924Board.org

[nobbyknownowt]

Woe is me.

It started when I replaced a duff rear wheel bearing. While the car was up on stands I went round and gave everything a good shake, the O/S/F wheel knocked! Thats interesting I thought so I pulled the wheel off to have a look see, the bearing all looked fine and so I repacked it and replaced it all. On driving off i get a bearing grinding noise slightly different to the one I had before..... The front wheel still knocked when shook so I tightened the front a bit more. Still grinding.....Took everything to bits again, all seemed OK but at that point i guessed I may have overtightened the front end bearing having built up my muscles on the rear and subsequently jiggered the bearing!! However, it still all looked good so I rebuilt it all with correct torque settings and carried on. Still got the noise, perhaps its not the bearing but something else?
Made arrangement to get it down to my friend who has a garage when he had a ramp and rollers free to have a good look about and check where exactly the noise was coming from.
On the way down BANG on every bump and corner. Something decided it had had enough. Limped it in and had a look.
The front wishbone mounting for the anti roll bar had snapped having been welded on at some point in her life, the resulting shock had loosened the N/S shocker top.
Now it is all repairable and fairly cheaply too but while looking around the damage I notice the front disc has a deep pitting at the outer part of the inside edge. This is not the width of the pad and there seems to be no metal to metal contact anywhere, the pad is still fresh and (more frustratingly) both the discs were replaced 5 months ago. Pulled the caliper but that runs smooth and has no obvious signs of metal to metal contact.
I suspect the knocking from the wheel was due to worn anti roll bar links and the grinding was something on the disc!
The question is has anyone else experienced something similar and has any advise before I get the wallet out?

Cheers
Nobby

[-nick]

I've gotten a rock lodged between the disc and the dust shield. It will definately make a pretty nasty grinding sound. Sounds like what you might have heard.

-nick

[Smoothie]

Another possibility would be a bad "locating spring" (aka- "guide spring"). This is an odd shaped piece that wraps around the outside of the calipers' cylinder and ends in straight sections at top and bottom - it keeps the floating part of the caliper in position. If it's broken you can get both a clanging and grinding sound as the floating part comes into contact with the rotor.
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"..it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff."


'82 924T, US version, dark green metallic, 5 speed Audi 016G gearbox

[Joes924Racer]

Ive had bad fitting rear pads and a rear inside bearing that
failed and came apart..though nothingh like that upfront.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

[nobbyknownowt]

Ordered spares and stripped everything down while waiting for delivery. Cannot find any reason for the front disc pitting but will replace the disc and pads and see how it goes.
Then the phone rings......... "GSF spares here, you know we said we could get a 1980 front wishbone for £14 well we can't. We only got post 1982. We can send you the rest o your list though" "Thanks but no thanks, without a wishbone I aint going nowhere".
Multiple phone calls later and I still cannot find anyone with a 1980 924 wishbone.
Right then back tothe drawing board. Can I repair the wishbone? From the strip down I know that the previously broken wishbone was repaired using two large washers welded on in place of the missing anti roll bar fixing link. I look in the spares catalogue and the drawing of the front wishbone does not have this bracket on it!
I may be able to manufacture something but is this bracket not part of the wishbone and am i looking for the wrong part?

Failing that is the front end wishbone the same on another vehicle that i can rob at my local breakers yard??

Any information or experience any of you have had would be welcome.

Cheers

Nobby

[5150]

nobby, have you tried eurocarparts.com for the wishbone? they were listing some at a fairly low price last time i was bored and clicking through all the parts lists on their site...

porsche apart or somewhere like that maybes?
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Mars Red '78 Euro 924 n/a
http://www.cardomain.com/id/5150_uk

Graphite? Grey Metallic '85 (late model) 944 2.5

There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

[gohim]

The basic control arm is used by VW Rabbits and Jettas, that probably why you were originally quoted the 14 price.

But, the Rabbit and the Jettas do not use the add-on loop that the 924 does for the sway bar. In fact no other VW, Audi, or Porsche use the crude loop added onto the control arm for the sway bar except the Series I 924 (76-81). 82-85 924 cars use the modified 944 sway bar mounts (the sway bars use different center mounts on the frame rails, a hole drilled in the middle of the flat sheet on the same control arm, and a sway bar with different length arms).

924 cars without the front sway bar still use the inexpensively price VW control arm.

Porsche charges a premium for the control arms with the loop welded on, so it would probably pay you to buy the standard VW part, and have a replace loop fabricated, and welded on to the VW control arm.

[nobbyknownowt]

5150
yup eurocarparts are the same pre 82 out of stock but thanks for the suggestion.

gohim
thanks for the input, gues I will remove the other side and take it off to see my friendly engineer.

cheers
nobby

[nobbyknownowt]

Shes back on the road and so far so good shes handling great.
I eventually got a bracket made to fit to the existing wishbone by turning down a steel rod so it looked like a 2"washer 1" thick with a curved outside edge so it would fit in the groove of the wishbone and hold the anti roll bar link. I then spot welded this on and also made a cover from milder steel which fitted over the top and was welded on "belt and braces" style. It don't look pretty but i've driven over every pot hole I know of and its still attached. (knowing my luck I'll break the other side testing this one!!)
Heres hoping.