any points to consider:replacing rear and front struts 1999 boxster???
 

Hello everyone this is my first time posting. My husband and i are new to porsche ownership and being on a somewhat budget and wanting to be porsche owners we had to go with a used one. The problem was that we were not aware of the mechanical issues our boxster would come with. We really enjoy the car but are finding really expensive for the repairs. My husband has worked on cars he use to do mechanic work on the side but only imports occasionally. So my questions are the following. We need to replace the struts in the rear especially right now and then the front next after that. I read thru the posts on the forum and tried to pick out points to consider to crarefully do the job ourselves. Example what specific tools we will need to buy? What are some common problems encountered when you actually get in there and what things are we looking for that could be other linked potential causes of suspension weirdness when diving it. As for the rear we can actually feel a jerk upon acceleration when taking off fast. We initially took the car to indy shop here in alexandria virginia and the costs were so high we had just gotten the motor mounts replaced which was a pretty penny. They gave us a list of other priority repairs and rear struts was a must. For both front and rear came to about 3500. Anyways back to my questions so as for the front struts do we need to consider the steering system when removing and replacing? ? Any other advice would be helpful?? Also we were going to order the struts are there any suggestions on types? I read heavy verses sport? what does this mean????? Also we arent looking to race or fancyness just standard parts right now to get the job done anything is better than whats on there now...Also fyi the owner we found later did not take care of the car we are finding that the parts are so old on it it is so sad!!!!!!!!!! Thank guys!!!!!!!!!!!!help

Another option: The M030 Sport suspension kit is around $1100 including all struts and sways. Installed and professionally aligned around $1800. A good way to go.

You found a cheap Porsche that wasn't so cheap? Gotta get the pre-purchase inspection folks.

Look at Pelican Parts Tech Articles to find instructions on replacement of the struts. Unfortunately, he does a less thorough job of detailing the rears than the fronts, but it's pretty much explained there.

Call Sunset Porsche in Oregon or Sonnen Porsche in SF for the best prices on the Porsche brand parts. Or you can buy the Bilstein HD struts for a Boxster from anyone as long as your suspension system is stock. I like these guys for price:

http://www.discountautoshocks.com/shop/?N=0&VN=4294967189+4294965798+4294964462+429496442 4+4294967171&Nr=AND(part:Shock+Absorber+and+Strut+ Assembly,universal:0)

$3500 is a ridiculous price for replacing struts. It should cost no more than $1000 in labor from an independent mechanic. I was quoted $800 from a couple of places a while ago.

I have a 2000 'S' and did this right after I got my car last fall. I had no experience so it was a challenging job at first. Learn on the first and the second goes easy.
I used Pelican Part's method for the front with an added twist where used a nylon strap to also compress the strut piston down to the reduced height created by the spring compressor. I was then able to easily pull the strut out from under the fender.

On the rear I used this link -> http://gwl.rmsolo.org/hacks/suspension/index.html expect this to take a little work. I did a variation on this also where I loosened the eccentric bolt on the wishbone. You will need to mark it so that your camber is put back to where it was...or you can do like I did and get an alignment (I highly recommend this).

I used Sport on rear and HD on front (Bilstein). You can use HD on front and back. Sport are a little stiffer.

I got my orders from the following:

autopartswarehouse - HD (These guys were super fast with delivery. They have about 5 different websites under different names). Also got my bump stops and strut bearings here too.
eshocks - (Don's Sport Vehicle Sales. Took a long time but they were much cheaper then others).

If your husband has worked on cars this should not be too difficult. Make sure while doing the job you checkout the rest of the suspension. The problems you describe might not be the shocks at all but something else, or maybe just the strut bearing.

Good luck...you'll learn a lot and feel good about saving a lot of money. If you don't have time to do this and can get the parts yourself and have an Indy install for say $300 to $600 then it would be worth it if you don't want to wrestle with your car. I did mine when it was cool weather so it really made it more pleasant.

+1 for there being no cheap Porsches.

Be sure to carefully inspect any rubber suspension components, front and rear. After 12 years of use they are likely to be very soft or even torn which can result in strange noises and sloppy handling even with new struts.

Got a '98 here and the suspension, track arms, tie rods, rubbers... or what's left of them, are to be changed. Car have 60k and has been soft-driven by previous owner. That whole suspension stuff can't be in any other condition than all dried-up and ready to disintegrate itself! In my case, I can feel the wear getting worst every time I take it for a spin.

Anyone will recommend you, and only if the engine is in good shape, to wait and save up to cover $3,000 for a brand FULL suspension kit (track arms, wishbone-this-that-rubber-here-there). DIY would save you a thousand I'd say but you'll end up spending most of it on a wheel alignment pro-job afterward anyway, mouhaha!

The car "will feel exactly the same as when out of the manufacture" (apparently, they say, those who had the experience please chip in).

And at last, best advice ever, just change the engine oil at every 2,500k and you'll never regret to have invested 3K on your new ride.

I concur with Topless. This would be cost effective way to not only replace your worn out suspension, but to also improve performance .

Assuming you are running on used tires, I'd wait til you can afford at least all 4 struts before proceeding. This is because the new components will amplify the issues with the other axle and probably accelerate tire wear on both axles. Also, with a purely street driven car, go with HDs, not Sports or a mix... this is subjective, but you'll most likely find the Sports too harsh, while the HDs will be a very acceptable improvement.

As mentioned, also consider replacing the control arms and bushings at the same time. It's just as much labor, so you don't want to pay for the same real estate twice.

Other things to consider 'while you're at it' would be rotors, and especially the CV Boots.

No easy, or budget answer here.

Cheers!

the boxster wishbones seem to wear out rather quickly and cause a loose feeling with the car. i am going to do all four wishbones hopefully soon. I will see how much the car changes after the Row set up is installed first. my car seems to shake quite a bit more than my previous 2.7 boxster.