Vertex strut inserts... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Viper10000 · 07-11-2015, 04:21 PM

I ordered a set for the front. 2002 base, 140,000 miles. I haven't seen much on here about them so I figured I would give it a shot. I should be doing the work around next weekend so I will be sure to post the results and pictures if I can remember to take some during the project.

CraigM · 07-11-2015, 04:23 PM

Sweet!

(ten)

DMage · 07-16-2015, 02:38 AM

Interested in this also. Didn't even realize insert replacements were an option.

Viper10000 · 07-16-2015, 07:56 PM

Something happened and my order never shipped so I called Vertex and within a few hours I had a shipping notification and tracking number. I should be getting them on Tuesday so depending on what time they come I will try to do this same day or Thursday. I'll keep this updated next week.

hancock1701 · 07-17-2015, 10:19 AM

Interested in this as well. Please update! I wonder what the construction of the inside of these inserts are? Monotube or twin tube?

Viper10000 · 07-17-2015, 06:26 PM

I'm not sure how they are constructed, but, I'm sure it will be better than my 140,000 miles shocks.

lkchris · 07-19-2015, 02:50 PM

I'd think inserts from Bilstein or Koni might be superior.

Viper10000 · 07-22-2015, 04:05 AM

I received the struts yesterday. Hopefully I can install them today. I have the old strut tower out of the car and on my work bench. I just need to get the old strut apart. I am at the point now where I need to bend the metal to remove the old "insert". I have not yet tried to do it so we will see how it goes later.

Smallblock454 · 07-22-2015, 04:22 AM

Hi,

please provide us with part numbers and further pictures. I'm really curious how this can be replaced.

Thanks & regards from Germany
Markus

Viper10000 · 07-22-2015, 07:18 PM

So, to get the old "insert" out, the best way I found for me was using a punch and a hammer. I started with a small punch to get it going and then busted out the bigger punch.

I actually could not pry the metal open with a 24 inch pry bar.

To finish removing the old insert, I cut off about 1/8 inch of metal with a dremel around where I had bent the crap out of the strut casing. I'm thinking now that this was a mistake but I had no other way of removing the old insert. The new insert is in but the collar does not grab as much as it probably should.

I am going to reassemble the strut with spring and all tomorrow and go from there. If it looks/feels good, I'll put it back on the car.

Viper10000 · 07-22-2015, 07:28 PM

My car is a 2002 base 986. Stock suspension. The part number from vertex auto is 996343041EPS.

I'll post more photos and info tomorrow as I go through this project. So far I can say that it would have been MUCH easier to buy the bilstein shocks ready to go. I would have had the front done and back together by now. Instead I am still putting the driver side back together. I didn't even start the passenger side. If this does work, I will have saved $240. I am not sure if it's worth the savings, however, given my current budget with having a 5 month old, this was definitely worth a shot! More to post soon....

Viper10000 · 07-25-2015, 03:58 PM

So, I got the car back together today and took it for a test drive. Now I have a much louder rattle noise in the front end. I think it's from the one strut casing that I ended up cutting to remove the old insert. I believe the insert is loose inside the old casing. So needless to say, I will be purchasing bilsteins in another day or so. I want to see if I can return these inserts to vertex but judging by the return policy they have, I think I'm SOL. This was educating to me so I am not too upset that I am spending more money than I would have if I had just done it the right way from the start. Now that I have done this project, taking everything apart again will go very quickly. Once I have the new shocks, it should be a very quick swap.

I do believe that if I did not have to cut the casing, this probably would have worked. I was tempted to buy a used strut so that I can just use the casing, but I have already spent so much time at this that its time to spend the extra money and have the peace of mind!

If anyone else wants to try this, I would be happy to let these inserts go for half of what I paid. I'll even include the two old strut cases so you can see where I went wrong. Basically, if you can successfully remove the old inserts, this should work.

These pictures are of the successful strut:

CraigM · 07-25-2015, 05:06 PM

Think I'll keep saving...thanks for letting us know!

BrakeExpert · 07-27-2015, 11:36 AM

Very nice job. I went through this crap with an Infinity Q45 before (some years had removable cartridges, and others were insane expensive - electric suspension)

Viper10000 · 07-27-2015, 06:09 PM

Thanks, but it's not over yet. I removed my passenger side struts again and did this to the insert...

Now I need to redo the driver side when the new/used part comes in.

hancock1701 · 07-28-2015, 08:27 AM

Thanks for doing this and letting us know. The video makes it seem easy, but it sounds like the hard part is playing around with and bending the metal casing. Please continue to update!

Viper10000 · 07-29-2015, 06:42 PM

Yes, bending the metal without destroying the casing is the kicker here. Everything else is fairly straight forward. The part that I am waiting for is coming on Monday so I will not be doing any work until then. I am anxious to see the end result this time around though. I am confident that this will work but you never know.

Viper10000 · 08-08-2015, 01:38 PM

So, my idea worked. The car is back together and it seems pretty sound. No loud noises coming from the front end now and a low speed test drive around town went well! Bending the metal casing to hold the inserts in was needed. When I get time, I'll post what I ended up doing and the methods I used to get me through this project.