Catching the fever/ 911 suspension? Options

[Ben and Ralph]

So after four years my car is finally running as of two weeks ago. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) After getting the tailshift linkage adjusted and dealing with a carburetor problem I decided to take a small drive to azusa canyon. In that short amount of time i am already catching the fever. I notice a pretty distinct clunking sound when going over a bump and i believe that the front right strut needs to be replaced. I am thinking that instead of just replacing the strut maybe i should invest in a 911 front suspension. what is a fair price for a 911 front suspension + brakes/ rotors/ hubs? Does anyone have anything they want to get off there hands?

[Woody]

Maybe you should try to find the source of the clunk first. Could be something minor.

[Ben and Ralph]

Maybe you should try to find the source of the clunk first. Could be something minor.

- What else could it be?

[Woody]

Could be quite a few different things. A 911 suspension also has some years on it and would require some attention as well. Could be a bad strut insert, insert could be loose in the housing, could be a bad ball joint. Bushings could be bad, tie rod could have play, wheel bearings could be loose. Maybe enlist the help of someone close to you to try and track it down.

[Ben and Ralph]

Could be quite a few different things. A 911 suspension also has some years on it and would require some attention as well. Could be a bad strut insert, insert could be loose in the housing, could be a bad ball joint. Bushings could be bad, tie rod could have play, wheel bearings could be loose. Maybe enlist the help of someone close to you to try and track it down.

yeah i could use the help, still a noob at all this.

[914itis]

Oh ! You will need new wheels -5 lugs .

[Ben and Ralph]

Oh ! You will need new wheels -5 lugs .

the car came with drilled rotors and ats cookie cutters so i have that. looks like my front rotors are starting to run out of meat as well, thats why im thinking a whole new suspension upgrade.

[r_towle]

There is very little difference between the two front suspension set ups, it may not be worth the costs.

Fronts are five lug...ok
Same ball joints and a-arm setup
Torsion bars have more splines on the 911, and there are more available
Under body inferior anti sway bar....so that would be going backwards..

I would suggest you find the clunk...typically something simple.

[pcar916]

Does the conversion have a practical goal or is it a appearance thing? That should guide your project. It means a rear 5-lug suspension as well unless you want to run adapters on the rear, which you can't use at DE's or on the track.

I don't know about wheel-well clearance issues on a non-widened car with adapters. You haven't mentioned if you have any requirements for bigger brakes, but if you go bigger on the front, you'll have to balance out your system on the rear.

My car had 1979 Bilstein 911 front struts (and big aluminum calipers) when I bought it. Those struts bolt up to the 914 arms just fine, and the torsion bars (23mm) are simply 914 splined instead of 911 splined. No difference in price when you're shopping for those for different rates.

The rear suspension was done within a month of buying the car because I couldn't get onto Sears Point with the 5 lug adapters that came with the car. Done properly, it's a fairly expensive proposition to do the whole car unless you're prepared for it.

If rear brakes and CV/axle mods are in the plan, there are a lot of parts to accumulate, but it's a really great project.

[brant]

Most likely the clunk is a loose strut bolt underneath the shock cover where the shock bolts into the strut. Check your tie rods and. Opts with a pry bar before jacking it up.

If that's it it's free and takes two hours max. One hour even

Collect the suspension parts if you want while your driving it.
The 5 bolt suspension parts run a grand if you do it right and if you don't need it for racing it may not be worth it.

[JRust]

Could be your front wheel is loose. Maybe the wheel bearing is slowly backing off. Seen wheels fall off because of that. It will make a clunk as it shift if it is loose enough. grab your front wheel & see if you can move it. It's pretty obvious when it's loose. It move in a way it shouldn't (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[cwpeden]

Had the bump clunk on my 73 as well. Turned out to be the large nut that holds the insert into the strut.

[Ben and Ralph]

so to check the strut bolts, do i need to jack the car up first and unbolt everything or is there a way to see if one's loose without taking it apart? I havn't taken apart any of the suspension components on the car yet so its all completely new to me.

[cwpeden]

To check the nut circled in the illustration. Jack up car, take off wheel, remove nut #21 at the top. There is a 'lock' washer that should be replaced but can be reused. The nut is a nylock and you need to put a wrench on the flats of the shaft to take it off.

Once you have it loose, just grab the dustcover #25 and compress the insert until you can take it off. It will want to expand again so be ready for that. Then the top nut holing the strut in will be exposed.

Clear?

Also, if the car has a sway bar it could be a shot or missing bushing on one of the links

[Ben and Ralph]

Thanks a lot! for all the replies! the other thing is that the front of my car is really really low. Like about 3-4in off the ground. Is that normal? could it be something that someone had done in the past? could it be the combination of rims and tires i have?

[mepstein]

I have feeling if you get all the stock parts working as they should, you will be very pleased.

[cwpeden]

Thanks a lot! for all the replies! the other thing is that the front of my car is really really low. Like about 3-4in off the ground. Is that normal? could it be something that someone had done in the past? could it be the combination of rims and tires i have?

Adjusted using bolt #17. Theres a whole other topic about ride height, bump steer,.....etc.

[Woody]

Yes, adjusting bolt #17 will raise the front ride height but an alignment afterwards is required.

[Ben and Ralph]

Yeah i need an alignment anyways, Thanks again everybody, Going to try and tackle this issue tomorrow.

[Ben and Ralph]

Still cannot find the source of the clunking noise. Removed the strut and
Is this nut you are talking about? It's not loose and it seems like the strut has the same amount of resistance when I push on it. What else could it be? Definitely not the wheel, it's firm when it goes on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)