All -

I am working on raising my rear ride height to get a proper alignment. Both of my adjusting nuts turn fine (not seized), but they are VERY difficult to turn.

If I use a spring compressor to compress the spring, will that take pressure off of the collars and make turning that nut easier? If that won't work, is there a way to make it easier to turn? I have a LONG way to go.

Thanks -

-scott

 

If you know how far you have to go, why not raising the car and adjust the ride height to the desired height?
Lower the car again and drive it for a while. Check the results and fine adjust the height to the correct value. This way you'll safe yourself the "long way to go".

 

Hey Shocki -

Thanks for replying - I may not have been clear enough in my original post.

I had the car off the ground. By long way to go, I meant a lot of turns of the adjuster nut...It is VERY difficult to turn and in situ, I can only turn it about 1/4 of a turn at a time. I lubed the bottom of the perch where the adjuster is against it. I was thinking maybe by taking some of the pressure off of the bottom spring perch (using the spring compressor), it might make it much easier to turn the adjuster nut.

 

You can try that, but space is limited. If you've lubed up the interface between the perch and the adjusting nut, and the adjuster threads fairly well, compressing the spring isn't going to buy you much. FWIW, unless the threads on both the nut and the sleeve are surgically clean and corrosion-free, plus well lubricated, turning the nut will be a chore regardless. This is a case where using a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone might be worthwhile. Be careful around the painted parts of course. The top of the adjusting sleeve sits in the bottom of a funnel that looks like the spring perch. Dirt/crud/debris/etc plus any water that makes it to the spring ultimately ends up in the bottom of the funnel, right where you'd love to move the adjusting nut against the sleeve. All that stuff tries to run down the threads, or sticks to the threads on the sleeve where you'd like to put the nut.

If the adjustment really is nightmare-tough, remember how relatively easy it is to remove the whole spring/shock assembly to the bench, where you can disassemble and clean everything. You've also calculated the number of turns you need for the adjustment, thanks to Jeff's ride-height calculator. Good chance to renew the protection on that pin too. Grease the threads during reassembly, and leave a nice heavy protective layer on the threads at the top of the sleeve as you reassemble. It might be enough to keep some crud out and make the next adjustment a bit easier.

 

Spreadsheet below.

 

This

 

Thanks all! DrBob Everything in the back has just been rebuilt (with all of your recommendations completed). I made the mistake of not having the rear assemblies put back together at the highest shock setting rather than the lowest - everything works fine - it’s just a bear to adjust now.

jeff - I didn’t see the spreadsheet so sending you a pm if you don’t mind emailing a copy.

thanks again all-

-Scott

 

The link to Jeff's (Speedtoys) spreadsheet is in his signature area. Click on "How to Raise or Lower Your 928" in his posts and you'll go right to it. The calculator give guidance on how many turns of the adjusters it will take to get from current height to your target height. It assumes that you know the starting settled height of the car of course. That may or may not be a good assumption if you've just installed the spring/shock assembly. Good news on the rears is that they aren't nearly as sticky as the fronts, so seem to settle a lot faster. Bottom line though is that you'll want a good starting point.

For those playing along at home, it's always a good idea to document settings like this before you start adjusting, and for sure before replacing dampers. Provided you are replacing with the same, you can do some measuring and counting as you disassemble for cleaning. On reassembly, adjsut from the original positions based on Jeff's calculator if your ride height wasn't good prior.

Scott suggests that he could have started from the top of the adjustment range because the collars seem easier to turn. That's tru if the adjuster threads are dirty or corroded. On clean lubricated threads, the difference between up and down, especially with the car raised up, is negligible. The adjuster threads on my car were "packed" with heavy grease during assmbly, with the bottom of the sprinperch funnel getting a more than generous amount so crud is kept clear. The bottom exposed threads on the sleeve are greased, then wiped off so that there's still grease in the thread recesses. My car has lived in dry desert climates all its life so corrosion there has never been an issue. Meanwhile, I've also enjoyed pictures that members have shared of their wetter- and saltier-climate cars, stimulating the extra precautions just in case. If you live or drive in a not-desert climate, give thought to what you'd like the pieces to look like in NN years of exposure, and how you might deflect some of the corrosion factors.

 

Jack up the rear to take some of the pressure off the perch and put on a glove or add a pipe to the end of the adjuster wrench to make it easier to turn.

 

Thanks again all for the tips and advice. Let me add to the body of knowledge here for the betterment of all (for those following along at home as DrBob would say)...

I had been reading and writing on my phone so could not see the signatures of anyone (duh point number one). Got on the computer and worked great. Thanks Jeff!

I had to go 9.1 turns on the passenger side and 10.4 on the drivers' side. Well, when I realized I could take the sway bar link off to provide more space - what a realization (duh point number two). I had both sides done in about 20 minutes. Lubed everything up and we are ready to go to the alignment shop after settling. Will be interested to see how much better things ride as well as what the numbers say on the alignment sheet when my guy gets it done.

Thanks again all -

-scott

 

ok..this is awesome.

thanks for taking the time to do that!

 

Was the spreadsheet requested # of turns accurate for you?

 

Yes sir - my mistake in not closing the thread out! I made the correct adjustments and took it back to my alignment guy and he said everything was just about spot on (meaning he did not have to do too much in the way of adjustment).

Thanks again!

 

Thanks..good to know I measured the ratios right.