...Another C4 Project

Back in 2018 on Black Friday I bought a Bilstein PSS11 coilover kit for my C4 and saved a fair bit. The box has been gathering dust in my bedroom since then. Before all this crisis kicked off, I was considering selling it on as I had other plans for a C2. In March I SORN'd my C4 and decided to keep the car as I have already spent a fair bit of my time and money on the 911 (anyone who uses the pcgb forum will see my detailed post on this car). I have decided to duplicate some of the posts going forward. So first project was to get the coilovers fitted. There was a reason why I delayed so long as I knew my original m030 spec was getting to end of life and knew additional costs would soon mount up. I was right. So this photo shows the front struts off the car. Not the most straightforward operation, but hey I have lots of spare time at the moment. Firstly, the pinch bolts on the struts to hub are completely siezed so had to remove as a single unit. Still waiting to get these down to a workshop to get these removed. The next thing was one of the caliper bolts rounded off with a 10mm hex. So that was drilled out and still have the remaining bolt in the caliper.

Today I had a delivery as I move towards the rebuild of the front struts. I've gone for the 997 gen1 C4 top mounts, axial bearing, bearing cover, 6mm rubber seal and stop plates. All of which needed replacing from my tired 100k m030 parts. Someone, may enlighten me on the parts for the rubber seal being 3mm or 6mm. I would has assumed 3mm would be on the sports suspension, but my orginal ones look to be 6mm.

Interested to hear about fitting the 997 top mounts! I understand the caster will change a bit, but otherwise they are a drop-in fit?

Yes they fit bolt pattern on body mount. Visually they look slightly different in design, side by side caster looks the same, but only geo will accurately measure any difference so cannot confirm just yet. Looking online, 996 is 8° positive and 997 maybe a fraction of a degree lower.

I asked the question of compatability while at centre of gravity and they advised against it as getting within spec on a geo may not be possible Hopefully this isn't the case and you manage to get a good set up :thumb: As I know the 996 community will be glad to hear as think there is a decent price saving to be had 8)

I may give them a call if anyone is about. I can easily swap these out. I could measure, but doubt accuracy to minutes in a degree Besides, I expect my m030 is well outside spec now, so that won't be a good reference point.

Work so far on front suspension.

See if you can get some Pepsi or cola down in there and soaking by sealing up with blu tak etc. Used this technique before to take alu seatposts out of steel bike frames. Just eats a bit of the corrosion away, a bit kinder than heat but don't leave it in there for weeks!

Thanks for tip, will try that technique.

I have some clarification on using 997 c4 top mounts: 1. They will fit the 996 - have checked this already. 2. The caster will be 30' less using these mounts. In normal driving this will not be an issue. In fact, at lower speeds will be an advantage giving a lighter feel to front end. If however, you plan to use for track or constant high speed driving on unrestricted autobahns then you really need the caster within spec. To overcome this, adjustable lower forks will allow the caster to be dialled back in. Eibach sell these and provide flexibility on your suspension setup to suit road/track etc. To summarise, whilst you can save money on the 997 components, you may want to consider adjustments to caster as above. The end result is costs are approximately the same depending upon what you require in your driving style. Many thanks to Pete at Center Gravity on some great advice.

Further assembly to front struts. Still waiting for Porsche to supply parts to UK so Hartech can open their parts department for refurb'd lower arm and ball joints. Looking forward to reassembling front suspension with new parts.

I got over zealous with the gold hammerite 8) The roll bar , plates, forward braces and brackets all cleaned up and treated with dinitrol, primer and hammerite paint. New powerflex arb bushes, these are 20.5mm - I believe 0.2mm undersize for the m030 roll bar, but seem to fit ok.

Finally have the struts separated from the hub castings. Took them to a workshop, applied some heat to the bolts and with an impact gun both were done in 15 mins. The amount of oxide dust plumed from the joint in quite an impressive fashion. So one problem fixed and onto the next. Noticed that both wheel hubs wobbled with an unnerving amount of play. So both front bearings need replacing. I have one hub off using 3 coach bolts, but in usual style the outer race separated. The grease looks to be pretty dry and ineffective. I have ordered a wheel bearing separator to pull the bearing from the hub. In the meantime, I may remove the speed sensors and have the bolts out at least. I may have to follow @MisterCorn on getting the sensors out, unless I can drift them out like my pulse sensor on the bellhousing (that's another project on hold).

The sensor comes out with a drill and a drift. The issue is when the bolt snaps in the housing, that is when I needed the jig. Have you got a press or decent puller to do the bearings? I'm happy to help if you are anywhere near Nottingham. MC

Thanks for your offer MC. I was going to make something using a threaded rod, bolts and metal plates - there is thread on rennlist. I did a similar thing to pull bushes on my 944, but this bearing requires heavy duty kit. Gettiing them back in place might be a challenge, but should be able to find a workshop in Reading. Seen your video using a hydraulic press - impressive.