STRUT/SHOCK REPLACEMENT

[lousailor]

I'm looking to replace the shocks on my '87 924S. A local shop says they can replace the front inserts, back shocks and a complete alignment for just under $900.00. I looked up the cost of Sachs/Boge replacements at shox.com at $239.00. Is the replacement a job I can do myself and then just get an alignement? Or is it worth it to pay the big labor charge, and have someone else do the work? Thanks
Louie

[dmac]

$900 sounds like a lot to me for shocks. The rear shocks are a piece of cake - do them yourself. The fronts are tougher - you could remove the struts yourself and bring them somewhere to have the shock replced, reinstall them yourself - then have the car aligned somewhere. Check out the Haynes book as I think it gives a pretty good description on strut removal/installation.

[SplitKane]

I did a strut replacement on the front of my 86 944. I wasn't that proficient at the time and it went OK

It is more difficult and dangerous to do than the rear shocks. The difficulty is in keeping the springs compressed while you remove the strut. Use the weight of the vehicle and a jack to compress the spring to a convenient height to get the strut off the vehicle and use a sprint compressor to hold the spring at that point. You can rent or even buy a spring compressor. I got a set for 9$USD.

One thing you should do is before you remove the bottom bracket you can scratch a mark (or use a thin paint pencil) on the upper bolt of the lower bracket. This mounting is eccentric and if you get it back to the original position your allignment won't be to far off (Still get it alligned professionally later!)

One of my struts gave me more of a problem when disassembling the strut to replace the cartridge. I think I resorted to a pipe wrench and a bench vise.

I think you can do it.

[lousailor]

Thanks, I think I may try to tackle it myself.

Louie

Originally posted by SplitKane:
I did a strut replacement on the front of my 86 944. I wasn't that proficient at the time and it went OK

It is more difficult and dangerous to do than the rear shocks. The difficulty is in keeping the springs compressed while you remove the strut. Use the weight of the vehicle and a jack to compress the spring to a convenient height to get the strut off the vehicle and use a sprint compressor to hold the spring at that point. You can rent or even buy a spring compressor. I got a set for 9$USD.

One thing you should do is before you remove the bottom bracket you can scratch a mark (or use a thin paint pencil) on the upper bolt of the lower bracket. This mounting is eccentric and if you get it back to the original position your allignment won't be to far off (Still get it alligned professionally later!)

One of my struts gave me more of a problem when disassembling the strut to replace the cartridge. I think I resorted to a pipe wrench and a bench vise.

I think you can do it.

[lousailor]

Thanks,
It did sound a little high (it's a race products shop). I think I'll try to replace the shocks myself, and then get the alignment.

Louie

Originally posted by dmac:
$900 sounds like a lot to me for shocks. The rear shocks are a piece of cake - do them yourself. The fronts are tougher - you could remove the struts yourself and bring them somewhere to have the shock replced, reinstall them yourself - then have the car aligned somewhere. Check out the Haynes book as I think it gives a pretty good description on strut removal/installation.