Rear suspension question

Hi all in the middle of a suspension job and I got to thinking. Does the orientation od the bumper at the top of the strut matter? Take a look at the 2 pictures. Originally the spring is installed such that fatter part of the ring (black one is original) at the top is pointing out at me. In the new one i installed (yellow ring) the fat part is oriented more away from me. I understand that the ring is contoured such that the top is flush regardless o with the mounting plate. But wanted to confirm with the team here if thi matters before closing up. New install. Original orientation.

Original install is correct. It is supposed to sit inside the gaiter to protect it and thus make it last longer. As you have it now, the gaiter sits lower than designed too. At full compression the fully compressed gaiter might be too long, which in turn could lead to a sudden increase in load, since the bump will be compressed. This can quickly become nasty regarding cornering stability (think bump mid corner when this wheel is on the outside of the corner). My advice is to fit it correctly (and replace anything you replaced on this side also on the other side).

Thank you. to clarify when you say the gaitor you mean the ribbed black belllow correct? Ans so the yellow bump is supposed to sit in the same orientation as it is now but instead have the gaitor go on after it and OVER it so it is not visible? That would be a different ordering than i see in the diagrams showing the order of sliding the pieces onto the new shock absorber but will take a look for sure. Diagram attached. 7 seems to go on and then 8, on top of it. Also to add, that bumper and bellows can be easily pushed down such that the visable shock absorber shaft is visable. It just looks like it does now jammed up against the top because the car hasnt been lowered yet. That wasn't my intended question but I appreciate the note! What i was looking to address also is the orientation of the yellow ring that sits under the strut mount. The orientation as it was shows the "fatter" side pointing toward the wheel. The fatter part wound up pointing away from the wheel side now. Does that matter?

The spring pad (yellow ring, formerly black) can be clocked in any orientation since the top of the pad can spin on the shock mount when the spring is loose, and the bottom of the spring just spins on the shock collar when the spring is loose. But yeah, the bump stop should sit inside the bellows, not above it.

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Thanks all appreciate this. Swear I am not trying to be difficult but wrestling with the bumper position. Every diagram and pictures I see of this set up shows the yellow bumper sitting on top of the black bellows. Is there a reason for the discrepancy i don't follow.

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If the bump stop is very tight on the shaft then it should go at the very top, but IIRC they are supposed to slide on the shaft in the 996/997. In which case, they can either go inside the bellows for a little extra heat protection, or in the case of 997's the bellows actually installs on the bump stop. You won't screw up the car just having the orientation different (stack height is stack height) but food for thought.

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yep. They definitely slide very easily. These bellows actually have a contoured ring on the top that snug in very securely to the bumper.

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The diagrams are 'exploded views' in order to show every part, not necessarily to show how they go together. The bump stop is upside down in your picture. If you turn it around, the ridge on it will still interface with the 'contoured ring' in the gaiter/bellows and, surprise, surprise, the bump stop will then sit inside the gaiter. Also, the wider base (not visible in your picture as it sits inside the gaiter) fits perfectly to the shape of #5 (in the diagram) at the top of the shock absorber, whereas the 'pointy end' of the bump stop does not... It's all designed together in order to make them last, which is hard enough to achieve as it is. So put it together as supposed to. To answer your original question (your pics immediately drew my attention to the bump stop, go figure). The orientation of the new/yellow spring pad looks wonky. The end if the coil must butt up against the 'stop' by turning the pad. It should look like this

Here is a factory original, untouched, as it left the production line rear end setup showing the bump stop sitting above (but clipped within) the bellows. ​​​​​​ Mine are exactly the same.

Good informarion thanks all !

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That's the first thing that caught my eye. It looks like it's missing the plastic compensator ring but I thought maybe the thick part was inboard where it doesn't show in the pic. When I did my suspension several years ago, I went back and forth on this. It looks like I went for 'full' coverage though. It doesn't seem like it will be too difficult to correct next time the wheels are off.

So im certain this suspension was never touched and when removing the old parts there was no plastic compensating ring at all. On either side on the rear. The top of the spring i have in is seated perfecty in the groove underneath the yellow ring you see in the picture. The top of that ring is flush with the underside of the strut mount. I was thinking there should be no difference in the orientation but its easy enough for me to remove and situate it like I found it and like others have shown in pictures above. Of course my original bumpers were nowhere to be found completely disintegrated

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I will eat my hat and then get my coat! Thanks for your pictures, they convinced me (and explain why the bump stops don't last as long as they could had they been within the gaiter/bellows).

All better. Thanks all!

That looks good! Be sure to tighten any bolts through rubber bushes are tightened with the car resting on its wheels, should you have loosened any to get the strut removed and put back.

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Yep. I actually replaced all the control arms and brough the suspension up to ride hight (14 inches from hub center to top wheel opening at 12 o'clock) before torquing everything to soec.