than that - above 250K - I bought it new (if anyone wants a project car where all the documentation is complete, drop me a note, I need to sell it, out of space) - my miles were dominantly freeway, no salt. When I got a 993, I gave my 944 to my brother, who generally drove it about a mile a day. Now that he's gone, I have it back. Here is what I had to fix on the suspension to get it right again:

1. ball joints - use the kits from rennbay
2. steering rack (leaks) - easy to change
3. tie rods - they had about 1/4 inch of slop in each one - I took them apart, the plastic filler had turned into powder. The tie rod ends were OK, but I changed them anyway.
4.fix the leaking main seal, the o-ring on the cam housing where it connects to the distributor housing, and the three seals for the balance shaft and cam. That will stop oil from getting on the sway bar bushings, so then you can change the bushings.
5. change the brake fluid, use a pressure bleeder - glycol based fluid is hydroscopic
6. Shocks and struts

bad ball joints are really dangerous - probably more dangerous than a bad strut or shock, so if you have worn ball joints, do that first, then tie rods (if they need it), then shocks/struts

God_Bot

1. As I understand it I'll need a full control arm rebuild because mine is a late 944?
2. All good there, no steering leaks.
3. I didn't think about tie rods, I have a feeling the steering has been gone over before I bought it, but I'll check them out.
4. My rear main is leaking, that will get tackled when I figure out what's going on with my clutch/transaxle.
5. Changed fluid when I rebuilt my calipers a few months back.


Struts then bushings, that's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. Front right is the worse with almost three bounces after a mild press down, front left is next with two, rear right has one bounce and rear left returns decently. The front however has a nice creak/squeak that I've thought was the springs, but maybe it's bushings?

Arominus

You only need to rebuild the arms if they are bad or if the boots are torn, if they are not your fine. Its usually the passenger one that goes first, so check them out. When mine went it made the car super sloppy.

If you get the rebuild kit, get the polybronze one, its worth the extra money as it will last much longer than the plastic insert version.

william_b_noble

replying to your queries on my list of 5 items:
1. not true - they are listed as non-rebuildable, so you get the kit from Travis that I suggested.
3. I had about 1/4 inch play in the tie rods, all of it at the PS rack end, none in the part at the suspension.
4. the front main is the bigger problem since it's right by the oil pump. The other seals also go bad and the oil gets onto everything. At least with a rear main seal the oil only goes onto the bell housing and not all over the suspension.

RE struts, there are rebuild kits that cost less than struts. 3 bounces means "really really bad"

Van

You haven't said, but presumably you're on a budget... Whatever it is, I think you should do as much as you can in "one shot" - that way you can feel what it was like when new!

But, first, as mentioned previously, replace anything that's actually loose or compromised first - meaning loose tierods or tierod ends, u-joints on the steering intermediate shaft, control arm ball joints or passenger side sway bar bushings...

Once you've verified that there's no play in the major components, I'd look to doing struts and shocks all around and caster blocks (upgrade to the 968 blocks, which are $58 each) at the same time. If it means that you get a full set of Sachs or Boge shocks as opposed to Konis, so be it. You're better off with 4 fresh ones, even if they're a lesser brand, than two high-end ones and 2 shot, original ones.

If your budget allows, I'd also get the weltmeister control arm bushings for $48: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...r=PEL-PP911941

Then, if your budget really allowed, I'd replace the upper strut mounts with a mono-ball ones, replace all the sway bar bushings and possibly even the steering rack bushings.

And if you just had a bunch of extra money lying around, I'd upgrade the springs and torsion bars... maybe get a used set from someone upgrading a turbo...

God_Bot

I see, this one here? I was looking in the wrong area.

I'll check the tie rods next time I'm under the car. As far as I can tell the rear main is the only leak that I have in the car.

I know, three bounces is ridiculous. My car squats so bad that it looks way faster than it is when I shift


The budget is hopeful. I recently got a little hail damage on my Monte Carlo ($1,500). As I work in a body shop I can practice my PDR on my car for free which means I can spend the money elsewhere. I'm buying struts for the Monte as they're starting to chop out my tires. I've put over 100k on that car so I can tell by feel that the struts are not what they used to be. What I have left is what I'll use to start on the 944. If all I can do is struts then I'll do that and start piecing together everything else that's needed as the money comes in until I have everything and install it all at once.

william_b_noble

yes, you found the kit - it's not hard to install - if you have any loosness, I'd recommend it - if you get too much wear, the ***** eat the aluminum and then you cannot rebuild it.