drscottsmith

Started disassembly in the front today to replace shocks. My question is this: I am planning to replace the upper ball joints as well during this project. When I break the upper ball joint loose from the knuckle, will that provide enough clearance (raising the arm up high) to wiggle the shock/spring out?

Early 1983 US model

tks

-scott

rjtw

Following with interest. I will replace shocks on my us 83 as well shortly, and have new upper A-arms too. What will you use to compress springs?

Crumpler

Hey Scott, I just mucked through this.
Not really is my take on it, but some other tricks listed here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...nt-shocks.html

Speedtoys

No need to crack the upper joint.

Swing out the LCA, raise up the upper arm, and bring it up & out. Easy as heck on an S4+, and only mildly bothersome on earlier years. But a wiggle or two, and it will come right out.

As for what to use for the springs...

Take em to a shop, pay em to do it while u wait for wait a day if you cant find a proper wall mounted unit to use yourself. Seen too many of the home thingies break...or damned near.

SRaouf

I removed the springs at home using spring compressors and it wasnt too bad you just need to take sensible precautions by making sure the hooks on the compressors are seated properly and dont slide, keep your fingers outside the coils, and never, never point the top nut towards you while you compress/decompress the springs. Also, gradually wind/unwind each side by alternating between them so that both sides of the spring compress equally. The springs are the longest and stiffest ive come across in a while and I had to buy a set of longer spring compressors to cope.

drscottsmith

Thanks all -

I just redid the lower joints and some steering bits and pieces so was trying to avoid disconnecting the lower arm again...my thoughts were if I am putting a new upper joint in anyway I could go ahead and break it loose and have enough wiggle room.

I really do not want to pull the upper CA off of the car - trying to replace the ball joint in situ per 928 motorsport instructions.

-scott

jpitman2

I dropped the inner fixings of the LCA to enable lifting of the upper arm, and screwed the spring/shock assembly out. The upper arm is different on 86.5 onwards cars so they dont need to do this. Had no trouble with changing the shock after that.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

DuncanF

I did this a week ago on my 87 and there was no way it was coming out without doing the same and disconnecting the inner fixings of the LCA. Had the adjusters not been completely seized then perhaps I could have wound them up but set as they were, near the bottom of the range, I did not have enough space to move the shock out of it's position. No trouble once the LCA was disconnected.

Duncan

FredR

Scott,

You will have to remove either the upper arm or the lower arm to get the coilover out. If you are repairing the upper ball joint you have to break the upper joint and whereas it can be repaired in-situ I would think it is easier to do that job by pulling the upper arm. This is a PITA but worth the effort. Although I have a different [later model] the principal seems to be very much the same and when I removed my upper arms I dropped the alternator and swung the power steering console and ac compressor out of the way to create access. The driver side rear nut I took from the top, the other three from underneath. You can move those things out of the way in about 15 minutes.

Carl Fausett

I don't agree that the upper a-arm has to be removed. Try this:

On early cars <86.5 MY I find that it easiest to mark the caster and camber eccentrics (so you can put them back in the same place) then remove them. This allows you to separate the upper a-arm from the lower, without wrecking the lower ball joint by trying to remove it. Then loosen the 4 bolts (two per cap) that bind the lower link to the frame until the lower link can swing down. Swing the upper link so that it is perpendicular to the ground, and the spring and shock should drop out the bottom. No need to remove the upper a-arm at all.

We just did this on a GTS, and the GTS springs are the largest of all 928's. An '83 is pretty easy.

FredR

Carl,

Did not spot anyone saying the upper arm has to be removed but either the upper arm or the lower arm has to move and for sure the lower arm is easier to get out of the way.

The other thought that struck me after I wrote my first post to this thread was that I thought it was a bit strange to replace the ball joint and not the upper arm bushes unless they have been done previously of course and then the upper arm most definitely has to be removed.

As I view it do it all in one hit and then the OP is good for another 20 plus years

drscottsmith

Thanks all - finally got the fronts out last night. There is not a lot of room to wiggle the assembly out - even with the lower CA completely removed. I ended up having to make slight adjustments to the height of the Upper CA (held up by a jack) to maneuver things out - up a 1/2", down 3/4", up again, down again - but finally they are free.

I can only imagine what getting them back in there will be like.

One mystery partially solved however...my car (according to Rob's investigation for me) has a mystery option - I405 Level Control System. We thought since this is an early 83 car that it may be front adjustable shocks, but apparently that is not the case.

So...the quest for I405 continues...

Thanks again for the help all - rears come off tonight.

Carl Fausett

Sorry Fred, then I misunderstood your post.

I completely agree with this:

FredR

No sweat- it is probably my English English-

At least Scott has the advantage of being able to use your ball joint kit.

Incidentally on the old upper arm I replaced, the cap that seals the assembly is held in place by next to nothing metal wise so obviously there must be no upwards thrust of any significance- this made me wonder whether a similar kit might be possible for the later arms. Came to the conclusion that with some small mods it may be possible to use your pre 87 kit using a welded on threaded hub and sealing cap. Probably not worth the effort financially speaking but...?

FredR

Scott,

If you undo the nuts at each end of the shaft the upper arm will pivot freely or at least that was the case with mine.

What condition are the bushes in? Wise inspect carefully as, if they are original I am sure they will be well shot by now.