heard similar to 996... i have done coil install on every car ive owned but each car always had a "trick" you learn after the first time..... like.. "if you disconnect this arm..... save an hour of hassle" or "if you turn the wheel this way......"

just curious, i know the basics.. do fronts at same time or rears.. so the sway bar doesnt bind up the other side from the weight pushing on it.. use spring compressor to remove and put back in to shorten lenght so u have better clearance getting it in/out... loosen the main top nut like 90% of the way before removing the coil so its easy to take off once off the car and coil not being held tight... wait to fully tighten the nuts when car is preloaded on the ground...

but like i said, any tricks going thru it to save hassle? or any weird tools you need like torx/star/weird size or extra long socket?

thanx guys..

on the battle between KWv3 and PSS9/10 i think im going to go the KWv3 route as of so far.. their site doesnt list under 09, but searching 08 it says 05-09 so im guessing they are the same for each year?....

Alx

 

The springs are not under any considerable pressure like older cars, so you can remove them on the ground without spring compressors. You need to pop the front spindles off the lower ball joint, and that will allow you the room to angle the spindle so you can slide the struts right out the side of the fenderwell. Disconnect the sway bar drop links from both sides, then do the work, as you won't have to fight any extra pressure from that. The top strut mounts have two arrows that you should be able to see from the outside upon reinstall. One points forward, one points backwards. It is the only way the holes will line up in the fender.

Rears are easy. Remove the top 3 nuts from the interior, remove the lower bolt (again, remove the swaybar drop links as well). Drop the strut out the bottom.

 

sick!.... so only "trick" being the front spindles on the lower ball joint...

rest sounds super easy... even if springs preloaded slightly can just shoot the nut and top hat into a bucket... and then turn the height down on new to avoide preload while putting new top hat on..

you just made me excited to install! i was reading on 996 installs about removing caliper and undoing this and that and was dreading it.. but now should be fun and easy.. just take a week of settling and height adjusting with half tank to even out and then take for corner balance and align...

 

I installed my damptronics with only minimal experience with other coilovers on my M3. It was not too hard. There is actually a DIY on the net somewhere for the cayman or maybe a boxter that I used. The 997 is very similar. Went in with no problems and it was fun to boot. I will look for the DIY for you and post it.

I believe this is the link to the install: http://www.planetporsche.net/cayman-...e-install.html

 

I know i've done a brief write up online before, but I can't seem to locate it. Once you buzz off the top nut, the springs will maybe pop and inch if that. Not like the older porsche stuff where you could shoot the shock across the shop and put a hole in the wall if you didn't use spring compressors! I don't even remove the brake caliper or rotor, I just remove the spindle off the ball joint, and slide the strut out. Granted, this is a lot easier with a second pair of hands. A prybar to push down the control arm so you can move the spindle off the ball joint is needed. If you don't have a second person, I hook my leg over the pry bar and push down with the back of my knee as I man handle the spindle off the ball joint....but i've done it a hundred times, so get help if you can. Then once the spindle is off the joint, the other person can slide the strut out, and you can then place the spindle back on the ball joint until you get the spring hats swapped, etc. Going in is a lot easier as the assemblies are typically shorter than the big bulky stock ones.

 

Here is a DIY guide I wrote a few years back when doing my install.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...tallation.html

Good luck!

 

thanx guys... the last install and removing brake line seems like overkill to me tho... just seems like lotta extra work (bleeding brakes) just to make the install a lil easier to get out the strut.

 

I did not remove the brake line, but you do have to be careful not to bend it. If you remove the line, you would not have to bleed the brakes if you use a clamp to pinch off the line which I have done successfully before.

 

when you say spindle off ball joint, you mean the far right piece in this pic:



maybe my terminology is wrong but i always called that the tie rod... or are you talking about the left one in pic that goes to the back of hub.(looks like sway bar). or the forked piece going to bottom on the control arm?

i see he went a lil overkill so seeing which you say is the one to remove to slide out.. thanx.


also whenever i remove a tie rod. the other end just "spins" in the end.. so i usually have to apply pressure from one side with like a jack to get the nut to thread all the way tight... is that a problem at all on this car? i always over analyze stuff before hand so going in i know exactly whats what so i apoligize for the excess of questions..

 

No, it's the top piece. See the bolt with the thread lock on it. There is way more stuff removed in that pic that needs to be IMO.

 

edited... sick response.. your the fricken man!

 

k... sick.. that looks like connected to the sway bar kinda at this angle..

thanx!!!

 

It actually is a lot simpler than it looks. Once that ball joint is slid out all you have to do is make sure you also removed the brake sensor plugs. I had to push down hard to compress the shock to be able to get it past the fender and out at the angle like you see below (sorry for the crappy pics):

 

jeez you think they would have added maybe 1" to the brake line? lol

 

Yes, that disconnected joint is the tie rod which you also have to remove. The spindle or carrier assembly is sitting on the ball joint, you can see the boot at the base of the carrier. You need to pull it off there, get the carrier off the control arm so that you have room to drop it down a little to clear rotating the assembly out of the fender well (or put a hell of a lot of downward pressure on the control arm to clear the fender, but i think it is easier to just pop the assembly off the ball joint) I would get a tie rod separator (not a pickle fork, it can damage the boots) from Harbor freight for like 20 bucks. One of the best tools you can have in the box when doing suspension work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=99849