shock inserts & strut assemblies

A weekend drive down to to LA & back has confirmed that I'd probably want to replace my shocks sooner rather than later (hmm- I think I've put about 1500 miles on the car already & have owned it less than 3 weeks). It looks like the rear shocks are basically a no-brainer, but in what cases would it be prudent to replace the entire front strut assembly, as opposed to just the inserts themselves? Is it safe to assume that the struts are ok if there are no visible signs of damage, or are there other checks I can do for wear? I have new ball joints & tie rods on order already and am thinking it might be worthwhile finding a good pair of secondhand low mileage struts, rather than new inserts.

Andrew

[jpnovak]

buying new struts would be a waste of money unless they are bent. Replacement of the inserts is an almost no brainer. you just jack up the car, support on stands, remove wheel, loosen top mounting bolt, compress strut by hand, swing out from fender well (watch those brake lines), remove top cap, loosen fixing ring, remove strut. reverse for installation.

You can get Bilstein, Koni, or Boge inserts for your (most likely) Boge struts. Do you have Wayne's book, 101 Projects? If not, get it and read away. The entire procedure is covered. You can also search the archives.

jamie

[fred cook]

I can understand wanting to replace the shocks on your car (just did the same thing on my SC). You could take your car in for and alignment, during which any problems such as a bent strut would likely be spotted. Once you are comfortable with the condition of the struts, buy the new shocks, install them and go back for a final alignment. If you tell the shop owner what you are doing, he might cut you some slack on the cost of the second alignment.

Good Luck!

Fred Cook
'80 911SC

I currently have bilstein shocks on the rear &, I believe, bilstein struts/ shocks on the front. Would replacing these with new bilsteins change the ride height of the car significantly (ie. would the old shocks have settled over their lifetime?)

[Steve Baker]

I rebuilt the front end on my 88' Targa last spring. I replaced everything, A-arms, tie rods(turbo kit tie rods), ball joints, cleaned and painted everything. But, the shocks were still good and still are ok, however, after spending big bucks for an all wheel alignment at the local Porsche dealer (and yes, the car handles excellent) I should have spent the extra FEW bucks on new inserts.