Suspension Replacement

Hi all, I was looking through the forums and couldn't find specifically to the Porsche 996 Coupe 911 2003 Suspension. I have over 100K miles and steering, vibrations and alignment are perfect on my vehicle. However when I drive over something as small as a lane light the suspension feels like I ran the car over a cliff! Searching for a list of specific parts on Pelican etc I can't find exactly what I need to replace the specific issue I have without tie rods and control arms being part of the items required. Could anyone recommend / suggest specific parts that relate to an improvement in a smoother ride on the suspension only? Thanks Scott

The best thing to do is get your car to a specialist or get it up on a lift, and go through the front end components you can see. Some things will have obvious wear, other things are harder to see/feel without disassembly. If I were undertaking a suspension job on a 100k mile car, I'd be planning on replacing everything. If I had to guess, I'd say your upper strut mount is worn, but again, if it were my car, I'd just replace everthing.

Thanks Danix, part of the reason I purchased this vehicle with the high mileage was the price point and desire to identify and repair DIY. I will check out the upper strut mounts and appreciate the feedback! Thanks, Scott

See this thread with diagram, may be helpful. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...uspension.html

Thanks danix, this is fantastic!!!

Replace it all, it's over due!

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This.

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As others have said, very difficult to diagnose without being there. First things that come to mind are the fr and rear upper strut mounts and stab bar links. These are not expensive and will get you into the suspension and can put your eyes on all the parts.

Mine was the steering rack...

Hi all, Another question I have for some feedback if possible. When I have a full tank of gas the front suspension feels great when the tank is below half the front feels very loose and rickety. Would this help better identify whether I am looking at suspension vs control arms / tie rods? I really would love to replace everything but I am not in a position during a pandemic and being married to replace the entire suspension LOL! So I am looking at $400 for upper struts / ball joints / bumper stops vs $700 for control arms and tie rods. Would much appreciate feedback to have a tighter front driving experience. Thanks, Scott

So with more weight in the rear, there's less downward pressure on the front. Anything loose/out of whack in the front becomes more obvious, so that makes sense. Really the best thing to do is get the car in the air, use a prybar (carefully) and see what's moving. Worn struts are obvious - bouncy up and down. Bump stops would be noise related. Tierods, ball joints and control arms are most noticeable when steering. But any of those should be fairly obvious when you move the assembly. Also keep in mind some of these might only be obvious upon removal. For example, a swaybar link looks OK, but when you remove it to get to something else, you see how floppy it is, and choose to replace it. In your shoes, I would check and replace the tie rods first, and go from there.

I had that symptom along with creaking noises at low speeds. Replacing the tie rods fixed the issue for me.

Thanks everyone!

I am currently in the same boat. I am replacing all of the following on the front of my 2001 996 with 109k on it and I suggest you do the same as all these parts even if they look fine, are most likely tired and worn out. 1. lower control arms, 1 for each side 2. tuning fork, 1 for each side 3. tire rod end, 1 for each side 4. drop links (connect to swaybar), 1 for each side 5. strut, strut mount (1 each for each side) 6. new wheel bearing since I had it apart 5. new brembo disks and pads All of this cost 2k It is a nice little project to do and most of the procedures are fully covered on youtube and torqe specs are well documented here. I will do the rare end later but I will do the following first as it is most likely needed for a care of your mileage as well. 1. replace motor mounts with your choice of stiffness. I am using factory but will be putting in 3m window weld which makes them semi solid.

Not a fan of the B4 replacement shocks. I'd at least go yellow (B6 I think).

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I am not sure of the real difference but when reading I think the yellow are for a sportier which I assumed meant a stiffer ride. I weighed that option along with several other components, but condsidering my car will mainly hit the rough streets of new england, I thought a smoother ride may be better. This is the other reason I chose not to go with stiffer bushings on the control arms or the solid motor mounts.