Strut Replacement - Seeking Advice

I need new struts. This is something I'm not too familiar with. I'm wondering if it's something I'd be able to do myself, if it's on a lift. I've read that you need a compressor to compress the spring and remove the strut. I've also read that coilovers do not need that, and can be bolted right in. I'm looking for the most budget friendly option. Can anyone help me out? I'm reading a bunch of posts and I'm seeing some conflicting information and some people say it's very difficult, while others say it takes an hour or so per wheel. I'd love any advice from anyone that has done it themselves, including what the "easiest" option would be. Thank you

I'm in the same boat...

I've done this in my garage and it is not too hard. I put in Bilstein B-6's on both sides. I bought a spring compressor so once the whole strut tower is out, laid them on the floor, compressed the springs and removed the old struts. Then put the strut towers together with the new struts and back in. I would factor in about three hours per side, but I did a lot of cleaning while I was in there. Also replaced both outer tie rods for good measure. https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...nd_Springs.htm

Assuming you have the right tools and a healthy dose of confidence in your abilities, you should easily be able to change your struts. A lift isn't necessary. Jack stands will work just fine. The most budget friendly option would be to replace the struts and keep your existing springs. This would cost around $200 per strut (x4) and Bilstein brand seems to the most readily available. A spring compressor is necessary to (safely) remove the springs and transfer them to your new struts. Spring compresssors can be borrowed or rented from your local parts store. Watch a couple of YouTube videos to see how they come apart. Some people would have you think the springs are going to launch through your garage wall or ceiling when they come apart. That's not the case, although use common sense. This guy hits most of the highlights on a 996 - You Tube

Don't count on 1 hr per wheel. The suspension is under the car - as such every time you go through a puddle/mud/road grime etc. it's getting all over everything down there. If you drive it where there's road salt or you're near salt water (on the coast's) you can double the difficulty of removal. There's nothing particularly difficult about the job itself except some of the nuts/bolts can be difficult to remove. Good luck

DBJoe, thanks for your thoughts. So, the compression happens once the strut is removed from the vehicle, correct? Were there alot of other parts that you replaced while you were in there?

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correct. Compression after removal. I�d recommend new boots and bump stops (rubber and foam take abuse). Strut mounts and bearings for the front would also make sense especially if you get a rattle-like sound over small cracks at lower speeds. I just did this myself with jack stands and a very tiny garage. Replaced with Koni Special Active (used to be FSD). Reused the �touring� springs. The fronts were dead but my rear struts were still pretty good, FWIW. I�d budget plenty of time (a garage makes sense as I worked over the course of two weekends to remove and replace all four). I also swapped in new sway bar connectors (droplinks I think) while in there. Check your bushings on the lower control arms. Mine were so good that I think they must have been replaced relatively recently. The hardest part for me was getting the rear struts mounted into the wheel carrier again. I used a jack to compress and push it up into place while sliding in the bolt connecting it to the wheel carrier. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but it was a bear. I checked the pelican parts tutorial and the workshop manual.

Im waiting on a couple more parts before I tackle this. I havent had a chance to look at the rear suspension yet. Are the rear upper strut mounts under interior panels in the back seat area? Or can they be accessed from under the car?

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There are interior panels which need to be removed to access the rear strut top mount nuts. But that is probably the easiest part of the whole job.

On the front struts, I replaced the boots, bump stops and upper bearing mounts....like here: http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/hardparts.php?dir=996-99-05&section=402-00 10,6,6,11,4,5,2,9,8 all replaced on both sides as well as the Bilstein struts themselves

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It's one carpet covered high density foam piece (inverted L shape)...It just pulls out.

I put koni yellows and H&R springs in my car recently, I didnt need a spring compressor but my car had coilovers before so I dont know if the factory springs need to be remover using a compressor. The rear's are a big PITA, aligning the hole was a big challenge for me.

Thanks for everyones input. Any specific brand/type to look at? What are the pro's/con's of using a strut with the original spring, or using coilovers that have the strut and spring together (i believe that's correct?). Does anyone have a handy diagram or list of all the nuts/bolts/parts that should be replaced while tackling this job? I'm working on the fronts, and do not need to do the rears at this point...yet....Any input is greatly appreciated!

Jaycote, no real cons using the original springs with OEM style Bilstein shocks/struts. It will basically ride like a newish stock 996 (assuming your other components are in good working order). I used Bilstein Performance B8s part no. 24-029940 and 22-052728 when the stock shocks wore out. The Pelican link posted a few messages above has the diagram with all the common parts to be replaced. If you want to lower the car and firm up the ride you can go with something like H&R springs if you don't want to spring for a coil-over set-up, otherwise, the stock springs are fine. Coil-overs offer two advantages that may or may not be applicable to your needs. First, you can fine tune and adjust your ride height exactly where you like it using a simple spanner wrench. You can lower it for track days or car meets, raise it for daily driving if needed. I had a VW Jetta years ago that had Ground Control coil overs. The main advantage (true story) is that my in-laws were really overweight and if we knew they were coming into town and going out to dinner and taking my Jetta, I'd jack up the car about 2-inches in back to keep the suspension from bottoming out. The other thing coil-overs allow you to do is to pick your spring rate based on your driving style. On my Jetta I ran 350 lbs/in front and 250 lbs/in rear springs which was a good compromise setup on that chassis that saw a decent amount of track time, but was also a daily driver. If I did just street driving I might have gone with a 300/200 or 325/225 mix. If I was doing mostly track days and weekend only driving I would have gone firmer. So coil-overs give you a ton of options but also make you do your homework when selecting the right spring rate for what you want. Honestly, I've never missed not having them on any of my other cars. I generally go with good quality lowering springs and good firm shock/strut like a Koni Reds in my 928 or Bilstein B8s in my 996 and I've been very happy with it. Both of these cars see occasional autocrosses and very limited track duty but are about 90% daily drivers. Spring compressors are available free on-loan from most of the major auto parts stores (Pep Boys, Advance, probably others). You just put down a deposit for the price of the tool (I think around $100) and then you get it refunded when you return it. Keeps you from having to buy a tool you only use once every few years at most. Good luck. It's really not a bad job and quite rewarding when you think most shops would probably charge you about $500 in labor to swap them out.

The link DBJoe996 provided to AutoAtlanta doesn't work on its own for me - something about the script - but you can nav there through the menus. http://www.autoatlanta.com/index.php When you do, you'll eventually find a good schematic. (can't post pic now) Regarding parts: Your new struts should come with new supplied nuts on the top. (10) At least my Konis did. DBJoe suggested replacing 10,6,6,11,4,5,2,9,8. I cheaped out a bit. I reused everything except I replaced 3 (mount with pressed bushing), 11 (bearing), 4 (support ring), 9 (bump stop), and 8 (bellows/dust cover) in the diagram. The youtube videos I saw recommended loosening the coffin arm bolt where it attaches to the cross member. It was a good trick, and helped me getting the strut back mounted with the wheel carrier. One other tip is that I needed a 7mm hex that can take some good torque to hold the strut rod while removing the #10 bolt. (broke more than one trying). I borrowed spring compressors for removal of parts and reassembly of strut components from local autoparts shop. You'll need an alignment done once the work is complete. On the virtues of various strut options, you should find plenty on here already weighing the merits of different setups. My car is new to me and I wanted to first do no harm, so I'm first restoring things that are broken or failing and will consider upgrades only later down the line. The Koni Special Actives seemed like a nice compromise to me for the price (cheaper than OEM Bilsteins), smooth ride, but slight handling improvement. I wanted to keep the original spring height for now, for clearance issues. (There are enough scrapes on the underside of this bumper to convince me to keep the "touring" height for speed bumps and driveways for now.) I've also heard it said that the GT3 was "under sprung and over dampened" by Porsche, which sounded like a nice approach to me. good luck. So far I'm really happy with the ride and the fix. Material improvement in ride.

Chris Mickler and Rabele, thank you! That's exactly the info i was looking for. Appreciate it!!

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How do you like the Koni Yellows? I am considering them myself. Currently on Stock Struts and Eibach Springs with their Sways soon to be installed.

IMO, if I was going to go through all the trouble of replacing the struts id just pony up to extra coin for a good set of coil overs. They arent an incredibly expensive upgrade.

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And you might as well replace the compensator plates too. When I did mine, I used these super high strength zip ties super high strength zip ties on the coils while they were still compressed on the car. It made it easier when trying to clear the fender lip for removal. The piece of foam pipe insulation in the pic was placed on the edge of the wheel well along with a piece of hose over the threads of the strut to help protect the paint when removing.

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I tend to agree here and the Feal coil overs look like a good choice for the money.

Ok, just my opinion which I'm quite positive many will disagree with... ebay coil overs all day long. I'v had $3k suspensions and I've had $1k suspensions... to me the differences are not worth the extra money. I put them on my 996 last year and they feel great, cost me $1100 if I remember right and were very easy to install. I had a set of kw's on my audi tt a few years ago.. lasted two summers before 3 of them were leaking... those cost $3200 to each there own but for me...cheap stuff only breaks when its not takin care of. I was able to fine some that matched my paint as well I know some disagree but I've been wrenching on cars for 15 yrs now and I'm tired of spending money or "better quality" just my 2 cents Brian

oh and in the event you want to put bigger rims on there one day.. coilovers will give you a little more room. I have 315/35/19 on my car and I have extra room

These look good for cheap... https://www.ebay.com/itm/GODSPEED-GS...nZA:rk:14:pf:0

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I read reviews when I selected mine and I know there was a couple that were cheaper than mine but this makes sense to me unless this is possibly a track only car or you�re in a Porsche purist

I've heard good things about Ceika coilovers but I have no direct experience. https://ceika-store.com/collections/...ducts/cct1m614

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That is one of the most useless DIY videos I've ever seen. The guy just talks about what he has done but doesn't show anything. Waste of time.

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Which coilover did you get? Interested in knowing more about Ceika coilovers

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Mine are HSR adjustable coil overs. I had a set of KW's on my Audi TT and they didn't last 4yrs before 3 of them started leaking and lost all resistance. Those were almost $3k and compared to the $1300 set of HSR's on my Porsche.. I'm more then happy with how they feel, how they have held up (about 2000 miles now on Michigan roads) and there fitment was perfect. I get some people stand by high end stuff and no argument here but for me.. I have 15 year old harbor freight tools that still look new lol I take care of my stuff and these coil overs so far.. awesome!! Oh and the color(pretty sure that green made my car faster)... I mean come on.. that's a match made in heaven lolol

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Any update on the install? I'm hoping to get mine installed this Sunday if the stars line up.

Hey Bill, installation is complete. It was a long road though, and I learned a few things. I replaced pretty much every part in my front suspension. After I completed it the first time, my passenger front wheel would bounce over bumps...as if it was a basketball. I don't know what I did wrong or what the issue was, but I noticed the new strut was already leaking. It could've been a defective strut, or perhaps i installed them incorrectly. I got a new replacement and replaced the passenger's side again. Also, people told me it could've been an issue with my upper strut mounts. I bought a non-brand mounts the first time, but purchased OEM Porsche brand the second time. They look totally different and I think OEM porsche is the way to go for strut mounts. It's been a couple months since I re-did the suspension and it drives great. Only issue I have is that it sounds like metal is rubbing together when i turn full lock. I'm not re-doing it again, and I don't think it's a big deal, but it still bothers me when I hear it. Take your time and torque everything to spec...i did not torque and wish i did. It's an absolute DIY job though...don't be intimidated.

Thanks for the quick reply! I highly recommend you get a torque wrench and tighten everything to spec. The last thing you want is to have nuts and bolts back off at the wrong time.

For anybody contemplating this, this article is very helpful: https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...nd_Springs.htm

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Which brand/type did you get?

I did this on my Boxster (986) . The front was easy, back was a bit more work. Is the 996 easier with it's end in the rear versus the middle?

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FEAL

Koni Sports (yellow) even with adjustment on softest are supposed to ride firmer than stock Bilsetin B4s. Special Actives (red) allegedly ride softer and have more control than stock. They cost less too, so if they last and unless you need to lower your car and race they are the superior choice. Sale is at ECStuning.com.