MOT Pass Today

[scam75]

Evening Chaps

That time of year again, 1 year and 4,750 miles since engine rebuild and last MOT, today she passed with an advisory on a misty front shock. Much to my annoyance this is the same shock that was misty before, that GAZ rebuilt for me, last year I thought. My records tell me it was 4 years ago, how time flies!!

Still I'm peeved that the same shock is leaking again, I had both fronts rebuilt at the time, the NS one wasn't leaking and now 12 years on the rears are still good, as is the front NS one!

I need to phone GAZ tomorrow and see what they can do, I really need them to send me one up to swap over and then return my faulty one. Can't be having the car on axle stands for a month this time round now that I don't have a 2nd car to call on..........that's divorces for you!

Anyway. wish me luck!

Cheers

Stuart

 

[TTM]

Well, good luck on sorting that out then. Good to hear though that the car did not show any other issue.

 

[Dan944t]

great news on the pass , and good luck with them sorting the shock out,…pretty disappointing really on there behalf ,… not like you do track days with it ,…

 

[scam75]

Thanks guys!

Spoke to them today, my only real option is to send the shock back to them for repair/inspection. They are asking £350 for a new unit (£250 with discount to me) and a 4 week wait. They say they will turn mine round in a day when they receive it and they will do it cheap for me, so that's what I'll need to do.

My main issue with this will be trying not to fook up my geometry when removing/refitting. When i removed both last time, I marked everything, and the steering wheel was a mile out upon refitting. Although to be fair I had a massive struggle removing a ball joint on the NS to replace a boot which needed a lot of banging, this may not have helped!

It's easy enough to keep the ride height the same, not so sure about the bottom camber bolt.

Stuart

 

[PSH]

Good news on the MOT Stuart...regarding the shock its unlikely that you won't need to get the geometry redone after removing the shock.

Good luck

Pete

 

[scam75]

Good news on the MOT Stuart...regarding the shock its unlikely that you won't need to get the geometry redone after removing the shock.

Good luck

Pete

Yeah, kind of thought as much. Maybe can get away with just setting up that corner as the rest won't have moved.

Stuart

 

[PSH]

Well the rear should be ok but would get the front realigned, don't think you can do just one side. I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

 

[scam75]

Aye, probably a good point, at least one side is pointing the right way to start, shouldn't take too long to get the other side similar and then set them both up.

 

[blade7]

Mark the position of the camber bolt with paint, and reinstall it in the same position. unless you have adjustable top mounts that should be all you have to do. I set the front up with a spirit level and string lines, before I took my Turbo to Center Gravity, and it wasn't far out.

 

[scam75]

Thanks. My mate who helped with my engine rebuild is taking it off on Monday, I'm sure he will mark it up better than my previous attempts. I have standard, non-adjustable top mounts.

As long as the camber bolt and adjustable ride height is marked up I'm sure it will be close enough.

Cheers

Stuart

 

[blade7]

You're welcome. When I took the car to Center Gravity I had ideas of running 2 degrees negative camber front and rear, Chris said he could set it up that way, but for a road car 1.5 degrees negative and lowering it around an inch would be a nicer road setup. I did set the bump and rebound pretty firm on the KW's, and it's great on smooth roads, but on crappy roads the ride is harsh. Maybe that's why I had to replace the front springs recently, due to them both breaking in the same place. I must say that 3 sets of tyres have all worn evenly since, without scrubbing on the inside edge.

 

[scam75]

That's my shock sorted, GAZ were good to their word and flipped it round in a day, they only received it this morning. Needed a new centre rod and has had a full service. £123 including carriage back up the road, hope to get it back and fitted for Friday. They are posting it first thing tomorrow.

Explains the leaking if the centre rod was bent. Don't think I can complain too much about the cost (the rod alone was £90), hopefully I can avoid needing the geometry done as everything was marked up properly.

Stuart

 

[scam75]

Got the car back this morning, all seems good, felt nice to drive home, steering wheel still plum straight. Remains to be seen if the tyre wear will be slightly uneven but I'm due new fronts soon anyway, so don't mind using/sacrificing these ones for a few months to check for wear. See how we get on!

Stuart

 

[blade7]

AFAIK when you're running higher than standard negative camber settings, you also adjust the toe setting to suit. And that helps to minimise the tyres scrubbing on the inside edges, on the road at least. I had thick anti roll bar hanger brackets fitted for years, but I recently removed them. There is a school of thought that suggests rigidly mounting the anti roll bar, stops it working as Porsche intended.

 

[scam75]

AFAIK when you're running higher than standard negative camber settings, you also adjust the toe setting to suit. And that helps to minimise the tyres scrubbing on the inside edges, on the road at least. I had thick anti roll bar hanger brackets fitted for years, but I recently removed them. There is a school of thought that suggests rigidly mounting the anti roll bar, stops it working as Porsche intended.

Yes, the toe won't have altered by removing the strut, so it will still be in the same place as it was before. The only variables at play would have been ride height and camber. Couldn't go wrong with the ride height due to light corrosion on the strut thread, and being nice and shiny at exactly the spot it was set to. The camber bolt was going to be the only tricky one, but we took pictures and marked it, bolts got replaced, and it all seems spot on.

Spot on about the ARB "stiffeners". I had them on for a bit but it affected turn in and made the car very under steery, and dangerously under steery in the wet when making progress. Almost barge like, not letting the cornering wheel load up properly in my opinion, binned them ages ago and the handling returned to normal. You can see and feel the nose dip slightly on the outside of the corner you are taking without them, but that was much less with the stiffeners on.

A strut brace is a worthwhile addition though for tightening things up a bit at the front. Had one of those on mine for ages.

Stuart

 

[blade7]

I've had one of those KLA strut braces fitted for years, but I think I'm going to try a stronger bar on it. I recently fitted a brace between the rear seat catch mounts, and that seems to have tied the shell together there. I can't have the rear seats raised, but no one has sat on those for 15 years.

 

[scam75]

My 11 and 7 year olds would object to such a brace! They love the back seats.............

 

[blade7]

My 11 and 7 year olds would object to such a brace! They love the back seats.............

Normally I'm not claustrophobic, but the only time I sat in the back of a 944 I hated the experience. And thoughts of trying to get out quickly in the event of an accident or fire, mean I would never travel in the back of a 944.

 

[scam75]

Its's fine when your under 5 foot in my opinion, not any different from getting out any 2 door with back seats. Agree if your 6 foot tall, wedged in, and head between legs to fit, not generally a great idea!

 

[blade7]

If I could find a pair of leather Pole Position seats for a sensible price, I'd chuck out the rear seats. Apparently that would save a fair amount of weight.