Possible bad shocks...need oppinion
 

Hi everyone,
I have a 2000 non s with about 70,000 miles on it. recently(last few months) ive noticed that i have a ton of noise from my shocks when i hit bumps, I know my car was perfectly quiet a year ago. Also, I autox a couple times a month and noticed that my car dives like no other boxster ive seen racing, when hard on the brakes. This has always stood out to me but i just let it go. I recently talked to a guy at the dealer and he said that it sounded like my shocks have crapped out on me. So, what do you guys think, bad shocks? ive considdered it being my rear track arms but i really doubt that it is. The noise is from front and rear shocks.

i have also been considdering getting the bilstein HD shocks and eibach springs for my car when I get the money. I KNOW these shocks will be great for what I want, I dont care about ride quality. But, the springs, i worry will give me understeer because most aftermarket manufacturers' springs tend to understeer for laibility reasons.

Ok have at it, Let me know your oppinions!

-Thanks

What do you mean by this?

"noticed that my car dives like no other boxster ive seen racing, when hard on the brakes. This has always stood out to me but i just let it go."

Are you getting frontend diving? body roll?

Also discribe the noise you are hearing from the suspension please.

What happens when you shove the corners down? What about when you push the car's corners sideways? Sounds/rocks/rolls?

Take a moment and walk around the car, pushing each corner of the car down a couple of times and take note of the response.. Slow? quick? Firm? Oscillates a bit? You could also jack up the car and remove each wheel and look for signs of shock failure (like obvious fluid leaks).

While extreme amounts of dive towards the front, under braking, could be a sign of shock/spring limits, it could also be that you are braking harder than before too.

Regarless... Shocks and springs are not made to last a lifetime. They are wear items (the shocks certainly more so than the springs).

Shocks and springs are a system. While I can't recall what spring rates work well with the HD shocks, it is worth considering replacing these items all at once, otherwise you will pay twice for labor (since you need to take the car apart to replace shocks and springs)... and alignment.

I would also inspect other items like Ball joints, bushings etc that can also wear out, fatigue, crack with age and abuse.

ok guys thanks for the responses.

First: When I apply full brakes the front end goes down a lot. The rear end hardly "squat" at all on hard acceleration. Yes I do have alot of body roll in cornering.

Second: The noise the shocks make is like hammers on steel at times, its brutal sounding.

Third: Pushing on a front quarter panel makes the whole car move a bunch side to side, and up/down. The shocks do squeak. when I push the car and it rocks, I can let go and the car will continue to rock for a second.

I know shocks do wear out but i just want to see what you guys think. I can check tomorow for shock leaks.

Thanks!

the sound is weird. cause normally, when the shock blows. you'd hit the bumpstop when going over bumps. and you would not hear that loud hammer on metal sound.

but if you are braking and the nose dives, then its the shocks. when you go over wavy roads, does the car bounce up and down longer than it should? if so, then yeah, for sure shocks.

its odd that both went at the same time though.

i would get a matched set of shocks/springs. unless you wanted to go coilovers, which i would recommend, but a matched set should do you just fine.

I have a 2000 base and at 60K noticed that I was getting a lot of body roll on sweepers and hard cornering. I decided to lower the car and installed Bilstein coilovers. I could not be happier, it rides like a whole different car. Steering is very responsive, and body roll is almost eliminated.

I have the Bilsteins set to the softest setting, but the ride is still a little harsh. For me, that is a small price to pay for the improved performance, feels much more like a go-cart. I found it interesting that when I put on the coilovers and lowered the car, I have less of a tendency to scrap the bottom when going over steep driveways and such than I did with the stock shocks.

Ed

:cheers:

Yes, on a wavy road i can get thrown around pretty good inside.

Ed- You have the pss9 kit right? Thats what i REALLY wanted but it will never happen($$$$$), so i am going to go for the HD with eibach springs.

Thanks for all the advice!

If you are hearing a loud metalic chatter noise in your suspension while rolling over bumps, it could be very likely your Front & Rear Upper control arm/Track Arm bushing cartridges are worn out... I use to have a metalic chatter coming from my suspension at low speeds of 50mph or lower while rolling over bumps or cracks in the road... Turns out my front and rear track arms were worn out. I replaced them with adjustibles from Delubozparts (forum sponser). The Adjustibles are a cheap alternative at $269 a set, to buying OEM non-adjustible units at $600+ a set.

Also, if you plan on lowering your Boxster you will run in to issues with rear Toe and the factory toe links not having enough adjustibility to correct that, so by using the Rear Upper Control Arm/Track Arm (Caster) adjustibility you can correct the excessive positive toe you will have from lowering the car.

Regardless of what is causing the noise, there have already been several good suggestions provided, if you have 70k miles on your shocks, they are worn out as are the upper shock mounts. The thing with suspension is that it wears out so gradually that you don't notice it. That is until you replace it and remember what the car was supposed to feel like.

Todd

Are you sure that you have stock suspension underneath you? I would be surprised if you have worn out shocks and are hearing that noise. As Benny986 noted you would be hitting the bump stops before bottoming your shocks.

Either way I think you might be on the right track with new suspension. My suggestion is to try and narrow it down before you start throwing money at it. My personal method of checking suspension joints is to jack the car up having at least the rear, front or whole car jacked up (not one corner at a time) and using a rubber mallet start checking the joints. All the joints should be solid and should not make even the slightest odd noise. This is how I diagnosed a loose nut on my front sway bar. It didn't sound like much when I hit it with the mallet but it sounded awful when I drove the car. Once I torqued it down properly the noise went away.

Yes Im sure my shocks are original. I am not bottoming out though, the shocks just sound rough through any movement. Kinda seems to me like all the oil leaked out and its moving dry. but I havnt seen any signs of a leak in the area.

thanks again

Rubber mallet wont work on worn bearing cartridges. Mine made slot of metal chatter but wouldn't make a peep when hit with a mallet. I know from personal experience on that specific issue with that control arm on the front and rear if the car. 70k miles is about right for the failure point on the bearing cartridge for the upper control arms.

It sounds more like...
 

... it's the upper shock mounts and not the shocks themselves. (item # 3)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j3...Picture2-4.png

I have over 163,000 miles on my original shocks and they still perform well, but I've had to replace both top shock mounts.
These mounts are similar to the engine mounts in that they're made from rubber which fails in time.
The metallic clanking is probably the shock shaft hitting the strut bearing because of an overly worn out upper shock mount.
To find out you must lift the end in question, remove the tire and pull on the shock shaft with your hand to see if there's any movement. If there is, you have a bad mount.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

A worn upper strut mount from the rear will also sound like a washer rattling on top of the strut mount behind your head.

I had what sounds like the same sounds you've been experiencing when I would go over railroad tracks, etc. The techs over at RUF found that my sway bar links were bad. Once replaced, no more disturbing noises from my front suspension. Cost less than $100 to fix.