½cwt Posted February 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 3 hours ago, SimonT001 said: 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. OPC top mounts are about £150 each, Mister Auto about £60 a pair. His Sachs ones you can clearly see had the Porsche markings ground off before the final factory zinc coatings. Have a search for other sources of Sachs ones, although I believe if you got to Spyder Performance (Eporsche) you can get both top mounts and top bearings for around the £100 mark and no one has complained about their quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 8, 2021 Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 19 hours ago, ½cwt said: OPC top mounts are about £150 each, Mister Auto about £60 a pair. His Sachs ones you can clearly see had the Porsche markings ground off before the final factory zinc coatings. Have a search for other sources of Sachs ones, although I believe if you got to Spyder Performance (Eporsche) you can get both top mounts and top bearings for around the £100 mark and no one has complained about their quality. Thanks again - now had time to read all the thread so hopefully no more repetition! Spyder seems a good call - £42 inc VAT for top mount and bearing! No discount from OPC - £184 + VAT for pair of springs, top mounts £83 + VAT each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 2 hours ago, SimonT001 said: Thanks again - now had time to read all the thread so hopefully no more repetition! Spyder seems a good call - £42 inc VAT for top mount and bearing! No discount from OPC - £184 + VAT for pair of springs, top mounts £83 + VAT each You won't get original Porsche springs much cheaper than the OPC but effectively half price top mounts and with bearings thrown in (mine I just cleaned re-greased as they were fine) seem fair to me. I went to Spyder for my suspension arms when I did those as the best combination of price and quality which others have reported too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/7/2021 at 2:57 PM, 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. Quick question on the above - does the brake caliper have to be removed first? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMacdonald Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 I think you might have trouble with brake pipes if you don't remove the caliper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 28 minutes ago, AMacdonald said: I think you might have trouble with brake pipes if you don't remove the caliper. Thanks, yes, have removed it now but had to go out and buy a 10mm Allen key! I've got the strut leaning out of the wheel arch but no idea how I'm going to get the nut off the top of the strut. Its quite rusty and feels like the hex bit is going to spin in the strut before the nut releases. Have poured on penetrating oil, maybe heat also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanky Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 15 minutes ago, SimonT001 said: Thanks, yes, have removed it now but had to go out and buy a 10mm Allen key! I've got the strut leaning out of the wheel arch but no idea how I'm going to get the nut off the top of the strut. Its quite rusty and feels like the hex bit is going to spin in the strut before the nut releases. Have poured on penetrating oil, maybe heat also? Not read all the posts in here, but you might be better off taking the strut out of the hub and working on it away from the car. When I replaced my suspension, I ended up cutting the top nut off on one of my struts. As it was that rusted on. I only did that as I wanted the big metal washers and the dust boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMacdonald Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 When I did mine, I found the Allen bit in the top of the strut (I attached it to my breaker bar for leverage) held well enough that a ring spanner was able to loosen things. I gave it a good application of Kroil first and did work with it off the car. Don't forget the spring compressor! I nearly did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 minutes ago, AMacdonald said: When I did mine, I found the Allen bit in the top of the strut (I attached it to my breaker bar for leverage) held well enough that a ring spanner was able to loosen things. I gave it a good application of Kroil first and did work with it off the car. Don't forget the spring compressor! I nearly did. Seen a couple of videos where they didn't need spring compressors but have got some if it obviously does have compression Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMacdonald Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 My spring was broken right at the bottom end (I noticed the broken bit in the mud one day - goodness knows how long it had been there) so there was still almost normal tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 I always crack the top but whilst the car is on the ground, before the dismantling, and you will need compressors,the only reason why you have seen them when they don’t is if 30 mm lowering springs are fitted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky54 Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 When I did mine recently, I removed the strut assembly from the wheel hub and put it in a vice on the bench. The strut top nut wasn't particularly rusted on bit it wouldn't shift with a ring span and Allen key. Fortunately a friend had a meaty impact wrench and the nut just flew off with that - I was well-impressed! It worked as effectively when I did the other side too so I'd recommend trying that if you have access to one, to take the strut, fitted with spring compressor, to a tyre fitter or friendly garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 5 hours ago, SimonT001 said: Quick question on the above - does the brake caliper have to be removed first? Thanks You could do it with the disc and caliper in place but it will restrict access somewhat and make the upright a lot heavier to manipulate. A well fitting 10mm Allen key (not a ball end type one) on a breaker bar should release the calliper OK. When you remove the disc a PH3 fitting on a impact driver for the cross head screws is you best chance of not burring them out. As ever a dose of Plus Gas or WD40 before you come to undo any bolts in the suspension/hub is always beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 21, 2021 Report Share Posted February 21, 2021 18 hours ago, Tricky54 said: When I did mine recently, I removed the strut assembly from the wheel hub and put it in a vice on the bench. The strut top nut wasn't particularly rusted on bit it wouldn't shift with a ring span and Allen key. Fortunately a friend had a meaty impact wrench and the nut just flew off with that - I was well-impressed! It worked as effectively when I did the other side too so I'd recommend trying that if you have access to one, to take the strut, fitted with spring compressor, to a tyre fitter or friendly garage. If using an impact wrench will that damage the shock absorber by spinning it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2021 3 hours ago, SimonT001 said: If using an impact wrench will that damage the shock absorber by spinning it? The piston has to turn in the strut to steer the car... The piston is fixed to the top mount which is fixed to the car and the damper tube is fixed to the front upright which turns when you steer, that said to undo the nut you need the piston to not spin. It is 'FT' to use a technical term as it is a distorted nut so need to be turned all the way off the thread it is not free running once cracked off. A new one should be fitted every time, my new shocks came with new nyloc nuts but I did re-use the original nuts the first time I took it all apart which is this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky54 Posted February 21, 2021 Report Share Posted February 21, 2021 6 hours ago, SimonT001 said: If using an impact wrench will that damage the shock absorber by spinning it? When I did mine, the impact gun was fast and powerful enough to undo the nut without the strut shaft getting a chance to spin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gIzzE Posted February 23, 2021 Report Share Posted February 23, 2021 You also need to consider why your spring has snapped. 9 times out of 10 it is because the damper is past its best, quite simply it is no longer damping enough and the spring is taking far too much load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2021 4 hours ago, gIzzE said: You also need to consider why your spring has snapped. 9 times out of 10 it is because the damper is past its best, quite simply it is no longer damping enough and the spring is taking far too much load. New springs and dampers went on mine last year, although I did springs only first (this thread) until a rear damper was found to be leaking so then did all 4 along with the coffin arms, front tuning forks and rear toe links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT001 Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 Impact gun got this in the end for me. Dampers will have to wait until I know its a keeper. I'm going to get it serviced and appraised by a local indie soon before spending too much. Thanks for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gIzzE Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 You can easily feel if the dampers are gone. You shouldn't be able to push them in with your hands, or it should be really difficult, if you can, they are shagged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 One of the front springs snapped on my 987 last week. I'm considering changing the coffin arms, tuning forks, bump stops and top mpunt/bearing at the same time (already have a pair of drop links, other parts from spyder). I noticed H&R do a set of standard height front springs which are approx half the price of porsche ones. Has anyone used these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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