Thanks to Brad and HPH for the Koni deal. I picked them up on Friday and installed them yesterday. The rears were pretty simple.

For the fronts I checked Hayne's instructions first. They had a rather long list of things to do, like removing the brake discs. I was sure that it would be less involved than that so I unhooked the sway bar and then removed the taper pin holding the ball joint on. The pin came out fine but I could pop the arm off. I jack up the strut to put some spring pressure on it and started wacking it with a hammer at the end of a 2x4 (through the cutouts for the radiator vent). I'm not sure what it will take if I need to replace my balljoints but I decided to move to plan B.

I dropped the torsion bar and crossmember mounts. This allowed me to drop the struts enough to remove the struts. After that it was pretty simple. I have (according to Brad) mid-80's 911SC struts. However, I didn't need spacers on top of the struts. Brad searched a while to find some for me but it looks like I'll be returning them the next time I see him.

Jonathan

Hum.. I actually thought you had later Carrera struts.

Oh.. and I replace shocks by removing ONE nut at the top. The top of the shock/strut will swing out away from the tub far enough that you can remove the shock in about 15 minutes. I undo the top nut and physically pull the shock down by hand (easy when they are worn out) Then I remove the dust cover and stick the shock back into the upper mount. I then break the shock collar loose until I can spin it by hand. I then pull it back down by hand and remove it. Install the new shocks and place the shock back into the upper mount. Tighten the holding collar/nut and pull the shock down again and install the dust shield.... replace top nut.

You have to be careful doing it my way. You can put unwanted stress on the brake lines. I just make sure I keep some slack in them when the strut is moved away from the fender.

Glad I could help. I really didnt want you to leave the shop without EVERYTHING you needed.


B

I'm so used to working on cars with coil springs on the struts that I never tried to just compress the strut. My struts had been replaced with KYB gas struts so there was some pressure keeping them extended. The new Konis must have a little more pressure though, cause the front seems to be a little higher now. I should have taken measurements before I started, but it's no big deal I suppose. I need to figure out what ride height I want to run at and then get it aligned properly.