Rear 997.1 C2 Strut replacement

[racerken]

I was changing my oil/filter and discovered that one of my rear struts was leaking fluid.

 

Question:  Should I go OEM or 'OEM' replacement.

The oem p/n is 997 333 051.

 

When I look up this part in Autodoc.de I get this:

Bilstein B6 high perf. shock abs. 24-118224.

 

Does anyone know if Bilstein provides oem to Porsche/997?

Has anyone installed these? 

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks!

 

Ken

 

[JFP in PA]

Bilstein is the factory strut cartridge supplier.

[jchapura]

Can the Porsche (PASM) shocks be rebuilt by Bilstein or others? Is there a reference to how that rebuild process gets initiated?

 

[Loren]

Updated parts list (your's is 15 years old).

 

997.1 rear strut.pdf

[racerken]

@Loren, thanks for the update!

 

I just discovered:  029 is no damptronic, 475 is with damptronic.

 

I'm getting a headache reading Bilstein B4 vs B6..  B4 seems like rock stock and B6 seems like the sport suspension but I'm wondering if:

 

0. Just swallow and replace both rears with struts from Porsche.

1. swap both rears to B4 and do nothing else, hope that it is rock stock so the car still feels the same with the Front oem's.

2. go scope creep, replace F/R with B6...  then I need to worry about the springs...  doesn't sound like the proper path since everything is stock on this car.

 

Any comments?  suggestions?  anyone done this?

Edited October 4, 2020 by racerken

[Loren]

Does your car the build code for sport suspension?

If you are not sure PM me your VIN and I will check it.

[racerken]

I'm pretty sure I don't have a sport suspension.

[racerken]

Update on this.

i decided to go with B6's and to upgrade the coils and sway bars to i030 which is the sport suspension.

 

The Rear B6's are on back-order so I won't see it until Mid-January.

 

I received my Fronts and I ordered the i030 Coils p/n: 997 343 531 43 504.  I noticed that the Color Identification for the Compensating Plate is:

A (lower one): 2 x Silver marks.

B (upper one): 1 x Yellow mark.

 

My manual only lists: (anything but Silver/Yellow)

 

I know I'm in hack space but does anyone know what compensation I should use for the i030 sport suspension coil?  

 

Thanks, in the end, I might just take a wild guess, after all it's only 3mm off.

 

Thanks!!!

[Loren]

Are you sure the upper mark is yellow and not an aged white?

[racerken]

Yes, it's Yellow.  I just found a page but no confirmation...  

 

Spring color codes and compensating plates - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

RENNLIST.COM

---

997 Forum - Spring color codes and compensating plates - I just had a broken rear spring, suddenly in the morning (actually heard it snap walking by the garage door, go figure...) Anyway, I got a new OEM set of rear springs matching my 06 4S PASM, Manual Coupe. Spring code...

 

This image mentioned White or Yellow = 0.5mm,  which to me is...  really negligible.  

 

[racerken]

Photo

[Loren]

Those springs a replacement for the original M030 springs in 2009. So, if you documents are not newer than 2009 they could be incorrect.

[racerken]

I'll check tomorrow at PZ but I gave him 997 343 531 24 504 per a 2016 list I had and he informed me that it was superceded to ...  again, I'll check.  I guess, in a pandemic, this is this is great for 'having something to do'.  Thanks.

Edited December 7, 2020 by racerken

[racerken]

Germany has been on lock-down so I decided to swap the standard suspension I029 with the Sports Suspension I030 and Bilstein B6 mono-tube struts.  Scope creep and OCD kicked in because I thought if I'm replacing the front sway bar to I030, lots of things are coming off.  Most everything just falls off with a socket or a wrench but I ran into a stuck lock-nut on the tie-rod so I purchased a nut-cracker.  They work great.  

 

What really shocked me was when watching Youtube videos on people removing the wheel hub or bearings, they just seem to drop out or fall off with a simple puller.  In my case this was not happening so I went down this rabbits hole of total DIY.

 

Purchased:

Bilstein B6 Fr/Rr (rears don't arrive until Feb so I started dismantling the Fr)

Porsche FR/FR springs/swaybars

Meyle control arms/track arms (all)

*** bearings (I could feel the rumbling)  Plus, what the heck, I'm in there so...

hydraulic Nut cracker for the tie rod lock nut.  These are great!

Large 3-prong puller

Small 3-prong puller

Bearing separator

Bearing puller set

20T hydraulic press

36mm crow foot socket (for the tie rod)

C-channel to mount the wheel housing

40mm x 100mm rod to push the wheel hub out

60mm x 100mm rod to push the bearing out

Self Portrait.

Bare.  Return line has a small leak so I'm also going to replace all of the hoses while it's all visible. 

20T Press.  Chinesium, 234 euros and it works great after topping off fluid and bleeding the system.  Post usage:  I can't believe how simple life can become with a press!

 

40mm x 100mm rod to press the wheel hub out.  cost 20 euros on ebay.

Wheel hub out.  Manometer measured 2Tons before breaking lose.

Setup for the Inner Bearing Race.  It took 5 Tons to break lose.

80mm x 100mm rod for final push out.  Bearing is 80mm length so it's a long drive.

 

This is the last item to detach....  Bearing inner race half that is up against the wheel hub shaft.  

I used this clamp to finally remove the race.

 

I guess these are the steps you don't see on Youtube.

 

It's amazing what you can get addicted to when bored at home in lock-down.

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by racerken

[WTL]

lots of detail !  tks. id like to change out my shocks/struts on all 4. just cant figure out a good way to tell if they really need to be or that im not use to the rough ride anymore.  just seems a little jarring when going over bumbsbut nothing to compare it to...

[racerken]

Hi WTL,

In my case, I already had a leaking shock so replacement was a must.  The suspension bushings were all showing wear so that snowballed everything down to the rotors/pads, etc.  I just thought, what the heck, I've been driving this car since '09, why not try something fresh.  Further, I want to take this car on the Nürburgring so that was the deciding factor.  If you google Bilstein mono-tube, you'll get some interesting reading.  I've attached on document.  As for Springs/bars/tower mounts, I just thought, the Sports Suspension should do the trick.  Who knows.  I did notice that almost all of the joints were loosey goosey at 60k miles with most driven on Michigan potholes/cracks so everything was toast.  After taking everything apart the strut tower bearings was invaded by rocks so it was probably a few 10k miles away from failure, same with the wheel bearings.   

 

 

 

Bilstein_Brosch_Wewa_GB_2013_0807_low.pdf

[racerken]

Well, I suffered 'while you're in there' syndrome...

 

I discovered that all of my cooling system hoses, couplings, and tubes were rusted so I removed them but in doing so I decided to remove practically everything except the steering unit.  This is the price you pay for enjoying drifting in the snow!  It was worth it!

I then discovered Dry Ice Blasting so all of the re-usable components were blasted clean.  Next, I painted everything with a under body paint.  (masked off all of the mating surfaces).

The bearing pressed in easily as I heated the wheel housing to 100C and froze the bearing over night.

So now I'm off to put things back together!  The only challenge was figuring out how to align the cross-over tubes which have to be inserted after the cross member/steering gear are in place...  

 

My rear struts (the reason for all of this) are still on back order...  

 

I also discovered that I need B8's to match the lower spring height of the i030 suspension setup...  I discovered this when the spring was loose during a test fit.

Anyway, B6 vs. B8:  B6 is for normal suspension, normal spring height, B8 is for lower spring height, Damping is the same, B8's have the proper spring pre-tension.  Oh well...  B6's are on ebay.

 

[Loren]

Wow - nice work so far.

[WTL]

Very impressive!  Tks for the pdf and posting detailed progress. 

[racerken]

So I finally received the front struts, installed, checked by Porsche Zentrum, received a TüV Certificate!

 

 

My feedback on the 030 Sports Suspension swap with Bilstein B8's.

 

This is a track car, not for the soft spined street driver.  If you like to really push it hard and learn that this car is better than you are, do it.  I'm really enjoying it.  That said, I doubt I can drive more than 3 hours without an Aspirin stop.  Plan A is now to take some lessons at Nürburgring!  

[Loren]

Nice work - again!

[racerken]

1 hour ago, Loren said:

Nice work - again!

Thank you, Sir!  I really enjoyed the 'almost' ten months of going full blown OCD on my 997.

 

In case anyone is wondering if it's worth it?  It is, but only you'll know.

 

My only 'I forgot' was to adjust my headlights due to the change in suspension height which determined this evening...  Wife did not appreciate the stiff ride at all!!!!

 

BTW, someone wrote in some blog about Meyle components...  they are fine and all the aero parts on the front links simply clip w/o an issue. I used a hair dryer to soften prior to clipping.

Rotors and pads are ATE.

[racerken]

Update:  13 laps at Nürburgring and I heard some clunking in the rear and tire strike to the front Left inner fender lining.

 

The problem:  I installed Bilstein B8's which require a sport spring so I opted to use the Porsche 030 sport springs.  It's not a match.  

 

This is the spring at No Load.

 

This is the spring at static load.  You can see that the lower coil loops over the Spring Stop.

Perhaps the Porsche Spring Stop, or whatever that collar is called, is wider? 

 

After discussing with Bilstein and some track shops, they all recommended the 'Intended Match' as the Eibach Pro Kit Springs.

So I ripped everything apart and re-installed the Eibach Springs.  

 

Unintentional contact:

This explains the clunking...

 

Look at the height difference.

 

Installed...

I was too lazy to take photos of the front springs... but you get the picture - Always go with the mfg recommendations.

I left out the boot because it looks cool, I can clean them, and when they are toast, I'm upgrading to coil overs.

While I was in there, I installed Steel braided brake lines and the center radiator.

 

Note:  I purchased this spring compressor back many years ago for about $300 and I can say that this is one of the most useful tools in my set.  BTW, it's an X3 strut/spring.

 

Now I have to wait until the snow melts....  Nothing else to fix. (for now)