[biotechee]

So I could tell my new cab was sitting lopsided from the back. The owner told me up front the shocks are original- this is not so bad from a mileage standpoint (less than 44K miles), but after 14 years I am sure lots has leaked by....



So I measured the height to the wheel well- driver's side = 25.75", passenger's side = 25.00". So is my shock shot or could there be other things?



If it is the shock, is replacement with OEM easy for a DIY'er? Can someone point in the right direction as to what needs to be done to replace the shocks? Is there a write-up somewhere?



TIA!

Jim

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[xrad]

uneveness on level ground when standing still is usually due to springs or spring mounts, not shocks. Check to see if you have adjustable springs....

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[biotechee]

X,



No springs on the rear of a 968 cab. Just torsion bars and shocks. The M030-optioned coupes included "helper" springs on the rear though.



So, my lopsidedness in the rear cannot be due to springs.

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[xrad]

OK, I assumed you had the 030. in that case, someone may have adjusted you torsion arms to drop the height and screwed up. or one is slightly twisted???

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[flash]

technically a torsion bar is a spring, but that is another discussion



it is very rare for torsions to fail - shocks do, but they don't generally change ride height (except if you have gas shocks)



more than likely the eccentric adjuster on the rear trailing arm has slipped

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[banditsc]

Your shocks are more then likely shot. After this amount of years I don't think any shocks would still be any good. My 94 with 75k on it at the time I thought the shocks felt fine, no diving or rebound issues. Once I pulled them off you could compress them by hand and they would not rebound at all. So I was riding on basically just the springs and torsion bars and didn't know it.

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[flash]

are you saying you merely couldn't pul them back extended? most fluid shocks are like that - gas shocks will extend back out, but many fluids will not



i'm betting on the adjuster - they are known to slip - same with the camber adjuster



to answer the first question, they are an easy DIY - total no brainer

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[banditsc]

All of my original shocks wouldn't extend back on there own even after sitting in the garage compressed for a week or so before they went in the trash.



I don't think the shocks are the height issue, just saying if your thinking about shocks and they are original, go ahead and do them as they are probably shot.

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[flash]

lol - you may have thrown away perfectly good shocks - as i said, fluid shocks do not necessarily self extend - it takes a gas charge to do that



the quick way to tell if your shocks are shot is to get the car bouncing up and down really well, and then release the car and count how many oscillations it goes through before it comes to rest - if you release on the down stroke, at maximum it should only go up, down, and halfway back up, coming to rest there - more than that and they are shot



that being said, shocks age out like any other component with a rubber seal - they gradually lose their ability to valve the fluid



but, i'm pretty sure the height issue is the eccentric

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[xrad]

shocks in good shape will generally extend on their own, but enough to throw the height off????



I like the slipped adjuster idea. torsion rods/springs hold up the sprung weight. But hey, you could always replace them and find out! If you want a fairly comfortable yet great handling ride, get the adjustable koni's or bilsteins or one of those reccomended on this site.

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[flash]

fluid shocks will only extend if they have a gas charge in them, or if they have a bad seal and have "foamed" - normally they will not self extend - this is really a gas shock trait - that's why gas shocks come with a string around them, and fluid shocks do not - some are a little of both though, having a small gas charge to reduce foaming



gas shocks, like koni yellow sports, due to their higher pressure charge (about 25lbs) will raise the rear end of the car about 1/2"

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[94SilverCab]

Two words...Koni Yellows...



May as well be yellow about and below <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Jay

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[flash]

i'm not a huge fan of the koni yellows, but there are a lot of people running them, and they are a cheap upgrade - they definitely have drawbacks or limitations though - the gas charge presents a preload that can easily make the ride jittery - this is especially true if they are adjusted too high - on 16s with it on full soft or a max of 1/2 turn up from full soft, they aren't bad - add 17s or 18s into the mix, and it gets a bit dicier, but still tolerable to most people - adjust them any higher with stock torsion bars and it starts to get jittery



many people running them feel they "have no problems" with the konis, but merely have not experienced what a really good hydraulic shock can do, and how much more pleasant the ride can be without giving up performance - unfortunately there are no plug and play adjustable hydraulics for our cars - everything is gas - i think koni does make a hydraulic shock for us though, but it's just not adjustable - i have not tried them yet, but when i have to replace the shocks on the white car, that's likely what i will do



i hopped onto the gas shock train a long time ago, and rode it for a long time - i have finally come back to hydraulic stuff, and am MUCH happier - it isn't cheap though

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[Duckman]

I have the Koni Sport Yellows at the corners with them set in the middle. I'm running on 18" wheels but I find the ride really nice. Firm, yes. Twitchy, no.



I think Flash may have nailed the ride height issue for you. If the eccentric is not even, side to side, that'll do it. Even if it isn't the problem, you can use it as your solution.

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[jfrahm]

That side of the car seems to sag more than the other side. Usually at this point most 924/944 series cars are dragging their butts a bit due to tired torsion bars and the right side more than the left (I wonder if RHD cars sag more on the other side?) Adjusting the ride hight is not easy without the right tools, the bolts are often very very tight and the eccentric is 36mm. You can use a cheap bicycle wrench on the eccentric but a proper wrench would be better.



I always bust the eccentric bolt loose first and then snug it up again before busting the front nut/bolt (24mm IIRC.) The spring will cause the ride height adjuster to rotate when both are loose and you end up at minimum ride height, unless you fight it. Once I jammed the spring plate with a piece of square stock to be able to adjust without fighting the spring. I do not recall exactly how I did it, but it helped. Probably jacked up the LCA, jammed the spring plate, and then let it down again.



-Joel.

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[flash]

ride quality is subjective, and as mentioned above, many people find the konis fine - not sure how you got them "halfway" as they work in 1/2 turns, and all of the ones i have found are one and a half turns, but ok - also, as i said, it is often a case of not having had the benefit of driving on good hydraulic shocks - having finally found some, i'm not going backwards to gas, but they were a LOT more expensive than the koni yellows, took quite a bit of tweaking to get them right, and i'm not sure they would be so much better as to justify the expense to most people - not sure how much difference they might make on a stock suspension either, though i myself much prefer the ride of the stock shocks to the konis for a daily driver, though they aren't as responsive or firm for performance driving



adjusting ride height via the eccentric should be done on an alignment rack - it dramatically changes camber - it should also be done with the car loaded as it would most normally be driven, with a half tank of gas, and the weight of the driver in the driver seat

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[S_Cal968]

Bio

The shocks [w/o helper springs] are just tasked with controlling oscillations of the spring - they shouldn't have any affect on height. Did you have weight [equal to your body weight] in the drivers seat when you took the measurement. If I recall the height should be higher on the drivers side without the preload in place, [see the workshop manual or the 944 suspension volume]. And, as mentioned all tweaks & adjustments should be made with all fluids filled and weight in the drivers seat.

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[flash]

if you are setting it to "specs" yes, everything is supposed to be full - this is really only achievable though with a new car, because the front height spec can't be had with old springs - therefore, i prefer to do it with 1/2 tank of gas, rather than full, since that gives a more "nominal" condition, lessening the differences between empty and full, and instead seek a height at all four corners that accounts and compensates for such spring sag and such - the end result though is the same - you get a level car



for optimal handling, cabs should be set a touch lower (about 1/8") in the rear than the front, and hatchbacks a touch higher (about 1/4" rather than 1/8" if you plan to carry the allowable weight in the car), as the weight distribution is different between the two models, with the hatchback being 66lbs heavy in the rear, and the cab being 75lbs heavy in the front - this also takes into account the load capacities of the two cars, which is also different

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[biotechee]

OK- so, I can buy the eccentric being off... I do not believe the torsion bar is faulty - shouldn't be so after only 44K non-tracked miles. Age shouldn't be a factor for the bar.



The shocks, even with only 44K miles, have probably leaked some gas past their seals after 14 years so they are past their useful life. I'll probably replace them regardless and have Pete check the eccentrics- a lot easier to adjust / futz with them on a rack versus in my garage on stands...



I will go with the OEM black shocks in the back as I am not looking for performance, plus they are relatively cheap in the grand scheme.



Thanks for the responses fellas!

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[flash]

not so sure about the shocks - while a agree about the age thing and all that, and you are certainly free to change them, especially since i think you were considering a swaybar upgrade, i'd test them - the original shocks on the white 94 cab are fine - i was surprised, but pleased - i wanted a smooth comfortable ride and the only suspension upgrade i made to that car was to remove the cab springs and install ones from a hardtop, just so as to lower the front a touch

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