cpdjfd107

I recently had my tires installed on my c4 cab f/b an alignment then I had my rh wheels installed f/b an alignment because I had new Koni FSD shocks installed. So I don't know when this happened or if it was there prior to any of this work. I don't have my camera I will try to put up a pic later. My problem is that the two front shock bolts (where you would mount a strut brace, that's also how I found this problem, it wouldn't fit) on the passenger side. There is a bend in the metal between the two bolts. The main piece with the big single bolt that attaches to the shock which is surrounded by rubber is pushed all the way forward causing the bend where those two forward bolts are. I wonder if this is done during alignment, or if it was possibly done during shock installation. Car drives fine. The alignment seems good. Any information would be very helpful, I don't want to drive and have something break at 80 mph. I wish I had a picture on hand to explain. But if you look at your shock tower basically instead of the shock tower being centered in the round area, it is pushed forward too much and caused the metal between the bolts to buckle. Sorry for the long post.

Chris D. 96 c4 cab

CalvinC4S

This sounds crazy?

Are you sure the part is not a rubber gasket that looks like body next to the black paint?

Pictures please.

cpdjfd107

No its definitely bent metal. I could not mount the strut brace. The strut brace is flat on the bottom and in between the the bolts where it would mount to has a bend in it. I wish I had pics I'm at work with my car and no camera.

ZombiePorsche44

Wrinkles are only normal in old people. If the surface of the top of the shock mounting area is not flat, it is definately not normal and has suffered damage of some kind.

If it was mine I would think seriously about having a professional look at it and get it fixed.

Best of luck......................Joel

cpdjfd107

Here are some pictures of what I am talking about.

rsr91128

Go back to the installer that put in the shocks and show him there is a front and back to the top mount, red paint dot normally goes forward. If you look they are offset. Not only did they put them in backwards but when they didn't fit properly they just kept going till they bent them into place. Hopefully they make it right.

For reference this is a great thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...r-dummies.html

MarkD

Chris, the pics certainly clarify things. When you called the shop earlier and talked to Darin it wasn't clear this is what you were describing.

Erik nailed it... the hat was forced against the strut tower. It happened when the Konis were installed.

It sounds like the alignment was already done. It will need to be redone.
Sorry for the bad news...

Rinty

Chris:

How do you like the FSD's so far?

My set just arrived this week, and the installation is booked for the 23rd.

cpdjfd107

Thanks for the bringing up this thread for me I'll be sure to go back to the shop and have it corrected. Thanks for your knowledge Mark and Darin. So the red dot normally goes forward but in one of the last pictures of that thread the passengers side has the dot towards the back when they are installing the strut brace, an earlier picture has red dots going forward, so is it ALWAYS forward or USUALLY forward. I want to get this rigth I hate whe people make mistakes on my car that lead to damage, uggh. Does it look like ripple can be banged out with a piece of wood and mallet??

cpdjfd107

I like them so far, I'll be able to give you a better idea when they get "properly" installed. They do soak up the bumps and seem to tighten up when cornering hard.

cpdjfd107

So does it look like any pieces were bent or damaged on the shock mount or could any pieces underneath have been damaged when they forced it to fit? If its just the ripple that can probably be fixed easily by me.

Garth S

The 4 reinforced bolt holes in the chassis are the determining point for suspension geometry - and they are undamaged. The rest is bent sheet metal that you can tap back into shape as suggested, once the struts are removed for correct installation.

The front to rear stud spacing on the (assymetric) mounts is ~130mm ..... and when correctly installed, the center hole for the shock is 75mm rearwards from the 2 front studs, regardless of the red dot ( any I have seen have the red dot forward).

Do you happen to have the castor angles on the alignment print out sheet? With the shock installed in such an upright position, I would have thought that the lower ball joint eccentric could not have adjustment range to come near spec - which should have alerted that something was not correct.

rsr91128

Mine were red dot forward, but the only way to be sure is to look at the markings on the top mount. They are the same part but are marked for left and right inside (IIRC, maybe that was the rears, my extras are in the attic but I will check tomorrow) the easy way to tell is by looking at them as they are installed to center the strut into the opening more or less.


As for the damage, the ripple can be fixed and a strut mount will help cover it and strengthen the mount but it still sucks that it happened. Make sure they check the rubber mount and the bearing for any damage or wear, maybe you could get them to replace the mounts for your due to the error.

Don't sweat it though, Porsche didn't build the cars exactly square and straight to begin with so there is plenty of adjustment available to make up for any little amount that it may be off after repair.

Let us know how it turns out and give us a report on those FSD's please.

CalvinC4S

Yeah, meat heads. This will effect the alignment of the strut and may require another suspension alignment after this is corrected.
I would recomend a 3rd party inspection, if this is wrong there are other things that could be too.

chris walrod

Red dot always forward! There is asymmetry in the spring perch.