Hey...I'm the Obama of 914 World...trying to fix everything at once. Anyway, when ever I hit a bump I hear clunks in my rear end (suspension). I think I;ve identified it and need some feedback on the fix. The upper connections between my sway bar and the shocks have a huge amount of play...like 1/2". There's only some black grease in there. You can take the rod between the sway bar and the shock and move it...clunk it...easily and through a large range. Also, on the right side there's a rectangular rubber spacer thingie hanging down that makes no sense...especially because of it's shape.

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Oh, I thought you had Gas!

I do. I'm 56. That's why they call old people "old farts".

You have found the culprit, it looks like.

Those appear to be weltmeister, so see if you can get a new upper heim joint and go from there. I think that Performance Products is a Weltmeister dealer and they should be able to help you, ALTHOUGH they have played dumb before with me on a bushing issue I had with a front Welt kit.

The strange looking squarish plastic piece looks to be a makeshift side bushing which should not be there. If the link doesn't fit the heim joint, it needs to be corrected, NOT shimmed.

I hope that helps.

It does help...as always, thanks!

maybe it's related to the problem with your hole you had yesterday

synthetic materials may last longer than natural cork

Perhaps if you put a polished billet aluminum oil cap on it things would quiet down???

You can shim a heim joint all day long. That rubber dealio you have there isn't the way to do it. Usually the spacer ( not really a shim ) is a machined piece that's hardened.

Just lay off the Taco Bell bean burritos and that noise will go away......

Beano works wonders on old farts

Guys...look at my photos again...it's not just the lateral movement that's huge...nothing that shims or spacers would cure...it's also the fore/aft movement, as if there's no "ball" in there...like a 1/4" bolt through a 1/2" hole. Is there supposed to be a ball in there, like the lower joint, or did the DAPO slap too small of a bolt through there with no spacers at all?

You'll have to take it apart to see whats going on. The shoulder of the bolt should fit snug into the eye. Also check that the bolt actually has a shoulder and isn't threaded the whole way. You might end up buying both the joint and new bolts. Having a bunch of slop defeats the whole purpose.

Just unbolted it. There's a threaded bolt covered by a sleeve that's 7/16". The hole in the fitting is 12/16" (3/4") The space was filled with what looked to be tar!

OK...Performance Products hasn't answered my e-mail yet, but Jason Burkett at Paragon Products answered my e-mail right away, responded to three more e-mails, called me on the phone and solved my parts problem for $11.88. There are two rubber bushings in each side with the metal sleeve in between. Something got to the rubber and reduced it to tar. He said I'd have my parts by Saturday. Great company response!

good luck getting performance products to answer DICK... Jason @Paragon is a different story, and I highly recommend buying from him.

I just bought some rear bearings from him, actually. I got notification that it was shipped within an hour. that place is top-notch for the parts they have.

Yep...Jason was great. Took the time, communicated...great!

Anyway, since I dropped this heim joints outta the way, I drove her again, and all rear end clunking was gone! It was all those slapping joints. Between doing that and fixing my squeaking targa top (another thread), the car is sooooooo pleasurable to drive. Also, must not be pushing around the corners hard enough becasue I saw no difference with the rear sway bar eliminated. Guess 225 rubber on a lowered car with HD shocks is enough for a wimp driver like myself!

That bar you have is adjustable. The farther it is towards the ends the softer it is. 914's swap ends pretty fast. A lot of guys don't care for the bar or don't feel they need it. I like it myself.

Low polar inertia somethingorother...my Europa was like that...stuck like glue way beyond other cars, but when it was time to go, it went like spitting out a watermelon seed.

Wow...just put the car up in the air to figure out the clunking in the front end, and it seems to be the same joint in the Weltmeisters on the front! Nothing in there on the left side!!! Back to Paragon for much anticipated silence and solidity!
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Wow. There is just nothing there. What was the PO of your can thinking with many of the things that he did to this car? How did he think this would be helpful?

I know you don't remember the story, but the car was restored in 1989, and then driven very little before being put to rest for 20 years. A dealer bought it last year, got it up and running, and sold it to me on eBay. He took off the chrome reversed wheels because he wanted them, and threw on the BBS wheels with the effed up spacers. All he cared about was getting it running enough to sell it. I'm guessing that the sway bar bushings (front and rear) just disintegrated over twenty years...who knows. Or they got so freaking brittle they blew out on the drive from CT down here to MD. All in all, I'm still very pleased to have gotten a pretty solid car, with factory Porsche steel flares, great paint, dual Weber 40s and BBS three piece wheels for $6,800.

Just spoke to good old Jason at Paragon again and he is sending me the replacement bushings for less than $17.00 including Priority Mail. Great company!

This is why I'd never be able to flip cars and make money at it. I'd feel that I'd have to fix everything, all the time - and would end up upside down on the car by the time I went to sell it.

Zach

It's tough being honorable.

Main, that "after" drive will be sweet!

I feel the same way. After I changed the rear sway bushings, the car was soooooo much quieter...more solid...more "new". I loved it. Getting rid if these last remaining suspension "clunks" will be beautiful. Can't wait. Hell...you understand!

Sweet it is. Same $17 (both sides) set of bushings I replaced on the rear sway bar. Jason Burkett at Paragon is the best. They were in my mailbox this morning at 10:00 and installed by 11:00. The car is soooooooooooo improved. The clunking noise is gone. She sounds like a nice solid Porsche, and corners MUCH better. Guess with a tight ass and a loose front they will handle differently! Used to be that when I cornered hard, about half way into the corner she'd get soft...felt like the rear tires were rolling over onto the sidewalls. Now, I'm guessing that it was the front end getting overpowered. Happy man today!!!