I'm new to this forum and need some advice. Recently decided to keep my 996 for a while longer. It's a 2000 996 C2 manual with ~102K miles. On the suspension side, are there any components I should look into replacing (e.g. control arm bushings, etc) due to wear and tear?

 

If you don't hear any strange noises or notice a lot of drift you should be ok. Whoever changes your oil should inspect it each time.

 

if you have 102k on the original suspension i would say new shocks to start .

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I would start with a thorough inspection of bushings, shocks, wheel bearings, etc.

I've seen shocks that work great at 100K miles, and others that are shot at 40K. Same with bushings...

 

If you are not able to evaluate the car's ride/steering/road feel or just want a second opinion have a trusted tech road test the car. I had one, more than one over the past couple of years, road test my 02 Boxster with (now) 275K miles to check out the suspension and steering and even the (original) clutch. All report back the car feels ok and as long as the shocks aren't leaking they do not need to be replaced.

The car gets inspected every 5K mile oil/filter service and whenever the tech finds something he informs me. One time he found the original CV boots cracked and I had those replaced. Another time he found the front swap bar link dust boots/covers shot and even though he said exposed the links would last a long time I had those replaced. Other than that the car takes an alignment just fine and holds it for a long time, over several sets of tires, so I just continue to keep the original suspension components in service until such time it is clear some or all need to be replaced.

 

Just because shocks are not leaking does not mean they are performing up to spec. Internal seals start to fail and the damping available has been reduced. Replacing shocks after 40-50k will provide a return to stock or better handling performance. Leaking shocks definately need replacing. Not replacing worn shocks (over time) may save you money but will affect the handling these car are designed to have. In addition worn shocks can affect tire wear.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I had the suspension inspected and was told everything looks ok. I'll probably replace the shocks and control arm bushings soon anyway.

 

This. Shocks begin to wear out long before they start leaking. My 986 had leaking rear shocks at 65k and my 996.2 had leaking shocks at 85k, so at 100k it's pretty safe to assume that they have seen better days.

I've done a lot of suspension work on German cars over the years, and typically the sway bar links are the first thing to wear out. If you don't have any clunking or a loose wandering feel then your ball joints and bushings are probably ok, they seem to last a long time on the 996. I have a stock suspension at 96k, and plan to do the RoW M030 kit in the next few months (shocks, springs, sway bars, sway bar bushings) as well as new sway bar links.

 

for the cost of shocks go with d2 coilovers