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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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 Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 6:37 am Post subject: Changed my suspension, what an interesting couple of days!
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I've got a 996 C2 cab thats now got to 106k miles and the M030 suspension which was factory fitted had seen better days. I was getting a lot of knocks and rattles and the car didn't really feel very stable.
Thought i'd share my experience of changing it over!
Took a week off work to do some DIY and thought I'd pick up the M030 retro-fit kit to give the suspension a bit of a refresh. Firstly trying to find the right info on the retro-fit kit was a bit of a challenge...even the OPC's in the south had trouble.
Porsche didn't make 30mm springs for the cab but they did for the coupe, so cabs came with 10mm springs on the M030 kit. I was able to pick up the kit from OPC Bournemouth for £806.89 plus VAT. It's known as a Porsche sports running gear I believe. The kit comes with the following:
- Front and rear shocks & springs
- Front and rear anti-roll bars
- Anti-roll bar bushes
In addition to the kit I also bought new top mount bearings (as you'll see below mine were completely shot to pieces), new nuts and bolts, new washers, bellows, additional springs...essentially everything that forms part of the shocks and mounts.
Total price with discount: £1438.45
So at the start of the week I got the car up on stands and decided to give it a good clean in the wheel arches. One thing led to another and I discovered that the rear passenger side footwell was soaking wet! So i decided to trace the leak and clean out the drain holes. Actually really easy to access the drain holes under the cab roof but I did find back here it was waterlogged and I struggled to find any blockages. I can only imagine a really heavy rainfall caused it.
This is the passenger side above the rear wheel arch...where i found it soaking wet!
Once I'd dealt with the water problem I moved onto taking out the rear shocks. Undoing everything here was pretty straight forward and the shocks came out really easily but I underestimated how much effort was involved in getting the new ones in. I'd love to know what the correct way is but I found this to be a two man job.
Luckily @monster came to the rescue...whilst I stood on the wheel hub and pulled my full weight down he was able to knock the shock into place.
The rears weren't in too bad of a condition
Once we knew what we were doing with the first shock, the second one was done in about 20 min!
Frustratingly packed up after the first day and found one washer left over! 
Luckily this went on the top of the rear mount so i was able to leave it all in the car and just undo the top nut, pop it on and do it up again! If it had been the washer on the bottom the whole thing would have had to come out.
My dad came along on day 2 to help with the front's which were a little harder...one side came out really easily but the drivers side took a real beating to get bolt out that holds the strut into the wheel carrier.
Once it was out it was a doddle to put back together.
Fronts had seen better days
When I took the top mount off the bearing basically just disintegrated in my hands as you can see here..
Anti-roll bars again only took about an hour in total to change the lot but a really easy job. Even if you were to just change the bushes its a simple task.
At the end of it the car looked a little something like this...and I now had a flat battery!
I couldn't get any power to be able to put the roof down, do up the windows or lock the car. I was able to get enough power to pop the frunk open though.
tried jump starting and got nothing! Called the RAC at 7pm who said they'll turn up at 8:30 but at 9:30 I'm sat in a 45 min queue to get through to someone.
Cut a long story short...the RAC turned up at 3AM!!!! So i had been sat up on the Friday night on guard duty watching over my completely exposed pride and joy! Rain was expected at 2am but eventually fell at 4am thankfully!
Told the RAC not to bother starting the car for the sake of the neighbours but just get enough power in so I can lock her up...ended up with a new battery the following day as there was enough power to unlock the car and pop the frunk and then it died again.
I've now done over 100 miles on the new suspension and it has made a world of difference. everything feels so much sharper and more controlled. Need to get the geo sorted now but it was a job well worth doing that I really enjoyed.
If anyone wants any help doing the same thing or has any questions on it I'd be happy to help
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FZP
Sepang
Joined: 18 Jan 2015
Posts: 2831
Location: Cheshire
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:36 am Post subject:
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Leon
Great write up. I admire you guys who really get stuck into proper mechanical work like you've done. I wish I had the knowledge and courage to do what you've done.
The best part I'm sure is when you can feel the difference to the ride of the car.
Job well do e mate
_________________
997.2 Carrera 2S GT Silver/Cocoa.
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FZP
Sepang
Joined: 18 Jan 2015
Posts: 2831
Location: Cheshire
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:40 am Post subject:
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Double post
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997.2 Carrera 2S GT Silver/Cocoa.
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maldren
Österreich
Joined: 07 Oct 2016
Posts: 949
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:48 am Post subject:
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Hi Leon,
I'll be following your lead later this year but I'm off to the OPC today to get the remaining parts for fitting cruise control as per your guide.
Now the sunshine's finally arrived I have a few jobs outstanding, LTT is on this week's list too.
Mike
_________________
Mike
2003 996.2 C2 Coupe Arctic Silver
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77szymon
Monza
Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 158
Location: UK
2003 Porsche 996 Carrera 4S
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:58 am Post subject:
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Nice one!!!
_________________
2003 Porsche 911 996 c4s
1988 BMW 635csi Highline - waiting for full restoration
1999 BMW e36 328i Cabrio - still not finished project.....
2011 Mercedes S350L
2004 Audi a2 1.4 tdi - I can't stress enough how good these cars are
2012 Mercedes C220 cdi Estate AMG Sport Plus Pack - wife
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ragpicker
Estoril
Joined: 14 Apr 2013
Posts: 3797
Location: North East England
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Phil 997
Brands Hatch
Joined: 05 Dec 2015
Posts: 14813
Location: Bournemouth,Dorset
2009 Porsche 997 Carrera 4S
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:20 am Post subject:
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Another great how to write up Leon mate.glad the cars better I know you were getting worried about the knocks and bangs etc.
_________________
911 Owners,Some Invest In The Future,
Others Enjoy The Moment Today.
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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:22 am Post subject:
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Thanks chaps! 
LTT is a good mod to do Maldren, if you need any help with the suspension or have any questions just drop me a PM.
Found the guide on pelican parts semi helpful...was the only real guide I could find online but it misses some fundamental steps and isn’t very clear on how to access the rear mounts especially on a cab...so had to figure that part out myself.
May give monster a hand doing his at some point so I’ll have elements from a coupe and a cab, a 996 and a 997 so May put a bit of a guide together for that
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C4-STORM
Hockenheim
Joined: 29 Aug 2017
Posts: 625
Location: Hampshire
2004 Porsche 996 Carrera 4S
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:40 am Post subject:
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Nice pics Leon mate.
Must have been nerve racking waiting for the RAC with the forecast of rain especially after drying out the footwell 
Nice result tho bud, always a satisfying feeling having that first run-out
_________________
2004 C4S Coupe 3.6 Tiptronic S ~ Basalt Black ~ Black Crested Sports Seats ~ Alcantara ~ S/R Delete ~ WEVO Engine Mounts ~ K&N Induction Filter ~ DesignTek Sports Exhausts ~ Quad Tips ~ RUF Hubcentrics ~ RUF Sports Springs ~ Paddle Shift Steering Upgrade ~ Rear Wiper Delete ~ Smoked Rear Indicators ~ Smoked 3rd Brake Light ~ Silver Dash Bar Hack™
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Marky911
Kyalami
Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 1997
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:30 am Post subject:
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We've all been there Leon. It's the only way to learn.
Kudos for sticking at it and it's rewarding once it's all done and you know you did it yourself.
Nice one!
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EGTE
Imola
Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 807
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:34 am Post subject:
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Good job!
You really need to get the Paragon "101 Projects" book now; it will really help you to do more of this good stuff.
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chicb
Trainee
Joined: 01 Jun 2017
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:38 am Post subject:
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Nice job, well done, but maybe you should also be buying a set of jump leads and/or a battery charger
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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:59 am Post subject:
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| chicb wrote: | | Nice job, well done, but maybe you should also be buying a set of jump leads and/or a battery charger |
Yeah I did have a set of cables but for whatever reason couldn’t get enough charge through them. Had it hooked up to the disco for about 30-40 min without any luck! Dodgy cables I put it down to so replaced them now
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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:01 pm Post subject:
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| EGTE wrote: | Good job!
You really need to get the Paragon "101 Projects" book now; it will really help you to do more of this good stuff. |
Is that the one by Wayne from pelican parts? Will check out the paragon one if it’s different...thanks
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Robertb
Long Beach
Joined: 01 Sep 2003
Posts: 6756
Location: South Oxfordshire
2002 Porsche 996 Carrera 4S
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:05 pm Post subject:
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Excellent load of work to have done yourself. As a recent convert to doing a few little jobs myself I can only admire your skills! Not sure I'd be brave enough to tackle that... wouldn't mind doing the shocks though.
_________________
"911- the guilt-free supercar"
Current: 2003 C4S Coupe, seal/black
Ex: '02 C4S Coupe, '96 993 Targa, '88 Carrera Sport Coupe
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Sundayjumper
Spa-Francorchamps
Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 293
Location: Royal Berkshire
1999 Porsche 996 Carrera 2
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:06 pm Post subject:
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I can't see the pics at work, did you change the lower arms & "tuning forks" ? I did them on mine at a similar mileage without changing the shocks and there was a noticeable improvement.
The squeak I was *trying* to fix eventually turned out to be the inner track rod ends.
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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:11 pm Post subject:
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| Robertb wrote: | | Excellent load of work to have done yourself. As a recent convert to doing a few little jobs myself I can only admire your skills! Not sure I'd be brave enough to tackle that... wouldn't mind doing the shocks though. |
Before I got the 996 I hadn’t so much as taken a wheel off a car before. I just felt doing some of the work myself saved a tonne on labour costs, gave me a real sense of satisfaction learning a new skill and also felt closer to the car if that makes sense...better bond!
A lot of it is logical, if you can follow an instruction manual and don’t mind getting a tad dirty you’d be able to do most of it.
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Leon1davies
Hockenheim
Joined: 04 Oct 2015
Posts: 687
Location: Bournemouth
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:13 pm Post subject:
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| Sundayjumper wrote: | I can't see the pics at work, did you change the lower arms & "tuning forks" ? I did them on mine at a similar mileage without changing the shocks and there was a noticeable improvement.
The squeak I was *trying* to fix eventually turned out to be the inner track rod ends. |
Didn’t do anything other than shocks, springs and ARB but will get to them soon. I’ve got exactly the same squeak...sounded like it was coming from the strut but I think it’s the tie rod ends or steering rack
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Robertb
Long Beach
Joined: 01 Sep 2003
Posts: 6756
Location: South Oxfordshire
2002 Porsche 996 Carrera 4S
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:20 pm Post subject:
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| Leon1davies wrote: | | Robertb wrote: | | Excellent load of work to have done yourself. As a recent convert to doing a few little jobs myself I can only admire your skills! Not sure I'd be brave enough to tackle that... wouldn't mind doing the shocks though. |
Before I got the 996 I hadn’t so much as taken a wheel off a car before. I just felt doing some of the work myself saved a tonne on labour costs, gave me a real sense of satisfaction learning a new skill and also felt closer to the car if that makes sense...better bond!
A lot of it is logical, if you can follow an instruction manual and don’t mind getting a tad dirty you’d be able to do most of it. |
Absolutely agree... even with my modest list of work (new rear discs/pads, front drop link, radiator fan, front PU off/on) I feel like I know the car better and saved £££.
Rear upper control arm to do next, though it seems to be lost in the post and Carparts4less customer service is utter pants.
_________________
"911- the guilt-free supercar"
Current: 2003 C4S Coupe, seal/black
Ex: '02 C4S Coupe, '96 993 Targa, '88 Carrera Sport Coupe
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Sundayjumper
Spa-Francorchamps
Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 293
Location: Royal Berkshire
1999 Porsche 996 Carrera 2
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:41 pm Post subject:
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| Leon1davies wrote: | Before I got the 996 I hadn’t so much as taken a wheel off a car before. I just felt doing some of the work myself saved a tonne on labour costs, gave me a real sense of satisfaction learning a new skill and also felt closer to the car if that makes sense...better bond!
A lot of it is logical, if you can follow an instruction manual and don’t mind getting a tad dirty you’d be able to do most of it. |
Good man ! 
I keep telling people that cars are just nuts & bolts, and to get stuck in.
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