Cocky Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 22 minutes ago, sdh2903 said: Just done these on my 987.2, went for the spyder arms, seem decent quality. Definitely order the bolt kit too. I got the 1st one out no bother and wondered what all the fuss was about, then the remaining 3 were seized solid. Whoever thought steel bolts into alloy bushes was a good idea needs a bloody good shake. I've heard only good things about the arms Spyder Performance stock in & their service. Thanks for the tip on the bolts. I am going to be doing this to my car but hoping I can make it a next winter job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris D Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 (edited) I've just done this on my 2005 987.1 S. Rears only atm. Took my time, over a few weekends / evenings in my home garage. I replaced the coffin arms, tuning forks, tie rods and drop links. I also changed the ARB bushes. Spyder performance. I fitted new bolts. I got the bolt kit from Spyder too although the tuning fork bolts can be re-used or get them from an OPC (£9 each for the chassis bolt). Tuning fork M14 bolts - 160 Nm. Everything else was either 110 or FT. Tuning fork bolts came off no issue. I re-used the nut and bolt on the coffin arm connection. Re-use the essentric washers on the coffin arm/tie rods too. You'll see what I mean. Put some copper grease, or ideally ali paste on the bolt shafts for the arms and drop links. Coffin arm & tie rod bolts had to be cut off using a recip saw. I used 6 bosch blades in total. 225mm long. Drop link - I learnt the hard way. It's easier (trust me) to drop the damper and undo the drive shaft hub nut and work it on the floor. You cut off the knuckle side of the drop link with a metal cutting disc (grinder) and use the 18mm hex that remains with a decent impact wrench & socket. Plenty of plus gas - soak overnight. OS took 3 hours with heat, plus gas & a lump hammer. NS took 3 mins using the former method. With the strut off it's easier to cut the arms / bolts with the recip saw. Better access. I cut the arms in half before attacking the bolts. As above - take your time. Edited February 5 by Chris D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 My eccentric bolts on the rear were rusted and seized solid in the bushes. It was an absolute nightmare to get them out. Even taking care I nicked the aluminum of side subframe where they bolt into. After wasting so much time I bit the bullet and bought both rear sub frames in pristine condition for 70 pounds from Ebay. That made life so much easier and they are only held on with three bolts each if I remember correctly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 2 hours ago, phazed said: My eccentric bolts on the rear were rusted and seized solid in the bushes. It was an absolute nightmare to get them out. Even taking care I nicked the aluminum of side subframe where they bolt into. After wasting so much time I bit the bullet and bought both rear sub frames in pristine condition for 70 pounds from Ebay. That made life so much easier and they are only held on with three bolts each if I remember correctly. That's not a normal approach but I can see the attraction for simplicity of being able to get it all on a bench to work on. I might try it if I ever do another rear suspension rebuild on a Boxster, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 8 hours ago, Chris D said: I've just done this on my 2005 987.1 S. Rears only atm. Took my time, over a few weekends / evenings in my home garage. I replaced the coffin arms, tuning forks, tie rods and drop links. I also changed the ARB bushes. Spyder performance. I fitted new bolts. I got the bolt kit from Spyder too although the tuning fork bolts can be re-used or get them from an OPC (£9 each for the chassis bolt). Tuning fork M14 bolts - 160 Nm. Everything else was either 110 or FT. Tuning fork bolts came off no issue. I re-used the nut and bolt on the coffin arm connection. Re-use the essentric washers on the coffin arm/tie rods too. You'll see what I mean. Put some copper grease, or ideally ali paste on the bolt shafts for the arms and drop links. Coffin arm & tie rod bolts had to be cut off using a recip saw. I used 6 bosch blades in total. 225mm long. Drop link - I learnt the hard way. It's easier (trust me) to drop the damper and undo the drive shaft hub nut and work it on the floor. You cut off the knuckle side of the drop link with a metal cutting disc (grinder) and use the 18mm hex that remains with a decent impact wrench & socket. Plenty of plus gas - soak overnight. OS took 3 hours with heat, plus gas & a lump hammer. NS took 3 mins using the former method. With the strut off it's easier to cut the arms / bolts with the recip saw. Better access. I cut the arms in half before attacking the bolts. As above - take your time. Nuts on the eccentric bolts should only be 100Nm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris D Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 Ah, thanks for correcting me. I've not torqued mine yet. Still needs alignment. I knew it was 1xx something. I was confident on the 160. They're done already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 1 hour ago, Chris D said: Ah, thanks for correcting me. I've not torqued mine yet. Still needs alignment. I knew it was 1xx something. I was confident on the 160. They're done already. PM me with your email address and I'll send you all the settings, but here's some: Ball joint nuts on toe link and coffin arm are 75Nm, drop link 85Nm to upright, 46Nm to ARB. Caliper bolts 85Nm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 9 Author Report Share Posted February 9 On 2/5/2024 at 1:58 PM, Chris D said: I've just done this on my 2005 987.1 S. Rears only atm. Took my time, over a few weekends / evenings in my home garage. I replaced the coffin arms, tuning forks, tie rods and drop links. I also changed the ARB bushes. Spyder performance. I fitted new bolts. I got the bolt kit from Spyder too although the tuning fork bolts can be re-used or get them from an OPC (£9 each for the chassis bolt). Tuning fork M14 bolts - 160 Nm. Everything else was either 110 or FT. Tuning fork bolts came off no issue. I re-used the nut and bolt on the coffin arm connection. Re-use the essentric washers on the coffin arm/tie rods too. You'll see what I mean. Put some copper grease, or ideally ali paste on the bolt shafts for the arms and drop links. Coffin arm & tie rod bolts had to be cut off using a recip saw. I used 6 bosch blades in total. 225mm long. Drop link - I learnt the hard way. It's easier (trust me) to drop the damper and undo the drive shaft hub nut and work it on the floor. You cut off the knuckle side of the drop link with a metal cutting disc (grinder) and use the 18mm hex that remains with a decent impact wrench & socket. Plenty of plus gas - soak overnight. OS took 3 hours with heat, plus gas & a lump hammer. NS took 3 mins using the former method. With the strut off it's easier to cut the arms / bolts with the recip saw. Better access. I cut the arms in half before attacking the bolts. As above - take your time. That sounds like it was a bit of a mish. Will be attempting my fronts very shortly. Hopefully the rears will last a bit longer yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 11 Author Report Share Posted February 11 Well, half way there. Tuning fork just unbolted and moved out the way, seemed very loose vertically but couldn't feel any play in it. Then it got trickier. Main bolt was seized in the bush sleeve, ended up resorting to the reciprocating saw. I was working on the nearside as that was the one with play in the ball joint and attempted to cut through the the bolt nearest the front of the car 1st. Went in through the small visible section of rubber bush using the outer collett as a guide. Initially went in from above but seemed to be getting nowhere so removed the undertray to allow better access from below. That seemed to work better but still seemed slow but eventually the bolt head dropped out. hurrah. Then set about the "nut" side. Again went in via the visible rubber section and that side took just a few mins. Things were looking up. Then tried to seperate the ball joint. A real pain getting the splitter in where the rubber gaiter is and then trying to get the top section of the splitter to stay on the top of the ball joint thread (with the nut flush with the top of the thread. So I turned the nut upside down so it had a greater surface area for the splitter to contact but I also positioned the nut so it was a little proud of the thread so the splitter had something to bite into and that worked a treat. So the offside was now looking a lot easier as I had a plan. Wrong. Tuning fork came off ok so set about the main bolt, took me ages to realise the bolt wasn't actually undoing and the whole bush was turning with it 🙄😂. When I had a go at the nut side the nut came off no trouble. So a seized bolt again. No problem, know what to do now. Sadly the saw thought different and shortly after starting the cut it just started whizzing and no blade motion. Took it apart later and the main bearing casing had disintergrated, New saw ordered. So I moved on to the ball joint. Again a pain getting it in there to grip but eventually it did, only for one of the lower arm prongs to snap off. Time to call it a day. New ball joint splitter ordered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 When the bolts are seized in the bushes and you are working on suspension components that probably haven’t ever been dismantled. It takes far, far longer than you think. The design of the suspension is great and works really well but sadly at the age of these cars work now on original components can be painful. Most people have to pay someone to do this work and even though professionals with the right tools will probably work a little faster, it still takes a long time and costs mount up extraordinarily fast! Very pleased to have that part of my build well out the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 (edited) @Gramps, I should have said, split the ball joint before removing the tuning fork doing the onboard end... As the ball joint is being scrapped you can be quite brutal. I used the pickle fork type and a big lump hammer as my original lever type splitter wasn't big enough. Have since used a lever type on one and they go with a hell of a bang. Edited February 12 by ½cwt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 1 hour ago, ½cwt said: @Gramps, I should have said, split the ball joint before removing the tuning fork doing the onboard end... As the ball joint is being scrapped you can be quite brutal. I used the pickle fork type and a big lump hammer as my original lever type splitter wasn't big enough. Have since used a lever type on one and they go with a hell of a bang. Yeh they do go with a bang don't they. Done a few before which is probably why my splitter gave up the ghost on this occasion, bit of fatigue, plus I'd been using the "brutal" approach already in trying to get the fork part to go under the joint adequately. New splitter should be here today. Sadly the place I ordered the saw from called this morning to say they were out of stock, not surpised as they were about 1/2 the price of anywhere else, so yet another order stuck in elsewhere. Grandson minding duties today but did manage to get under there to check the rear coolant sleeves where the manifolds join the rear pipes. Order placed with Spyder for coolant pipe parts. Already got the main pipes and forward sleeves from Porsche as they were cheaper from there but the rest were cheaper from Spyder, who are not too far from me. Something to keep me occupied once the warmer weather comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 28 minutes ago, Gramps said: Yeh they do go with a bang don't they. Done a few before which is probably why my splitter gave up the ghost on this occasion, bit of fatigue, plus I'd been using the "brutal" approach already in trying to get the fork part to go under the joint adequately. New splitter should be here today. Sadly the place I ordered the saw from called this morning to say they were out of stock, not surpised as they were about 1/2 the price of anywhere else, so yet another order stuck in elsewhere. Grandson minding duties today but did manage to get under there to check the rear coolant sleeves where the manifolds join the rear pipes. Order placed with Spyder for coolant pipe parts. Already got the main pipes and forward sleeves from Porsche as they were cheaper from there but the rest were cheaper from Spyder, who are not too far from me. Something to keep me occupied once the warmer weather comes. I have an Erbauer recip from Screwfix. Cost about £50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jow Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 good job Gramps! sounds like I had the same problems as you my ball joint splitter also broke as well. once the main bolt is out the rest of it is fairly easy! and putting it all back together is easy enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 1 hour ago, Jow said: good job Gramps! sounds like I had the same problems as you my ball joint splitter also broke as well. once the main bolt is out the rest of it is fairly easy! and putting it all back together is easy enough! Yeah, it's a pretty basic job, if only everything always went to plan 😂. New ball joint splitter turned up as planned, sad that you want to get out there and try out your new ball joint splitter, what a sad life I live. 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 5 hours ago, ½cwt said: I have an Erbauer recip from Screwfix. Cost about £50. I was wondering whether to go for another corded one but opted for a cordless in the end. My son, who hardly ever used to do any DIY now must have the biggest private collection of DeWalt cordless stuff ever!! But he earns way more money than I ever dreampt of and give him his due he has got really stuck into the DIY now. But guess what he didn't have? A DeWalt reciprocating saw, typical 🙄😂. So sod it, went for a DeWalt one 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 32 minutes ago, Gramps said: the biggest private collection of DeWalt cordless stuff ever! He’s not alone …… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 42 minutes ago, Gramps said: I was wondering whether to go for another corded one but opted for a cordless in the end. My son, who hardly ever used to do any DIY now must have the biggest private collection of DeWalt cordless stuff ever!! But he earns way more money than I ever dreampt of and give him his due he has got really stuck into the DIY now. But guess what he didn't have? A DeWalt reciprocating saw, typical 🙄😂. So sod it, went for a DeWalt one 🙂 I've got the Makita LXT battery system. Their recip even without battery was just too much money!! I'm obviously not a really hard core tool collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 Get a pickle fork , forget ball joint splitter it isn’t as if you are reusing them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 3 minutes ago, ½cwt said: I've got the Makita LXT battery system. Their recip even without battery was just too much money!! I'm obviously not a really hard core tool collector. All my cordless stuff (not that much of it but what there is) is DeWalt, strangely enough bought for me by my son for Xmas birthday etc. The amount I've spent on new tools to tackle these jobs it would probably have been cheaper to pay someone to do it, but where's the satisfaction in that? 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 2 minutes ago, bally4563 said: Get a pickle fork , forget ball joint splitter it isn’t as if you are reusing them True, but not tried a pickle fork before so just went with what I was familiar with 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 9 minutes ago, Gramps said: All my cordless stuff (not that much of it but what there is) is DeWalt, strangely enough bought for me by my son for Xmas birthday etc. The amount I've spent on new tools to tackle these jobs it would probably have been cheaper to pay someone to do it, but where's the satisfaction in that? 😅 I bought an magnetic induction heater, a recip saw & blades, a pickle fork joint splitter, a more powerful impact wrench, so just shy of £450, about half the labour cost to do all of the front and rear. And I've even used most of them more than just on the suspension refresh project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris D Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Bought a new ball joint splitter for the job. Couldn't get it on if I needed to though. I used the fork and a lump hammer in the end. As above, it wasn't getting re-fitted. It's all a faff but it's not hard so as long as you can afford to take your time you'll save a fortune in labour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 On 2/13/2024 at 9:44 AM, Chris D said: Bought a new ball joint splitter for the job. Couldn't get it on if I needed to though. I used the fork and a lump hammer in the end. As above, it wasn't getting re-fitted. It's all a faff but it's not hard so as long as you can afford to take your time you'll save a fortune in labour. My new ball joint splitter made by Neilsen. much better than my previous one. This one has a longer thinner section that allows you to get it inbetwee the arm and the rubber much better Sadly the ball joint didn't play game So damn awkward to get the ball joint splitter in there so ended up cutting the arm off, then straight in and popped out no prob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jow Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 1 hour ago, Gramps said: My new ball joint splitter made by Neilsen. much better than my previous one. This one has a longer thinner section that allows you to get it inbetwee the arm and the rubber much better Sadly the ball joint didn't play game So damn awkward to get the ball joint splitter in there so ended up cutting the arm off, then straight in and popped out no prob wow! ye i found the same, i have a fork and i couldn't get it in there due to how the hub gets in the way. good job getting it out buddy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.gif.1ff85d94295448956a30ba2c6bf0a7d4.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.