924Board.org

[Mkol]

Hi guys, ive just opened the front struts on my 1979na, i expected the insert to more or less just slide out. there seems to be teeth on the inside holding whats inside in firmly, are these inserts removable?, is this how it came from the factory? just a bit stuck to know what to do now. ive poured oil out and now they are loose to slide up and down under there own weight!
4D089CB7-EC6E-4E9E-B965-1600F8133977 by Martin Kolarides, on Flickr

[Beartooth]

That looks to me like the top of the insert separated from the shell. I think those teeth you're seeing are internal to the strut insert. Was it rusty or anything? If that's what happened, then you'd have poured all the oil out of the insert; there's also supposed to be oil between the body of the strut and the insert to transfer heat away from the insert, although mine had none when I serviced them recently... I'd just see if you can pull the rest of the insert out - I doubt it was any good before, but it's definitely trash now!
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1980 931 diamond in the rough

[Mkol]

Ah i did wonder if that might be it, but the funny thing is exactly the same thing happened on the other side too! i'll investigate further but the screw caps actually came off fairly easily so seems odd it would have pulled the top of the insert off too...

[72rallye]

As I remember from 944s at least the early ones didn't have any inserts. The outer tube was part of the shock absorber. The entire tube would be filled with oil. What you are seeing in the picture is completely normal.
It is possible to remove the internals and then install a cartridge type shock (Koni, Bilstein,..) without modifying or machining anything.
What is your intent, trying to rebuild the original shock or installing a cartridge type? There is nothing holding it in place. So at least in the latter case, you could yank on it pretty hard.
I had heard to put anti-freeze in the tube before inserting a cartridge, mostly to keep it from rusting, but maybe also for heat transfer.
Thomasv
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81 931, 86 951, 86 928 5spd, 75 911S coupe

[Mkol]

thanks guys, there was an insert of sorts in there and it does indeed look like the top of it came off somehow while i was unscrewing the caps... both sides (!)
All it took was a few tugs and they slid out neatly.
ive now orrdered some new inserts so hopefully wont encounter too much trouble slotting them in.
Ive seen and heard differing opinions about whetehr to back fill the strut with oil for purposes of heat transfer and rust prevention, i think i will anyway as i cant see it hurting.
Thanks for the guidance...