Time for suspension, exhaust and a bunch of other stuff

Just put my 996 in the air so I can tackle some stuff that needs doing, some other stuff that doesn't really need doing but I'm going to do anyway, and a few more "while I'm in there" jobs. The list so far is: - RoW M030 suspension. Check other components too, although the PO tells me he replaced various things (just not the shocks, grr). - Third radiator, and clean out the inevitable crap from the rads - Plug tubes (and plugs) - Water pump - Low temp thermostat - Fuel filter - Alt-starter Y cable - Polyrib belt - Coolant tank - Engine mounts - Mufflers and 200 cell cats from Design911 - FF trans mount inserts I appreciate this is a lot of work to do all at once, but there's so much labour overlap in terms of removing component x to get to component y that I figure I might as well just get it all done. And for those that like pictures I'll post updates here, as well as the inevitable questions. Speaking of which, then: - Are there other tasks I should get done while I'm doing all of this, or things I should inspect? (NB Brakes are pretty much new; clutch and AOS were done a year ago when the gearbox was out; oil was changed 500 miles ago) - I've read a huge amount on Pelican, Renntech, here and elsewhere, but are there any obvious pitfalls to the above jobs? Thanks in advance!

That's quite a list. Looking forward to your updates. Mike

dont know what 996 you have, but you could use all stock suspension parts for 030 or get some H&R springs and any good bilstein or such shock, it would be about the same as stock. Check on maxspeed or agency power exhaust and stay away from expensive brands

Jimmy B, done alot of what you are having done, i went for the scart switchable muffler, - best money i have spent on it, sounds amazing. did the waterpump if i was going to do it again would likely change some of the 14 year old rubber piping. it takes alot of coolant. wish i had upgraded to suspension, but i had the cab so thought the harder ride wouldnt be beneficial. am about to do the engine and gearbox mounts as well as clutch, rms and IMS(maybe the indy doesnt want to do it). what mounts did you go for? solid? and if you have them installed how does it feel?

I've got a set of brand new Bilstein B8's (front only C4)

Nice list. Enjoy the process and don't set a time frame. That way when you hit unexpected challenges that take a few hours to figure out, it's no big deal. I can't wait to get my track car back to start working on it again.

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You might consider buying leaf gutter guards and cutting them to shape to cover the air intakes to all your radiators while you have the front bumper off the car. I did mine for next to nothing. A leaf guard at a good hardware store cost $5. One did both my rads. You would need two. They are the exact mesh as those Pelican parts sell for around $300. Stainless or you can spray them black. Mine have not tarnished in over 2 years. Also adding daytime running lights. You can pick up 2 wires which come on with the ignition by removing the triangular cover by your driving foot. In there you will find a 4 pin hanging plug. One side comes live with the ignition. You thread the wire from there through the bulkhead and trunk to the DRLs. I also use my pumpkin lights as flashing turn signals by a simple wire link, if that takes your fancy. If you fancy doing any of my suggestions I can find my previous postings on the subjects and make another post to this page.

i've got a few of these parts as spares I'm getting rid of: Plugs Coils Plug Tubes Belt I'll be posting them soon once I'm able to take complete stock

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This. x996. Thankfully I'm not in a hurry - the rest of the fleet is in pretty fine fettle at the moment so I have things to drive. And I should be cycling more anyway. I've given myself a month for this but if it takes longer, so be it. Others might knock it all out in a weekend. But for me it's a couple of hours snatched here and there in between work, kids, social life (ha!) and so on. Plus this is an unfamiliar car for me so I'm taking my time and learning stuff as I go. Labour Day weekend is a classic example. I could have carved out some wrenching time. But instead we hung out with friends, went shopping for a replacement for the Explorer, and spent yesterday hiking in the Shenandoah. No regrets. This evening, though, I managed to carve out some time. Both bumper covers are off, front calipers are bungeed out the way. BTW, did I need to remove the pads first? I did anyway. Tell me I shouldn't have, and I won't with the rears. I've left it all to bathe in PB Blaster overnight. Or perhaps longer, tomorrow evening looks a little busy. Pics because, well, otherwise it didn't happen - and some of them have questions: This is with liftbars and jack stands at their lowest height. I might raise it up a little more for ease and comfort. Drop link boot looks a little worse for wear. Replace the drop links, or leave 'em be? Left Rear drop link looks old but boots are intact (if a little dry) Tie rod boot looks a little cracked, although tie rod end itself looks newish. Should I replace? Tie rod again. Looks OK? Can someone tell me what this is? This is right rear; there's a similar thing right front. Seems to measure suspension travel or something, perhaps part of PCM? It looks like it should attach to the arm, but it's (currently) not. Found the emergency release cable! And in response to some specific comments ... Sammaw - funny you mention rubber hoses, the PO did the ones at the rear and gave me a box full of hoses for the front that he never got around to. So those will be going on once I've drained the system for the center rad. OKB / dporto - went with ROW M030 from Carnewal because (a) I kinda have a thing about OEM, and (b) I had some Euros. To each their own, I know there are other routes I could have gone. Exhaust, if it arrives, will be sport cats and mufflers from Design911 in the UK. If it doesn't (long story for another time) I have a couple of muffler options I can throw on in the meantime. Maybe I should do the 997 header thing, too. Hurdi - definitely going to do the mesh thing. Flashing side markers sounds like a plan, I'll look up the old thread. Vandersmith - thanks man. I bought most it all already though

If I am not mistaken the little control arm attached to the suspension arm is a ride height sensor for the Litronic servos of the Xenon headlight assemblies. They adjust the level of the lights as the car goes up and down. Should be item# 20. There is one in front and one in the rear. Looks like the part # 18 that holds the link to the arm has popped out of its retaining hole. It's part number 99634137103 and cost about $5 should you need a new one. Or just try and pop the part back in and see if it holds.

A highly recommended method of draining coolant. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...pump-tips.html

No need to remove the brake pads. Drop links looks fine for stock sway bars. Tie rods should probably be added to the list either this round or next.

I'd also recommend a AOS

Let me know if you need a hand with anything. I believe I'm in the area, relatively useful, and I'm looking for practice before doing many of the same things to mine!

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Brilliant - thanks. Will give it a wiggle and see if it can be popped back in. Probably throw on a zip tie for good measure. Nice. Thanks. Dang. Righto - ta! Done, by the PO when the transmission was out for pinion bearing replacement I like this idea. You and Gnat come work on my car, I stand and watch and supply beer. Alas no wrenching tonight, it's "back to school night" for the lad. Hopefully tomorrow though. And I got the shipping notification for my exhaust

I had mine up on the lift for a few weeks and did coolant tank, water pump, thermostat, motor mounts, oil change, LN filter modification and a few other things. I busted a rusty bolt on one of the exhaust clamps being too aggressive with the breaker bar. I ended up using a torch to heat stubborn items after. I bought an AOS but gave up on that and will tackle it over the winter along with the suspension items you are tackling. I also plan to change coil packs and plugs and install Fister mufflers. Just finished the FF trans mount insert last weekend. Looks like a great list, good luck and happy wrenching!

Got a small amount done this morning - undid a few more bolts on the front & rear suspensions, took the heat shields off and soaked every exhaust bolt I could find in PB Blaster. More tomorrow. Current frustration is that the passenger side strut top nut won't budge, even with my electric impact wrench. Suggestions?

If you aren't reusing the top hats you can get a little more aggressive with it. If the impact won't work, you're next option is a 6 sided socket and breaker bar.

Thanks - will have another go at it tomorrow. In the meantime some shiny things arrived in the mail today...

A little heat worked wonders on mine

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I had to cut the top nuts off of both of mine...Good Luck

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Oooh. So shiny!

Still here, still plugging away at this. Got held up for a couple of weeks there with some unexpected work travel. Got the top nuts loosened in the end. Current frustration is that I can't get the front strut(s) out from under the fender. The Pelican book says to loosen the lower control arm bolt, which is what's holding me up - I can't for the life of me get the thing undone, and there's precious little room to get a decent socket on it. Any pointers? I have everything else undone or loosened, the spring is all compressed with h/t zip ties, but I can't lower the assembly enough to get the strut out from under the fender - hence the need to loosen the aforementioned bolt I guess. Help!

Did you drop the thrust arms? Loosening it won't work.

Ohhhhhh. The write-up in the book is for a C2. More difficult on the C4, I now realise. According to this: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-question.html I need to separate balljoints, remove driveshafts. Hmm.

Try using a set of spring compressors instead. I think it's a lot easier....

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^This^... I did the same thing the "first" time I dug into my car to replace the springs...2 hrs. wasted, put 'er back together... The second time around, I was sure to have all parts, tools, instructions etc... The entire job (springs, struts and front wheel bearings) still took me a few weeks to complete (since I was only working nights/"spare time")... I think when I figured actual time spent working it came out to about 8 hrs. total - Good luck - it's so worth it when you're finished!

And ... she's done! For various reasons to do with losing my workspace and running out of time, I ended up entrusting the work to IMA Motorwerke in Chantilly - well impressed with them,. btw. Got the car back on Saturday, just in time for a dash to BWI and back. I have to say I'm absolutely delighted with how it drives and sounds now. I know I'm comparing old, worn shocks with new ones, but the Euro M030 is exactly what I hoped it would be. The ride is just a little higher than with the H&Rs, I haven't measured it yet but I no longer scrape the front of the car going into my car park at work. And there's waaaaay less crash-bang over the bumps, and the couple of little knocks from the suspension are all gone. The DesignTek exhaust sounds beautiful. Docile at part throttle but with a wonderful bark when you plant your foot. The car sounds like a Porsche now. And shifting is crisper and slicker - the Function First shifter had already made an improvement, but the FF trans mount inserts and new engine mounts have also made a huge difference. Oh, and my exhaust tips don't sag any more Soooo pleased to have my 996 back on the road. And now I have five days off of work to drive it