Also, I would suspect you need all of the same. Your suspension service history is pretty sparse.

Sugarwood,

I would suggest you go onto the Elephant Racing website and check it out! The info and videos of fitting instructions are brilliant!

Thanks to Tim fo the tip off!
Not sure I can wait until the end of the year to get mine started!

Thanks, I checked out the ER site.

I'm confused on the strut mounts. Are they also called "camber plate" ?
Do you replace the entire metal mount /rubber bushing combo, or do you just replace the rubber bushing?
ER sells just the 2 bushings for $180. Or, you can get the entire part (91134101800) for $120/ea.
Does Pelican also sell just the bushings?

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/126030_x600.jpg

I ordered the entire OE Porsche assembly from our host. Replacing just the bushing via ER seemed just worse to me. I suppose it makes sense if you want to leave the seal sealer intact and try to replace the bushing with the mount plate in the car.

Ok so there is this hard goop -- it looks like welding slag to me -- on the top of the strut mounts. Some people say never ever touch this stuff because if it is removed a future buyer will assume that the car has been in an accident. Personally I'm not that worried but some people have kittens about it.

If it bothers you, just buy the rubber and leave the mount alone. If yours has already been disturbed or you don't care and the whole unit can be purchased cheaper than just the rubber, then I would go that route.

Maybe there is a better argument than I am aware of to not disturb that stuff...

I pressed my old bushings out and replated the housing last week. The mounts that came out of the car looked great with no cracks or oddities...I just pressed the rubber back in and life is fine.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1427824983.jpg

This is the one rubber thing that I opted to leave alone in my suspension refresh project. There were numerous posts by many respected and knowledgeable voices on the forum that led me to this decision. The existing rubber shows no signs of cracking or drying out and is as resilient as new. They are in a relatively protected location. I have some reason to believe that they may have been replaced at some point.

+1 on dividing this project into a front refresh and a rear refresh.

GK

How would that strut mount bearing even be installed, if you went the ER route?
Does it just get jammed into that hourglass shape by sheer force of a hydraulic press?

Is it common to replace the "strut caps" that Jeff NJ mentioned?

Besides a torn boot, is there a simple way to test ball joints while still on the car?
Just use a pry bar and test for play?

What happens when Sway/stabilizer bar bushings are totally shot?

Stig, I looked at the ER list vs. your rear suspension list.

For the rear, ER only includes:
rear shocks,
spring plate bushings,
swaw bar bushings,
trailing arm bushings.

ER doesn't include the drop links or rear shock mounts as part of the basic package.
Are these less common to refresh?

I snapped some photos of the front:
Here is the front control arm bushing.
It doesn't seem dry or cracked at all:
http://i59.tinypic.com/28m3crn.jpg http://i58.tinypic.com/1zvy9ue.jpg

Here is one of the sway bar bushings. Not any cracks on the sides.
How is this installed anyway? The bracket is welded on, unlike the others.
http://i57.tinypic.com/33kyzc0.jpg

I am unable to assess the strut mount bushing, b/c it's blocked by this aftermarket Weltmeister strut bar.
Is this easy to remove? Is there any precision that will be lost? (like an alignment)

http://i62.tinypic.com/eile6g.jpg http://i60.tinypic.com/x3v221.jpg