I'm in the process of installing new front struts while doing the tie rods, ball joints and related boots. I'm stuck getting the nuts off of the upper control arms inside the engine compartment. I've sprayed them with lubricant but the problem is with the rear nut which lies close to the exhaust manifold, making a wratchet socket a tight fit. Any tips or tricks short of removing the manifold?

 

Orest,
It is possible to remove the 'struts' without removing the upper A arms
Remove the lower A arm rubber bearings and the bolt for the shocks connection to the lower A arm. Now you swing the whole unit out/up - Fix it there, and slide the 'struts' down inside the upper A arm - There is just space enough to get it out.

 

Whenever I replace the shocks or springs, I remove the lower control arm. Doing so, means I don't have to remove the upper control arm and I don't have to seperate the upper ball joint from that control arm.

BTW, all 928s have shocks - not struts.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Ed Ruiz:
<strong>
BTW, all 928s have shocks - not struts.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Ed,
What do you call the whole shock and spring assembly?
Don't get me wrong (this time), I only want to learn A M E R I C A N! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

 

You're probably better off learning British... we've mangled the language beyond recognition. Whatever you do, don't learn spelling from Viribus Unit (sp?).

As for shock/spring vs. strut I call them shock/spring. 240Z's had McPherson Struts which has a particular design characteristic that makes it a 'strut'.

And, absolutely remove the lower A-Arm. Tons easier.

 

Thanks for all the input! I'll give it a shot this weekend.
Ed - Page 40-36 of the service manual refers to it as a "spring strut." But I agree with you that it's a shock. It's all just semantics.

 

As I understand it, struts double as dampeners and structural components that hold the wheel-hub in place.

On the other hand - A shock doesn't hold the wheel-hub. They may be needed to support the wheel-hub, but the wheel-hub would not fall off if the shock were to be taken out.

The 928 shocks are a bit different in that they do help to hold push against the lower control arm. Without the shock, the spring is too short to act against that control arm. However, the wheel-hub is held in place by the upper and lower control arms, and not by the shock. YMMV.

BTW, this is not a moot point. Many years ago I had an extended coverage policy which did not cover struts, but did cover defective shocks. As it turned out, one of my front shocks was bad, and the other was getting weaker. I brought the car in for repairs, and they covered the labor and replacement of both front shocks. I don't think they would have done that if they thought they were struts. ;^)

 

I have the German issue of the manual - Here on page 40-36 the unit is named: 'FEDERBEIN'. That similar to what we called it in Demark: 'FJEDERBEN'. Direct translated that means
'SPRINGLEG'(for both language)
The shock is (only) a part of this unit.
I think the name: 'Mc Person' is international used for this cheaper design

 

I've owned cars with McPhearson struts. The 928 does not have McPhearson struts. The 928's suspension design was "state-of-the-art" back in 1977. It was anything but cheap. YMMV.

Lastly, I'm sure the folks who write extended care warrantees know the difference between "Struts" and "shocks". They obviously did in my case, and I'm glad they did. ;^)

 

Ed,
Fantastic - It seams that you want to misunderstand!

 

You're right, I don't understand your last message!

Bottom line - According to Porsche, their 928 service manual, the extended warrantee insurance company, the shop that replaced the shocks (at no cost to me), my 928 mechanic, and everyone I know who knows 928s better than I all agree - "The 928 has SHOCKS - not Struts. YMMV.

 

Well, I finally got around to replacing one front shock today and tried the technique of removing the lower control arm and pulling the shock up and out from in between the upper control arm fork. No dice. Not enough clearance to do so even with spring compressors on. I even tried pulling the spring/shock assembly down through the fork in the upper arm with no luck. With the lower arm completely removed I reluctantly unscrewed the two nuts in the engine compartment with the help of a 4 ft breaker bar and 1/2 inch wratchet (fortunately I have access to a lift). Wasn't as hard as I thought.
Can anyone give me more specifics about this technique of removing the lower control arm? Do I have to separate the lower ball joint (or unscrew it at the eccentrics)?

 

Yes - you either have to unscrew the eccentrics or release your ball joint from the bottom of the spindle. If your replacing ball joints anyway - this is the way I'd go. Then you can swing the lower A arm way the hell away, lift the upper A arm almost level with the ground, and the shock and coil assembly falls out though the hole you have made. I'd never mess with those upper a-frame nuts in the engine compartment - no room in there...

 

Orest,
I also have an 83S, and I got my spring/shock units out through the top arm. I dropped the lower arm by unbolting the front and rear clamps/mounts, and let it swing free. Then you can get the top arm high enough to get the unit through it. its NOT EASY but it can be done. I looked at removing the top arm inner bolts and promptly dropped that idea. It would be a bit easier to remove the bottom ball joint from the spindle, but I managed without doing that. In case its of interest I went from non-adjustable Bilsteins to adjustables, which came with new perches, which were slightly bigger than the original perches, and made re-install more difficult.
jp 83 S AT

 

If you can't seem to raise the upper arm high enough to let the shock/spring unit drop out, you can "unscrew" the unit through the arm. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> To reinstall, you can "screw" it back in place, using the spring and twisting. I had just had surgery when I did mine, and needed to jack up the upper arm for support, and the small jack I was using keep slipping;then I discovered that if it wasn't high enough, the spring would just screw in or out.
Later I mastered the technique of raising the upper arm sufficiently to jam the unit in place.