TheOtherEric

Granted, you're not supposed to use a cordless impact wrench on these bolts... but I would. Perhaps tighten a strap around the shock shaft to help prevent rotation, then hit that nut with the impact wrench. Otherwise you're scrapping the shock. I guess you could take your broken Allen wrench and weld it to the shaft top. Personally, I'd say hell with that, just use the impact wrench. People with moton/JRZ/mcs do so every time.

kg4nih

For those that are following along w/ CRW - let me add emphasis to checking the front control arm bushings. Even though my car has only 22k miles on it - I took the sage advise of RL members - and pulled the control arms and checked the bushings. They were visibly sagging; my mechanic agreed they were shot.

Dplus

Sorry you ran into trouble; hopefully you get it sorted without too much pain and expense. I plan on installing the same set up one day so thanks much for taking the time post this!
Undercarriage looks great too.

Good Luck with the rest of the install!

D.

IXLR8

Sagging? You mean the rubber turned to mush at a mere 22K miles?

Ed Hughes

Therein lies the truth: time takes a toll.

Keep on believing your suspension doesn't need refreshing.

pirahna

Any updates?

kg4nih

Yes; they were clearly deteriorated. My car is a '97, so its 16 years old w/ 22k miles (and I put 2.6k of that on it bringing home from LV to VA this fall). I didn't "want" to believe the bushing could be bad since the car is cosmetically/mechanically perfect in so many ways. But the bushings were shot.

Thanks to the "nagging" from RL'ers about checking the bushings, I checked them. So my recommendation to others doing a suspension "upgrade" is to take the extra hour to pull both control arms and check the bushings.

nine9six

Easily salvageable with a dremel, cutting wheel and a chisel. Cut into the nut with a cutting wheel, taking care not to touch the thread crests of the strut. A hammer and chisel in the lefty loosey direction, should git er done. Even if you cut into the threads a bit, you can clean up the thread with a 3 sided, (60 degree included angle) file.

crw

My front struts are installed.

While I was in the neighborhood I resprayed the calipers with VHT clear after sanding and they turned out great (there are many threads on this).

- pick of the flaking clear
- light sand the edges
- clean
- 2 light sprays

Very easy!

New rubber dust covers, bumpers, and perch gasket rubber is highley reccomended (the old one had cracks and were not pliable anymore).

Important items are to folow the proper torque settings and have the wheels straight which will make it easier to install.



On this one I still have to tighten the lock ring and do the brake clip.





I have started to install the rear shocks (the one good one I have).

When tightening the shock nuts in the engine compartment be very careful.

A well know Porsche shop told me about a customer who dropped one of the nuts for the rear shcoks into the back of the engine bay. it was never found and made it's way into a part of the engine that locked up the cam and caused significant damage to the valves .

As a caution I put some paper as a saftey back there just in case the nut got loose. It's a very tight space with little eye view or room to work. Also, I taped the nut to the extension before threading it on. It's very hard to thread 2/4 nuts on with your hand - no room. This is a nut you do not want to drop into the engine abyss back there.





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As I mentioned in my previous post - I screwed up 1 shock by cross threading the wrong side nut.

To make a long story short, I can't salvage the shock (the piston got damaged trying to cut the nut off).

Worse, you cannot but a single shock retail, they only come in a kit.

I called Koni, NA and they are going to provide me with a replacement shock at a nominal charge. I have to wait for it to some from Belgium - it should be here in 2 weeks.

Also, Koni has certain warranty rules regarding the where you purchase you kit from.

They have been a big help.

kg4nih

crw - Great tip on taping the nut to the extension. Your thread on the install has been a big help to me since I'm doing the same and am about a week behind where you are. This weekend I'm reinstalling the re-bushed front control arms & front struts.

Question. What size did cut the notch for the front brake lines?

pirahna

I was told by my mechanic that Bilstein will not warranty anything bought outside of the US. Is this the same with Koni? I was thinking I might buy these from Carnewal but don't want to buy them if they don't have a warranty.

crw

I would cut them as @ 8mm to fit the line in.

IXLR8

I wonder what got to them. Mine are on a '95 with double your mileage and still as good as new.

kg4nih

Not sure what whacked them. The car was a SoCal (w/ 6 months in LV) car all of it's life. The bushings were dry & cracked (think old rubber band). My wrench says, in part, its simply age & the weight of the car that causes the bushings to deteriorate & deform over time.

But my real point is, if you're replacing the struts/shocks - spend the modest extra time to pull the control arms & check.

OT - Alex, like your motorcycles & alps touring site. My last bike was a '76 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans. I owned it from 78 - 84; a lot riding time in Colorado, Utah, NM & (after re-assignment) mid-coast Cal. Sold it in '84 IOT buy a '64 356 SC coupe.

Coyote

Is there a way to check these bushings without removing the control arms? Any photos or detailed instructions would be nice. I have looked at mine as best I can but it isn't obvious with them in the car.