Replaced everything to new in my suspension

[clb0099]

I have 2002 c2 , tiptronic with 82k miles. I recently put coilovers and loved the way it drives but I noticed squeaking coming from the bushings in the front end. So I went to mechanic and had him replace everything in the front/ rear suspension . Being that I had that many miles on my car I figured it was more piece of mind to replace everything . Cost of parts are roughly $2200 . Plus labor . The parts replaced as follow :

lower Control Arms, upper

Control Arm,Sway Bar Links front/rear

Tie RodEnds front/rear ,Steering Rack Boots

Engine Mounts

Edited March 31, 2012 by clb0099

[phillipj]

So how does it drive now? Money well spent?

[paul-home]

I am considering doing this with my 85,000 mile 1999 C4.

Theres a few rattles. I've been quoted £750 for all the control arms (8), tie rod inner links, tie rod ends, and all 4 rollbar links, all original TRW.

Was it worth it?

[clb0099]

I do not have more car back yet as I am suppose to pick it up tomorrow. I am sure its going to be a major upgrade but I will give you my opinion as soon as I drive it.

[clb0099]

Well picked up my car today and let me tell you it drives like it was brand new. I am the second owner of the and got it with some mileage on it but between the coilovers and all the new suspension parts it's like I just took it off the show room. I have owned about 15 cars in my life so and 10 of them have been brand new cars. The porsche blows them away and its 10 yrs old . Def. a great investment to do the full suspension.

[phillipj]

Awesome.. That's great news.. :thumbup:

[Dharn55]

Had some noise in my front suspension and look what I found, the upper strut mounts were shot. If you are re-doing the front suspension in an older car (mine is 12 years old) you might want to replace these too.

[phillipj]

Dharn55,

Do you really think they need to be replaced? look fine to me.. :jump:

[Dharn55]

JB Weld! What do you think?

[roadsession]

Had some noise in my front suspension and look what I found, the upper strut mounts were shot. If you are re-doing the front suspension in an older car (mine is 12 years old) you might want to replace these too.

Dharn - is there a way to visually check for this without removing the strut mount...(sorry for the noob question)

[Dharn55]

I am not sure that you could see the problem without disassembling the strut, I know I did not, but then I wasn't looking for this specific problem. In the diagram of the PSS10 here you can see the two stop plates that pretty much hide the inner part of the bushing

.

Here are some more pics of the mounts and stop plates themselves

So with the top nut on the strut tightened the two stop plates compress on the inner part of the bushing shown on the side in the first photo, hiding it and holding it in place. On mine I could not see that the rubber that held the inner piece in place was basically gone. Maybe if I ahd known what was going on I might have been able to tell, but certainly not without removing the strut from the car..

[Dharn55]

Having thought about this further, if you remove the top nut and stop plate while the strut is in the car you should be able to see the bushing. To do this I think you need to have weight on the wheel, so that the shock portion of the strut does not drop down, and you need to be able tp keep the shaft of the shock from turning, which can be a problem.

[roadsession]

Thanks...so here are my symptoms. When I'm light on fuel, the car feels very rough on the city streets and on rough pavement there's a lot of clunking going on and the steering feels sort of loose. My tire pressure is absolutely perfect but I can definitely feel looseness....

When the fuel tank is full, the ride is much more compliant and smooth and no harsh clunking....

thoughts?

Edited April 11, 2012 by roadsession

[Chris996]

How long should you wait before doing a 4 WHEEL alignment. i just installed RoW 030... ITS a totally different Porsche NOW.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Chris996

[Dharn55]

They say you should wait a while to let the springs settle. I drove my car with the new PSS10's for a couple of hundred miles.But it was not noticeably out of alignment or pullings. You don't want to go long enough to effect the wear on the tires.

[Chris996]

Thanks, Dharm55, I have seen a lot of good comments from you before.

[roadsession]

Thanks...so here are my symptoms. When I'm light on fuel, the car feels very rough on the city streets and on rough pavement there's a lot of clunking going on and the steering feels sort of loose. My tire pressure is absolutely perfect but I can definitely feel looseness....

When the fuel tank is full, the ride is much more compliant and smooth and no harsh clunking....

thoughts?

[logray]

This is the second several conversation thread, it can certainly be confusing. :)

chris996, I would think a few trips around the block should be sufficient for the suspension to settle. In a shop they just bump the car a little... As Doug suggests, I wouldn't wait too long for an alignment since it can cause premature and uneven tire wear.

What is your tire pressure roadsession? Try filling to factory specs. They are posted under the front trunk lid. Also try putting some sand bags in the front trunk. ;)

[clb0099]

I have had the new parts on for a week and I can tell you now that my car drives amazing. No more creaking and rattling noises. Also feels much tighter on turns and ehances the coilovers as they should feel. I am running 19s all the way around and they do not rub and make the car's stance very aggressive. My next upgrades are the turbo front bumper (which is already bought) and the Turbo rear lid cover ( already bought also with everything intact with the wing). I bought the bumper for $500 shipped to me in mint condition wth all the grilles and the rear ld cover i bought for $400. There was someone who did the turbo rear lid on here but kind did it "ghetto", no offense but the lid lock latch did not lock and it was rigged instead of moving the latch on the lid and re-fiberglassing the old hole where the latch was. I have an awesome body guy who works on lambos,ferraris, race cars all day so he said its no problem. I will post pictures when done.