Quik44

I am attempting to replace the shocks in my '86 951. The car is new to me, with 46K miles on it only, and the original shocks were still on the car. The drivers rear has been replaced with no bother at all.

I have the front strut assembly removed from the car, but... damned if I can figure how to remove the (original) shock from the strut housing???

Several videos online show the 'cap' on the top of the shock housing being removable, using a pipe wrench. But mine doesn't look the same and there is no evidence of a thread. And yes, I've tried with no luck at all.

Is there some trick to this? I have a Koni sport shock ready to go but no way to get it into the damn housing... yes, I'm frustrated.

MAGK944

The 951 struts don’t have a screw cap, the videos you saw were not the turbo cars. You need the Koni cut inserts so ask your vendor to confirm you have the correct Koni part. They involve a bit of cutting and drilling to fit but they are the official Koni insert for your strut.

Quik44

Thanks - I was suspicious that was the reason. So, I DO have the correct struts and I'm not adverse to drilling and cutting.

Are there any 'instructions' out there on what/where to cut/drill?

MAGK944

The Koni instructions come with the inserts and if you search “Porsche 944 cut drill Koni inserts” you’ll find a bunch more that go into further detail.

Quik44

Excellent - thanks - that was exactly what I needed. Doesn't look difficult at all. I did see the instructions in with the strut, but just didn't figure that was the process.

MAGK944

There’s a good write-up on Paragon

RKT951

A tubing cutter works great to cut the tube down.

Quik44

Thanks - new shocks installed all round. I ended up cutting the struts with a hacksaw, which worked well, even if it was a little slow. Filed the cut ends and repainted the entire strut before installing the inserts.

The rear shocks were dead easy - I think 20 mins each. The fronts much, much longer. Maybe 3-4 hours each side.

Car feels good, but will take it for alignment later this week.

Glue Guy

Got any pics?

Millermatic

Not to jump the thread... but here's a before, during and after of mine. At first I just spray-painted them... but that just flaked off. I ended up having the bodies powder coated. The rubber bumper and silicon sleeve relationship always looked a bit screwy to me... maybe someone else can chime in. But they work fine...

And +1 on the tubing cutter suggestion. Works great.



First tried black spray paint... which just chipped off. The diagonal mark on the top one is a scratch from my finger nail.

I ended up getting them powder coated.

Alan 91 C2

Very nice work.