[928uk] front upper control arm ball joint nut

[Paul R Smith]

I would say that having identical springs on both sides is most 
important. If one side is softer, then the car is going to behave 
differently when turning left of right. Even more important than that is 
that there will be less weight on the softer corner, so heavy braking is 
going to cause one wheel to lock up (or be limited by ABS) more easily, 
limiting your overall maximum braking.

The next most important thing for good ride and handling of a 928 is 
getting the heights correct. If you have non-adjustable front heights, 
you may need to chose the springs that give you the nearest to correct 
heights.

Note that when you have got adjustable heights (still with identical 
springs of course), the adjusters should be in the same position on both 
sides, that will keep your corner balance correct.

Smiffy

On 20/01/2025 09:29, Howard Miller via 928uk wrote:

There are a load of different springs depending on year, options and which
shocks are fitted. It's all very confusing. If you're lucky, you might
still find the paint marks on the original springs.

However, it then comes down to what you can actually get hold of. I don't
know... I might think about getting a decent set of used, matched springs.
But part of me thinks that if it's currently working I might leave it
alone.

Howard

On Sun, 19 Jan 2025 at 18:15, David Adler<securiphlop at hotmail.com>  wrote:

> First of all, the trick about levering for friction worked perfectly so I
> am a happy bunny.
>
> I've now started on the near side but have a dilemma.  I thought early
> cars 78-80 had a slightly longer spring than my car i.e. an extra ring.
> When I did my off-side which I had previously changed 10 years ago (yes I
> know it's best to do in pairs hence why I am doing it this time) sure
> enough my old spring was what I expected - 1 less ring compared to an early
> car. Having removed my near side spring, which I have never changed in my
> ownership, it's got the longer spring! How much difference does this make?
> Should I buy a shorter spring to match the off-side as I don't fancy
> undoing it all again?
>
> Hope this makes sense.
>
> Thanks
> David.
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* 928uk<928uk-bounces at lists.928.org.uk>  on behalf of David Adler
> via 928uk<928uk at lists.928.org.uk>
> *Sent:* 17 January 2025 12:58
> *To:* Howard Miller<howardsmiller at gmail.com>
> *Cc:*928uk at lists.928.org.uk  <928uk at lists.928.org.uk>
> *Subject:* Re: [928uk] front upper control arm ball joint nut
>
> Thanks everyone for the advice.
>
> Sent from Outlook for Android<
> https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faka.ms%2FAAb9ysg&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ced867ae21ef8452debac08dd36f6a585%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638727155154217386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Vzvs86guKl%2FdPiMQTvIeCVsjXkwWZ9BFakBLg71i%2BsI%3D&reserved=0
> <https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg>>
> ________________________________
> From: Howard Miller<howardsmiller at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2025 12:57:18 PM
> To: David Adler<securiphlop at hotmail.com>
> Cc:928uk at lists.928.org.uk  <928uk at lists.928.org.uk>
> Subject: Re: [928uk] front upper control arm ball joint nut
>
> You probably know but it bears repeating... I assume you know that those
> arms / ball joints are unobtainium?  So tread carefully.
>
> I would replace the nut with shiny new nyloc.
>
> H
>
> On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 at 19:06, David Adler via 928uk <
> 928uk at lists.928.org.uk<mailto:928uk at lists.928.org.uk>> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I have just replaced my front shock etc and decided to undo the front
> upper control arm ball joint nut to give me more space. It's now time to
> put it back and despite jacking up the lower control arm to raise the
> suspension, the whole upper ball joint spins when I turn the nut. Am I
> doing something stupid?
>
> TIA
>
> David 1984 S2 manual.
>