Front end changeover in progress..., 8/8- Alignment woes Options

[jk76.914]

I'm finally getting rid of the 4-to-5 lug adapters and doing a real Porsche 5 lug front suspension. Contrary to normal practice, which is normal for me, I guess, I'm installing real 914/6 struts with new Bilstein inserts. I bought the parts about 5 years ago on eBay, and the kit was all-inclusive, with freshly painted struts and new ball joints, bearings, rotors, pads, and brake hardware, and rebuilt M calipers. My excuse is I didn't know any better at the time, or I'd have looked for a later 911 set with the later bearing type, but alas, I own it now and everything is in real nice shape.

I think I'm good to go on parts and tools, but I'm trying to find out the torque requirement for the lock bolt for the ball joint. It's an M10 x 30mm x 1.5mm pitch, going into steel threads in the strut; presumably the lower part of the strut, below the tube, is forged.

Looks like an M10 grade 12.9 bolt is good for 50 ft-lbs, but I don't want to chance stripping out the threads. Nor do I want the BJ to pop because it's too loose. Does anyone know the torque spec? Thanks! Picture below-

PS- any tips for installing this type of strut? Thanks!

[jk76.914]

Getting this together finally. Painted the struts Bilstein green, got the old ones off the car, found some new upper mounts... I'll post some new pics shortly....

Meanwhile, as I said I'm using former 914/6 parts for my 5 lug conversion. They use the pinch-bolt ball joint mount. I don't have the washer that goes between the ball joint and the strut, and they're discontinued, at least at Pelican and at Porsche. It's item number 22 in the drawing below, part number 901 341 659 00.

Is there anything unique about this washer? I measure the ball joint at .630", non-tapered, so a 5/8 washer would do it. I can get hardened steel or stainless steel, in various thicknesses and OD. Does anyone have one laying around that they can measure for me?

Thanks, Jim

[ArtechnikA]

Is there anything unique about this washer?

I wouldn't call it unique, but IIRC, it's _really_ thin.
Like 1mm, maybe less.
I may have one somewhere but I doubt I have a pair.
But my guess is all the usual suspects for used parts (HPH, EASY, PartsHeaven, ...) have buckets of them...

[jk76.914]

Is there anything unique about this washer?

I wouldn't call it unique, but IIRC, it's _really_ thin.
Like 1mm, maybe less.
I may have one somewhere but I doubt I have a pair.
But my guess is all the usual suspects for used parts (HPH, EASY, PartsHeaven, ...) have buckets of them...

Thanks for the response. I finally measured the parts. The ID of the washer (OD of the ball joint shaft) is .630". The OD of the washer needs to be at least 1", to overhang the ridge on the rubber boot. And when I bench-assembled the joint into the strut, I used a feeler gauge and decided that .030" thick would do it. This thickness will slightly compress the rubber. .030" is just shy of 1mm (.0394"), exactly as you estimated.

I ordered a bag of 10 stainless steel shims from McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com), catalog number 97022A499, for $9.04. The shims are .630" (+/- .005") ID x 1.00" OD x .031" thick. As shims, they'll have very smooth surfaces. I'll probably have them Tuesday. If anyone needs these for a front end rebuild, let me know. I have extras and I'll even cover the postage. Remember, they're only used on the pinch-bolt strut, which went away sometime in 1972 (I think).

While I'm waiting, I'll clean some parts, do a fit check, and start disassembling the other side.

Jim