Rear Sway Bar Drop Link Question -

[zcat3]

Hey guys, I just picked up my "new" 69 911S yesterday and am spending some time today going through the car. In about 100 miles of spirited driving yesterday I noticed a clunck from the drivers side rear every so often. It definitely sounds suspension related. On looking under the car, I see that there are 2 slightly different drop links for the rear sway bar. Sorry for the poor pic quality - but here goes:

The passenger side is the first 2 pictures and the drivers side is the second 2. As you can see, the passenger side is a stud that goes through the the drop link and is attached with a nut, whereas the drivers side is a bolt that goes through. Which is correct and could the drivers side link be clunking?


On a totally unrelated note, when I put gas in the car I somewhat overfilled it and the cabin is filled with gas fumes - is this normal?

[LeafGreen]

I'm no expert on P-cars, but this looks like an aftermarket swaybar set up. The nut and bolt shown in the second set of pictures looks like it replaced a broken ball stud, thus eliminating the generous gap between the bar and link. This lack of clearance could be causing the clunking sound. A longer bolt and a steel spacer from OSH should restore the clearance.

Regarding the gas smell issue. Check your gas cap to see if it has some kind of a gasket that seals against the filler neck. I had the same problem on my 72T, and that's after replacing the six miles of vent hoses in the trunk. The cap did the trick - or more accurately, putting a gasket in the original cap.

[zcat3]

Thanks Alex - I thought the same thing about the spacing with the odd looking bolt. As for the gas smell, I think I found the culprit. The rubber hose that connects the filler tube and the tank was loose and when I filled the car I topped it off and the fuel level was right below the filler cap - so a fair amount of fuel must have leaked out into the truck.

By the way, this is my 7th 911. I have owned 2 87 Carreras, a 993 C4 Cab, a 993 Twin Turbo, a 930, and a 71T track car. I must say, other than adding creature comforts, I do not see a lot of improvement in the 911 series from the 1969 S. This car's gearbox shifts like silk - perhaps the nicest 911 gear box I have driven. The clutch feels great, the steering is light and precise, the handling is very good - not too far off from my track car - at least in moderate street driving, etc, etc.

[LeafGreen]

I always wondered if the newer cars were really much better, and if so, how much. My 72 was affordable at the time plus I like the early body style. My thought is to update it with newer car stuff, such as seats - and like you said "the creature comforts"

[nick-moss]

The S should have a ball joint at the arrowed point on the swing arm. The factory AR bar drop link attatches to it

[zcat3]

Hey Nick - this car originally had the "Hydropneumatic" suspension so I don't know if that makes any difference. From looking at the owners manual (very cool manual with lots of info on DIY maintenance) I see no mention of a stock rear sway bar. It does show the front sway bar, but no rear bar is shown in any of the diagrams or mentioned in any of the text.

EDIT - I did find mention of a rear stabilizer bar in the manual. This car had the suspension changed out years ago to replace the hydropneumatic struts. It also went through a bare matal respray. I wonder if the rear control arms were replaced with arms that did not have the roll bar mounts on them??

Anyone know where I can get the correct sway bar and mounts?

[nick-moss]

An S with Hydropneumatic suspension? I haven't head of that one before. The ball joints are available over here in the UK and may even be available from a Porsche dealer as they are shown in the PET "for subsequent installation"

[zcat3]

An S with Hydropneumatic suspension? I haven't head of that one before. The ball joints are available over here in the UK and may even be available from a Porsche dealer as they are shown in the PET "for subsequent installation"

Yep - you kind of wonder why you would order an S with that suspension, but it was an option in 1969. So I assume I could just drill a hole and tap inot the arm for the correct mount? This is the way the rear factory drop links are mounted on my 930, so I get the general idea. Thanks for the help.

[nick-moss]

I think they are welded rather than tapped, but still an easy job with the bananas off the car

[Zeke]

I think they are welded rather than tapped, but still an easy job with the bananas off the car

Nick, I had some arms with and some arms w/o. The arms with also had a reinforcement piece in the arm for the ball. I think it would be easier to swap arms if you have to take them out as well as find the second piece. Just my .02.