Otto Mechanic

I'm installing my front struts for the second time in the past few months and I have a question; is the top strut mount directional?

Looking at mine, it seems they have a built in slope to them that conforms to the chassis slope as seen from the top of the engine bay, with the mount points sloping down towards the engine. It's not really possible to photograph this or I would.

The top retaining plates/rubber bushings on the strut also seem to have a slope, which I assume matches the slope of the body. Last time I installed these I was really careful to make sure the slope of the mounts matched the slope of the chassis.

Am I being absurdly **** about this? Am I just looking at an old part that's taken a "set" that isn't really important for re-installation? I ask because I haven't seen any mention of this in the manuals.

Thanks,

Otto Mechanic

While I'm at it, are there any recommendations for strut tower "stiffeners" on these cars? My 928 has a factory stiffener in the engine bay but I don't see a stock part for the 944. Any experience with aftermarket stiffeners? Are they useful? Which ones work best?

thomasmryan

The hole in the studded stamping faces out.

Are you installing the snubbers?

On the newer 'you are going to buy these from us' style mounts, you can pry out the gently pry out the grease seals and relube it. Strut hats do take a load and the M030 ones are 3X the coin.

Otto Mechanic

Thomas, once again you have me at a disadvantage; what are "snubbers"? Any background on the M030 strut hats and why they're important? Where I can find them?

I'm very seriously interested in this subject, I've never heard about it before and I would very much like to get as close to the M030 suspension as possible.

Thanks,

thomasmryan

I call the foam bump stops, "snubbers" on the strut shaft.


M030 hats are part number 951 343 018 30. I am not sure if it is just stiffer rubber. its not listed here but a good run down on part numbers for the '68

http://www.weissach.net/968_M030-Option.html

MAGK944

There are 3 types of strut top mounts, early, late and M030, They improved and became more expensive over the years, so the TurboS M030 was considered the best factory version. A while back someone on this forum (xschop?) made a kit for the early mounts that used a urethane insert instead of rubber and a much improved bearing, it made the cheap early mount better than the very expensive M030, you'll have to search.

Otto Mechanic

Thanks for that references Thomas, very good I think.

I haven't replaced the struts themselves completely. I did install the Koni inserts but not the M030 adjustable spring (very similar to the ones on my 928).

I also haven't replaced the rear torsion bars or added rear springs. I admit I would have if I'd had more time to finish this project and I may very well do it in the future. There's an unstated timeline on my project since I'm selling my home and shop and moving the whole shootin' match to my new shop in Paso Robles before the end of summer, so I suppose you could think of this as version 0.5 of my final suspension build.

But I did install the snuggers

Otto Mechanic

This pretty much finishes up my suspension. Both fronts struts came out and the new snuggers, aka bump stops, went in today (picture attached).

Now I have a new problem. After installing the sway bar and re-installing the front struts, I'm getting a clicking sound from the steering rack. Full side to side I get three clicks. I can't yet figure out where the sound is coming from.

I tested the rack after I installed it and it was smooth with no sound, now I'm getting clicks. I can't feel them, but I can hear them.

Regards,

Otto Mechanic

The strut "hats" do appear directional. On mine there's a hole in the metal top of the strut hat that needs to be positioned to the outside as Thomas describes. I don't know that's a reliable indicator on all cars, but it is true for my '89 S2.

I ended up marking the top of the strut "hat" with an indelible marker, an arrow pointing to the engine on the engine bay side of the hat.

It surprises me this directionality isn't mentioned in the shop manuals or Clark's? Maybe I missed it somehow, it wouldn't be the first time.

MAGK944

Scott, you started this thread asking if top strut mounts are directional, then you mention that you installed the strut hats directionally. The strut hats fit over the top of the spring and locate the spring, they are not directional as such, they simply fit on the spring end and the end of the spring dictates how the spring hat is positioned, not any hole. If there is a hole in them it's not to identify a direction.

Now the strut mounts you started the thread with, they are directional and the hole goes towards the outside of the car as Thomas stated.

If you've somehow forced the spring hat to sit off the spring, there's your clicking, you need to fix that.

Otto Mechanic

Mike, what I found I'd done was exactly as Thomas suggested; the hats were oriented with a hole on the outside. In fact, they won't go in any other way. I did mark the second strut I r-&-r'd to make sure and the hole Thomas mentions was correctly oriented. The first one wasn't marked and I had to re-install it when I found it wouldn't seat correctly any other way. In my experience, they are directional as Thomas notes.

So I have a different problem I think. The sound seems to be coming from the rack itself. I wish XSChop was on this distribution since I expect he might have some experience with the sound I'm getting.

Regards,

Otto Mechanic

I'd like to double check this analysis.

The springs seat into the hat and also into the base of the strut (the "perch"). I believe I was careful while re-assembling the struts to make sure the springs were correctly seated and used a bench press for the job, which I thought gave me both a sense of security and complete control over the compression.

I believe you're suggesting the springs aren't correctly seated in the carriers, and that this may well be the source of the "clicking" noise?

Otto Mechanic

Just for clarity, this is the strut compressor I used. It's a little older than my children, I bought it back in '78 when I was doing my first Porsche upgrade; a 914 to 916 conversion. I called it my "flexy flier", it was a great car and I never should have sold it. The first car I ever bought

thomasmryan

when the bearings go sour in the hats, the spring gets twisted. the clicky-clicky might be the spring either being wound or unwound overcoming the bearing friction.

there is a locating tab for the mounts. they only go on one way.

MAGK944

Ok, maybe it's the terminology that's confusing me here. A spring hat is the piece of pressed metal that the top of the spring fits into, it doesn't have a bearing. The strut top mount fits on top of the spring hat and attaches to the inner fender to hold the top of the strut in place. The strut top mount has a bearing and the spring hat sits on that bearing in order to allow it to rotate.

The spring hat isn't "directional" in that it isnt fitted in one direction relative to the car. It locates with the end of the top of the spring. The strut top mount is directional and must be fitted with the hole facing out.