986 Boxster suspensoon overhaul advice. - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

REF my recently purchased a 2002 2.7 Boxster. The car will be used on road with the odd trackday. I want it to drive lively and fun. The car drivers well, slight wobble at speed and a bit noisy/squeaky on full over speedbumps (ARB bushes?) So far I ‘need’ two front outer tie-rods, (one knocking, other one torn ball joint boot). These have been purchased. I have also bought inner tie rods but not sure whether to bother changing these or no, looks like it could be a big job. there are no immediate problems, the cars on 125k so I know the dampers will be past their best. I was looking at Koni but I managed (somewhat accidentally!) to purchase a set of H&R coilovers new open box on ebay – so that’s dampers and springs sorted. The front top mounts have recently been replaced, so ill re-use them. I assume the rears will be ok. All 4 bump stops are pretty crumbly – should I change these? Wishbones etc – there no obvious faults with the coffin arms, or track control arms. they have all done 125k miles. Worth doing? Refurb, new? I thought about doing new TRW coffin arms (as that covers the ball joints), but re-using the track control arms with some polybushes? Being new to the Porsche, I’m trying to work out which bits are the most sensible to do now, all in one go, while its all apart, and what can realistically be left to as-and-when its needed. For what it’s worth, tires are all good (Michelin), no funny wear patterns, and I’m also doing the discs/pads/fluid at the same time. Aswell as making the calipers look pretty. All work is being done at home – I’ll only be paying for a wheel alignment somewhere local once its complete.

I would definitely recommend doing the coffin arms and track control arms if they have done 125k. If you have a 'pool balls rattling' type of sound over slightly rough surfaces then these will be the long 'tuning fork' type arms. When I had my 2.7 it made a massive difference and tightened up the whole drive. If you are going to the effort of replacing springs and shocks then you might aswell go the whole way and do everything. Not sure if the JTC arms are still available on eBay but they were pretty cheap a couple of years ago. Likewise Meyle are good value I think a lot of people are running those too without any complaints. Hope that helps.

Droplinks may also need doing (getting them out of the uprights can be a bit of a job..)

Having had 2 986 now I would replace all the arms of you are serious about getting the best in terms of handling. You will most likely need some adjustable rear toe links if you intend to lower the car any significant amount. At that age and mileage also engine mount and gearbox mounts, there are inset and poly options for these.

edh said: Droplinks may also need doing (getting them out of the uprights can be a bit of a job..) Your not flipping joking... The strus came out easy enough as the nut comes off and release the clamp, but the droplink ends are firmly at home in the hub, Turning it into a mammoth job. One side just about came out, the other side sheared, have had to remove the whole hub from the car and begun drilling the bolt out to release it. What a pain. Not even started the rears. I think the droplinks are original hence they are very happy to stay where they are!

snotrag said: edh said: Droplinks may also need doing (getting them out of the uprights can be a bit of a job..) Your not flipping joking... The strus came out easy enough as the nut comes off and release the clamp, but the droplink ends are firmly at home in the hub, Turning it into a mammoth job. One side just about came out, the other side sheared, have had to remove the whole hub from the car and begun drilling the bolt out to release it. What a pain. Not even started the rears. I think the droplinks are original hence they are very happy to stay where they are! That sounds nasty... The potential for aggro with the droplinks made me pass the suspension swap job on my Boxster to a garage & very glad I did..