968 caster (castor?) mounts ~ worth it if not upgrading wheels?
- Thread starter mik_ok
- Start date
steve 944t
Member
Well, I got round to fitting my 968 mounts today and I am happy to report a marked improvement. The suspension used to crash noisily over bumps, but is now quiet. Previously the front end would be a bit nervous over ruts but now drives much better. The roads have been too greasy to try out any enthusiastic cornering, but certainly the car is far more pleasurable to drive. A good improvement for £60 [
]
The job took 35 minutes from start to finish, with most of the time taken up in getting the car on axle stands. The driver's side is made slightly more fiddly as the brake pipes prevent the use of a socket to undo the eccentric bolt, but fortunately a ring spanner did the job. All the bolts have been soaked in WD40 for the last 2 weeks, so that probably helped.
]The job took 35 minutes from start to finish, with most of the time taken up in getting the car on axle stands. The driver's side is made slightly more fiddly as the brake pipes prevent the use of a socket to undo the eccentric bolt, but fortunately a ring spanner did the job. All the bolts have been soaked in WD40 for the last 2 weeks, so that probably helped.
mik_ok
New member
Blimey "" Graeme (944S2) can see posts made in the future. []
I'd have posted earlier but I was busy winding him up that they made no difference. [] I'm happy to report that they do! []
I fitted mine on Saturday too. Not sure I matched Steve "Rocket" Glasgow, but the car was ready to roll again within the hour. (I've already dismissed his "fanciful" claims however as I had to pay substantially more than his "£60" for my bushes [] ~ £83 inc vat from my smiling OPC parts man).
Astoundingly easy job actually. My dad looked incredulous when I suggested I was going to swap over a couple of suspension bushes whilst the sprogs munched their lunch ~ it's usually such an arduous task as you squeeze rubber blobs in and out of enclosures with various specialist tools (ie pullers, old bolts, sockets and washers "" lubricated with judicious swearing). I digress"¦..
On the advice of everyone before me, I spewed WD-40 onto the area for a couple of weeks before hand. Not sure how effective this was as (barring the nut on the end of the pivot pin) the area is pretty well sealed. Certainly wouldn't have done any harm however.
As Steve already stated, the drivers side pivot-pin nut is a buggar as access is fouled by the proximity of the brake pipes. It'll depend on the profile of your wrench, but I managed to wriggle mine in to crack the nut. As you unwind, everything increasingly snags up however, so I had to spin it off with the ring spanner. Driver's side moved easier than the passenger side nut which demanded a big fat torque wrench.
Mount bolts were no issue, and the whole suspension assembly drops only 3-4mm before supporting itself. Bushes literally fell off into my hands.
Reassembly was similarly pain free, although the new mounts required a gentle squeeze to seat. Which raises the question of geometry"¦"¦
If you've read previous posts you'll know I've just had my geometry adjusted / corrected, and don't therefore fancy the idea of repeating the job (or more specifically paying for it [&:] ). I therefore followed the "Diver approach" and kept a weather eye on my castor tabs. As Andy predicted, they didn't shift at all. The centre-hole of the 968 bush is however approx 3-4mm lower than the 944 item in relation to the shell, which explains why they need to be eased into place. The rear pivot point of the wishbone therefore moves down by 3-4mm as a consequence. I've no idea what effect this has on the geometry ~ I'm guessing a smidge more negative camber, and a smidge more castor, but I stress the word "guessing" in that last statement. Although slim_boy_fat will be along any minute to tell me I'm a kerazee fool, and aint getting in no plane, I'll run with the car as-is for a while before rushing back for a second round of alignment fiddling.
The bushes I removed look like the original fit. No sign of the rubber perishing or ballooning, but the shells were well rusted and the central pins were "set" at a slight skew from their theoretical rest position. The adhesive along the edge of one had separated from the casing. This gave me a warm hope that I was looking at the cause of my tramlining.....
1st drive and "whoooah ~ it's going straight!". Simply HUGE improvement to the stability and reaction (or lack of) to camber changes and ruts. You can still sense these through the wheel, but it's at the "information" level as opposed to "I'm off for a wander and need correcting" state.
It's difficult to convey how much more confident I feel with the car now ~ I can now turn in and expect consistent response. Happy boy.
I believe my previous bushes were worn (although the specialist was sure there was no issue with the front end of my car). Alignment certainly helped, but didn't cure its waywardness. My results may be more positive than most for this reason, but that can't stop me from heartily echoing previous recommendation of this upgrade to every 944 owner out there.
Without the gents on this here forum I'd be blissfully unaware of this upgrade. Thanks therefore to all ~ Best £83 I've spent for a long time. [8D]
]I'd have posted earlier but I was busy winding him up that they made no difference. [
] I'm happy to report that they do! []I fitted mine on Saturday too. Not sure I matched Steve "Rocket" Glasgow, but the car was ready to roll again within the hour. (I've already dismissed his "fanciful" claims however as I had to pay substantially more than his "£60" for my bushes [
] ~ £83 inc vat from my smiling OPC parts man).Astoundingly easy job actually. My dad looked incredulous when I suggested I was going to swap over a couple of suspension bushes whilst the sprogs munched their lunch ~ it's usually such an arduous task as you squeeze rubber blobs in and out of enclosures with various specialist tools (ie pullers, old bolts, sockets and washers "" lubricated with judicious swearing). I digress"¦..
On the advice of everyone before me, I spewed WD-40 onto the area for a couple of weeks before hand. Not sure how effective this was as (barring the nut on the end of the pivot pin) the area is pretty well sealed. Certainly wouldn't have done any harm however.
As Steve already stated, the drivers side pivot-pin nut is a buggar as access is fouled by the proximity of the brake pipes. It'll depend on the profile of your wrench, but I managed to wriggle mine in to crack the nut. As you unwind, everything increasingly snags up however, so I had to spin it off with the ring spanner. Driver's side moved easier than the passenger side nut which demanded a big fat torque wrench.
Mount bolts were no issue, and the whole suspension assembly drops only 3-4mm before supporting itself. Bushes literally fell off into my hands.
Reassembly was similarly pain free, although the new mounts required a gentle squeeze to seat. Which raises the question of geometry"¦"¦
If you've read previous posts you'll know I've just had my geometry adjusted / corrected, and don't therefore fancy the idea of repeating the job (or more specifically paying for it [&:] ). I therefore followed the "Diver approach" and kept a weather eye on my castor tabs. As Andy predicted, they didn't shift at all. The centre-hole of the 968 bush is however approx 3-4mm lower than the 944 item in relation to the shell, which explains why they need to be eased into place. The rear pivot point of the wishbone therefore moves down by 3-4mm as a consequence. I've no idea what effect this has on the geometry ~ I'm guessing a smidge more negative camber, and a smidge more castor, but I stress the word "guessing" in that last statement. Although slim_boy_fat will be along any minute to tell me I'm a kerazee fool, and aint getting in no plane, I'll run with the car as-is for a while before rushing back for a second round of alignment fiddling.
The bushes I removed look like the original fit. No sign of the rubber perishing or ballooning, but the shells were well rusted and the central pins were "set" at a slight skew from their theoretical rest position. The adhesive along the edge of one had separated from the casing. This gave me a warm hope that I was looking at the cause of my tramlining.....
1st drive and "whoooah ~ it's going straight!". Simply HUGE improvement to the stability and reaction (or lack of) to camber changes and ruts. You can still sense these through the wheel, but it's at the "information" level as opposed to "I'm off for a wander and need correcting" state.
It's difficult to convey how much more confident I feel with the car now ~ I can now turn in and expect consistent response. Happy boy.
I believe my previous bushes were worn (although the specialist was sure there was no issue with the front end of my car). Alignment certainly helped, but didn't cure its waywardness. My results may be more positive than most for this reason, but that can't stop me from heartily echoing previous recommendation of this upgrade to every 944 owner out there.
Without the gents on this here forum I'd be blissfully unaware of this upgrade. Thanks therefore to all ~ Best £83 I've spent for a long time. [8D]
steve 944t
Member
"fanciful claims" eh? [] Well, my £60 was actually plus VAT, so my apologies for misleading you (still cheaper than £83 though!)
As for the 35 minutes, well, having struggled to keep my eyes open during the first half of Scotland v Italy I thought to h**l with this as the second half commenced. Lying outside in the snow must be more interesting! I then came in just in time to see Ali Hogg fail to score in the dying seconds of the game. Didnt miss much there then []
So, more accurately, a very worthwhile £70.50 []
] Well, my £60 was actually plus VAT, so my apologies for misleading you (still cheaper than £83 though!)As for the 35 minutes, well, having struggled to keep my eyes open during the first half of Scotland v Italy I thought to h**l with this as the second half commenced. Lying outside in the snow must be more interesting! I then came in just in time to see Ali Hogg fail to score in the dying seconds of the game. Didnt miss much there then [
]So, more accurately, a very worthwhile £70.50 [
]At first I thought you had got Paul's name wrong, but then I realised you are far to astute for that to happen and it was your dry sense of humour at play gently ribbing him for being the master of misnaming [
]Glad the mounts worked for both you and Steve, though of course I was never in any doubt... [8|]
Guest
New member
Well the jobs done now, took all of 5-10 minutes each side.
Don't know what all the fuss was about mik [][]
Only hickup i had was the wrench shattered when trying to release the 19mm nut on the passenger side, panic over after 10 seconds when picked up the adjustable spanner - worked a treat.
Don't know what all the fuss was about mik [
][]Only hickup i had was the wrench shattered when trying to release the 19mm nut on the passenger side, panic over after 10 seconds when picked up the adjustable spanner - worked a treat.
High noon in Glasgow in March; sun just over the horizon []
So, do they make any difference? Looking at the incredible difference between the 2 it's amazing the back of the wishbone doesn't slop around all over the place with the original one, especially if the rubber starts to go soft.
]So, do they make any difference? Looking at the incredible difference between the 2 it's amazing the back of the wishbone doesn't slop around all over the place with the original one, especially if the rubber starts to go soft.
Guest
New member
Yes it makes a noticable difference like mik says - tramlining effect at all speeds is virtually gone - the bit that's left is more subtle and probably just feedback that you would want through the steering.
It's confidence inspiring now and a leisurely B road trip can be taken more relaxed now - maybe not a good thing but it feels like a good thing. The state the front ARB bushes were in has also probebly made a big difference, doesn't feel as walloay in the turn into bends, a lot more direct and sharp is how i would describe it. Possibly needs the geometry checked now as it feels a little understeer in sharp bends, just a little - maybe thats too much confidence in those bends now ?
ARB bushes £20, so they were definately value for money like the Castor Mounts
It's confidence inspiring now and a leisurely B road trip can be taken more relaxed now - maybe not a good thing but it feels like a good thing. The state the front ARB bushes were in has also probebly made a big difference, doesn't feel as walloay in the turn into bends, a lot more direct and sharp is how i would describe it. Possibly needs the geometry checked now as it feels a little understeer in sharp bends, just a little - maybe thats too much confidence in those bends now ?
ARB bushes £20, so they were definately value for money like the Castor Mounts
Guest
New member
Of course the next question is should you do something about the front bushes and the ball joint.
Ball joint you can inspect and do the 12 and 6 o'clock wiggle easy enough to see if that is shot. Front bushings, I don't know. I do know they are not easy to remove, I think you need to drill/cut out the steel inner liner. And uprated replacements are an issue. Weltmeister sells replacements but doesn't want them used on a car that goes on the track or autoX. That's real confidence inspriring. And some of the various plastic bushings can wear out in one day on the track.
Monoballs, ever seen the cost on them? This is a play car, not a military attack strike fighter!
Ball joint you can inspect and do the 12 and 6 o'clock wiggle easy enough to see if that is shot. Front bushings, I don't know. I do know they are not easy to remove, I think you need to drill/cut out the steel inner liner. And uprated replacements are an issue. Weltmeister sells replacements but doesn't want them used on a car that goes on the track or autoX. That's real confidence inspriring. And some of the various plastic bushings can wear out in one day on the track.
Monoballs, ever seen the cost on them? This is a play car, not a military attack strike fighter!
Guest
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ORIGINAL: Diver944
The part number for the rear mount is 951-341-023-01
Here's a pic comparing my old and new (much better than the other pic [
I'd say different, not better [
] []Ball joints were inspected and one replaced in January, but i get what your saying - definately a play car.
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