Broken Front Spring

[PaulQ]

4 hours ago, Tricky54 said:

There has been much talk here about replacing the top mount plate. There doesn't seem to be anything to wear out on it so why replace it

The metal insert works loose from the rubber portion eventually. Mine just fell out. 

Even if they look ok now, probably a good idea to sort them if original. 

[gripper]

A few years ago I used to supply Boxster OE spec replacement front springs to a well known Porsche specialist. I can still get the springs but I'm not sure of the differences between 2.5/2,7 and 3.2 S. 

[½cwt]

9 minutes ago, gripper said:

A few years ago I used to supply Boxster OE spec replacement front springs to a well known Porsche specialist. I can still get the springs but I'm not sure of the differences between 2.5/2,7 and 3.2 S. 

There are only 2 front springs for all the cars, standard chassis X029 blue/yellow and sports chassis M030 red/yellow.

Rears get complicated with different springs for 2.5/2.7 and 3.2 and then for tip and then for M030 with a total of 8 colour marking options over the life of the 986.

[gripper]

9 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

There are only 2 front springs for all the cars, standard chassis X029 blue/yellow and sports chassis M030 red/yellow.

Rears get complicated with different springs for 2.5/2.7 and 3.2 and then for tip and then for M030 with a total of 8 colour marking options over the life of the 986.

Right, I'll check the catalogue. I suspect the rears were "optimised down to one or two options. 

[Tricky54]

Thanks for all the advice and information. I shopped around and got the best price from my local OPC using my PCGB discount - £165 + VAT for a pair so just awaiting delivery. The OPC parts manager came up with more useful information. I'd misread the parts catalogue at some point and understandably there are a number of different specs. for the rear springs due to the different weights of the various engine and gearbox options but the front springs are the standard blue/yellow (part no. now 986 343 531 095 04) or violet/yellow for the lowered sports suspension. 

There is now an additional 'rubber' adaptor available as part of the latest 'upgraded' spring. It fits between the spring and the lower spring pan - part no. 996 343 511 03 - listed as 'Additional Spring'. I presume this is designed to reduce some of the stress on the bottom loop of the spring where they seem to fracture most.

For your information, Design911 were £233.76 + VAT, 9-Apart were £185.47 + VAT

[K.I.T.T.]

17 hours ago, Tricky54 said:

There is now an additional 'rubber' adaptor available as part of the latest 'upgraded' spring. It fits between the spring and the lower spring pan - part no. 996 343 511 03 - listed as 'Additional Spring'. I presume this is designed to reduce some of the stress on the bottom loop of the spring where they seem to fracture most.

Do you have a pic of this, and how it fits in the strut?

Looking at the part number, I thought it was a revised compensating plate that fit at the top of the spring. This link hopefully works: https://www.design911.co.uk/pages/diagramsBrowser.aspx?categoryID=4&diagramID=3238

If not, #5 in the diagram:

 

19 hours ago, gripper said:

I used to supply Boxster OE spec replacement front springs to a well known Porsche specialist. I can still get the springs

Am sure this info would be helpful to a number of forum members  

[Tricky54]

39 minutes ago, K.I.T.T. said:

Do you have a pic of this, and how it fits in the strut?

Looking at the part number, I thought it was a revised compensating plate that fit at the top of the spring. This link hopefully works: https://www.design911.co.uk/pages/diagramsBrowser.aspx?categoryID=4&diagramID=3238

If not, #5 in the diagram:

 

Am sure this info would be helpful to a number of forum members  

I'm still waiting for the part to arrive. The link you sent to the Design911 page shows an out-of-date parts list and diagram because the coil spring part number has been superseded too. I can't find the current parts catalogue - only OPCs seem to have it. I'll see what I can find out from the OPC when I collect my parts, and take a photo of the part for everyone's enlightenment!

[½cwt]

28 minutes ago, Tricky54 said:

I'm still waiting for the part to arrive. The link you sent to the Design911 page shows an out-of-date parts list and diagram because the coil spring part number has been superseded too. I can't find the current parts catalogue - only OPCs seem to have it. I'll see what I can find out from the OPC when I collect my parts, and take a photo of the part for everyone's enlightenment!

I just email the parts department at my OPC for parts I need and they send back a quote will the current up issued part numbers even if I quote an old one.  Develop that relationship.  They know owners of older Boxsters won't buy all their parts but you will buy some so mine at least are helpful.  They were happy for amusement to run a list of genuine suspension parts to do the rebuild I did last year.  it acme out over £4k in parts alone, I actually spent about £1300.  I did buy £36 worth of camber bolts from them though.

[K.I.T.T.]

38 minutes ago, Tricky54 said:

I'll see what I can find out from the OPC when I collect my parts, and take a photo of the part for everyone's enlightenment!

Thank you.

Will soon be rebuilding the suspension on my own car, and am very interested to know about this - as you say, the springs do have a habit of fracturing at the bottom, so anything that can prevent this would be very useful.

[Tricky54]

While this topic is still going 😀 does anyone have any suggestions for torquing up the top nut on the strut shaft/piston. Putting a normal torque wrench on obviously covers the hole that the Torx bit is designed to enter to stop the piston from rotating. Is there another means of stopping the piston turning apart from the dreaded mole grip - even if you could get it on in the first place? Tightening it up with an impact wrench would seem to be the only other option, or is it? 🤔

[½cwt]

4 hours ago, Tricky54 said:

While this topic is still going 😀 does anyone have any suggestions for torquing up the top nut on the strut shaft/piston. Putting a normal torque wrench on obviously covers the hole that the Torx bit is designed to enter to stop the piston from rotating. Is there another means of stopping the piston turning apart from the dreaded mole grip - even if you could get it on in the first place? Tightening it up with an impact wrench would seem to be the only other option, or is it? 🤔

I didn't mention in my message to you that I used a crows foot spanner head on the torque wrench but the Torx socket feels like it will yield before the required torque.

[bally4563]

8 hours ago, ½cwt said:

I didn't mention in my message to you that I used a crows foot spanner head on the torque wrench but the Torx socket feels like it will yield before the required torque.

A dab of thread lock and FT, will be sufficient 

[Tricky54]

33 minutes ago, bally4563 said:

A dab of thread lock and FT, will be sufficient 

FT? F'ing tight?

[½cwt]

40 minutes ago, Tricky54 said:

FT? F'ing tight?

Yes, highly calibrated DIY mechanic's torque value.  Slightly higher on the scale than Very Tight but just before Damn It Broke.

[bally4563]

1 hour ago, ½cwt said:

Yes, highly calibrated DIY mechanic's torque value.  Slightly higher on the scale than Very Tight but just before Damn It Broke.

Done with a modicum of brute force but not ignorance!!

[Tricky54]

Hi to everyone in this topic. I have some more information now that I've collected the parts!

K.I.T.T. has got closest to the truth so far. The way Porsche produce their parts catalogue is very confusing. My OPC has sent the attached pdf that they have downloaded for me but even this does not show all the latest part numbers for superseded ones! I'll try to explain the new parts as clearly as I can here.

What the parts manager had intimated to me was that, along with the new spec coli spring was an additional rubber mounting which I believed was fitting under the bottom of the spring in the spring pan. It is called an 'Additional Spring' on the estimate, a 'Balancing Plate' in the PET2 parts catalogue, and a 'Spring Support' in a PET2 Part Information print out - I think this latter description is the nearest to what it actually is which is the rubber washer, item 5 in the pdf, which fits on top of the spring - there is NO additional item.

The new springs (come correctly as a pair) with part number 986 343 531 095 04 on the invoice, i.e. another updated part no. that isn't shown in any of the pdf printouts. Similarly, the new rubber Balancing Plate/Spring Support, item 5, is another updated part with no. 996 343 511 03 on the invoice. You will see that the pdf shows 2 versions with suffix 00 (3.0mm) or 01 (6.5mm). Well I can tell you that this new rubber, suffice 03 is 8.5mm thick now, presumably to match some change in the design of the spring. I can't tell if the spring is shorter or not but the rubber is substantially thicker than the original which on mine had suffix 00. I have attached photos of the old and new rubbers for comparison and to show the part numbers.

I'm also replacing the old perished and split bum stops along with the squashed, shorter and hardened bellows. I suspect the split bump stops has allowed previous over compression of the springs contributing to the broken spring. 

I'm hoping to throw this all back together today and I hope that has clarified the muddy waters connected with the 'simple' task of replacing a broken spring! I'll have to attach the photos in a separate reply as the file size is too large for this post

[Tricky54]

The Box.net server isn't allowing me to upload the attachments as there is a 79.73kB max. If anyone wants to see them I'll have to start a new topic unless you know of a work around

[red rocket]

1 hour ago, Tricky54 said:

The Box.net server isn't allowing me to upload the attachments as there is a 79.73kB max. If anyone wants to see them I'll have to start a new topic unless you know of a work around

If you want to post pics you need to host them in Imgur, Flickr or similar and the paste the URlLs into your thread. Not sure what you can do with PDFs.

[½cwt]

2 hours ago, red rocket said:

If you want to post pics you need to host them in Imgur, Flickr or similar and the paste the URlLs into your thread. Not sure what you can do with PDFs.

I use the Windows Snipping Tool to cut sections from or whole PDF pages and save as JPG which is compatible with Imgur etc.

[½cwt]

3 hours ago, Tricky54 said:

Hi to everyone in this topic. I have some more information now that I've collected the parts!

K.I.T.T. has got closest to the truth so far. The way Porsche produce their parts catalogue is very confusing. My OPC has sent the attached pdf that they have downloaded for me but even this does not show all the latest part numbers for superseded ones! I'll try to explain the new parts as clearly as I can here.

What the parts manager had intimated to me was that, along with the new spec coli spring was an additional rubber mounting which I believed was fitting under the bottom of the spring in the spring pan. It is called an 'Additional Spring' on the estimate, a 'Balancing Plate' in the PET2 parts catalogue, and a 'Spring Support' in a PET2 Part Information print out - I think this latter description is the nearest to what it actually is which is the rubber washer, item 5 in the pdf, which fits on top of the spring - there is NO additional item.

The new springs (come correctly as a pair) with part number 986 343 531 095 04 on the invoice, i.e. another updated part no. that isn't shown in any of the pdf printouts. Similarly, the new rubber Balancing Plate/Spring Support, item 5, is another updated part with no. 996 343 511 03 on the invoice. You will see that the pdf shows 2 versions with suffix 00 (3.0mm) or 01 (6.5mm). Well I can tell you that this new rubber, suffice 03 is 8.5mm thick now, presumably to match some change in the design of the spring. I can't tell if the spring is shorter or not but the rubber is substantially thicker than the original which on mine had suffix 00. I have attached photos of the old and new rubbers for comparison and to show the part numbers.

I'm also replacing the old perished and split bum stops along with the squashed, shorter and hardened bellows. I suspect the split bump stops has allowed previous over compression of the springs contributing to the broken spring. 

I'm hoping to throw this all back together today and I hope that has clarified the muddy waters connected with the 'simple' task of replacing a broken spring! I'll have to attach the photos in a separate reply as the file size is too large for this post

One thing for sure is doing the research and legwork (thank god for Google and You Tube!) on these cars to get the right parts, tools and methods pays dividends when you come to do the work.  OPC parts guys can be pretty helpful too.

[SimonT001]

Hi All

Just found a broken front spring on my 2003 986 S ... I've been hunting for replacements before finding this thread and carparts4less are doing Sachs springs for £78 each and I can get an extra 20% off. Any comments/are they a good choice?

My only concern is does mine have uprated suspension? Although I've only just got the car I've seen it around for about 6 years and always thought it looked slightly lower than other Boxsters. The last owner didn't know. I can't see any markings on the existing springs on the car - are they usually visible in situ? Presumably it will be on the options list if it had sports suspension - can anyone tell me the code please?

Thanks in advance for any answers - would appreciate replies so I can get these Sachs while the offer is still on!

[½cwt]

There should be a paper label under the bonnet which has the factory build codes printed on it as 3 digit numbers, look for 030 which is the lowered sports suspension and the springs have red and yellow bands on them.  Otherwise you need standard springs, blue and yellow paint bands, the paint marks can usually be seen with the wheel off. Try 9apart, they often have pairs of factory springs at about £215 and even Porsche Centre prices are not ridiculous as they price as pairs also and will often give you a discount around 10% almost before you ask.  It is worth getting a decent relationship with you local Porsche Centre part department as they are very helpful and quite a few small original parts are very fairly priced from them and often cheaper than any other source.

As you may have read from my write up in this thread, it is possible to do these without removing the strut from the upright to avoid the hassle of freeing the often seized drop link top bolts which are also the pinch bolts that hold the damper in place on the upright casting. Worth considering new top mounts (Sachs are the OE manufacturers, Mister Auto on eBay often well priced) whilst you have it in bits.

[SimonT001]

17 hours ago, ½cwt said:

There should be a paper label under the bonnet which has the factory build codes printed on it as 3 digit numbers, look for 030 which is the lowered sports suspension and the springs have red and yellow bands on them.  Otherwise you need standard springs, blue and yellow paint bands, the paint marks can usually be seen with the wheel off. Try 9apart, they often have pairs of factory springs at about £215 and even Porsche Centre prices are not ridiculous as they price as pairs also and will often give you a discount around 10% almost before you ask.  It is worth getting a decent relationship with you local Porsche Centre part department as they are very helpful and quite a few small original parts are very fairly priced from them and often cheaper than any other source.

As you may have read from my write up in this thread, it is possible to do these without removing the strut from the upright to avoid the hassle of freeing the often seized drop link top bolts which are also the pinch bolts that hold the damper in place on the upright casting. Worth considering new top mounts (Sachs are the OE manufacturers, Mister Auto on eBay often well priced) whilst you have it in bits.

Appreciate the reply. Mines standard from the factory but perhaps the springs have been replaced before. I haven't really looked at it yet but are you saying that it is possible to replace the top mount without removing the strut?

[½cwt]

1 hour ago, SimonT001 said:

Appreciate the reply. Mines standard from the factory but perhaps the springs have been replaced before. I haven't really looked at it yet but are you saying that it is possible to replace the top mount without removing the strut?

If you slacken the inboard bolt on the bottom suspension arm, and remove the 3 nuts holding the top mount in place the whole strut and upright assembly can be lowered out under the wheel arch whist the bottom ball joint is still connected.  Disconnect the ARB drop link at the ARB end.  This way you can remove the top mount and top bearing (worth cleaning and re-greasing the bearing) and get the spring out too. Just remember when tightening up the bottom arm joint the suspension should be in the normal loaded position not in full droop, to do this I just jack up under the bottom arm until it starts to unload the axle stand a fraction.

I actually later went on to replace the bottom arms, shock and drop links following MOT advisories (perishing rubber bushes at all 4 corners and a weeping shock) and findings at servicing time (failing front tuning fork) which is a rather more time consuming job and involved cutting seized bolts, heat to remove seized bolts etc., but still DIYable by someone not hugely experienced person on the spanners as long as you ahve all the right spanners and other tools and all on axle stands outside on a flat drive.

[SimonT001]

29 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

If you slacken the inboard bolt on the bottom suspension arm, and remove the 3 nuts holding the top mount in place the whole strut and upright assembly can be lowered out under the wheel arch whist the bottom ball joint is still connected.  Disconnect the ARB drop link at the ARB end.  This way you can remove the top mount and top bearing (worth cleaning and re-greasing the bearing) and get the spring out too. Just remember when tightening up the bottom arm joint the suspension should be in the normal loaded position not in full droop, to do this I just jack up under the bottom arm until it starts to unload the axle stand a fraction.

I actually later went on to replace the bottom arms, shock and drop links following MOT advisories (perishing rubber bushes at all 4 corners and a weeping shock) and findings at servicing time (failing front tuning fork) which is a rather more time consuming job and involved cutting seized bolts, heat to remove seized bolts etc., but still DIYable by someone not hugely experienced person on the spanners as long as you ahve all the right spanners and other tools and all on axle stands outside on a flat drive.

Great, thanks, thats nice and clear - lets see how I get on! Only snag right now is MisterAuto is apparently away until 20 Feb ... will talk to OPC tomorrow.