I’m back at it with a second brace shipped from Sunset and I’m still having issues with installing the drivers side brace. It appears that the angle of the brace doesn’t match the angle of the opening on the firewall bracket. For those that have installed these, did you observe the same fitment issues? Here are some pictures that hopefully depict what I’m dealing with.

 

The angle you have looks like it’s the wrong one again. I had two parts labeled correctly, but they were both identical. Different vendor from you but the same issue, I guess the Porsche part supplier was sleeping that day. The vendor I purchased from replaced it for no cost to me, but I had to triple check and make sure I was getting the correct side the 2nd time through.

 

That is definitely not what I wanted to hear but it makes sense, I just can’t see how it would work without modifying something. Hopefully Sunset doesn’t lose their patience, they were very good about getting the replacement to me without hassle. I now have two braces to return to them and another week of the car sitting in the garage in pieces.

 

That's disappointing, no doubt. Mine came from SuncoastParts.com, no issues. I inquired and they responded with pricing for the 4 items as below, entered the order, and voila... the right parts came.

Gotta believe they can straighten it out. Maybe third time's a charm?

1 996-504-233-01 STRUT-TOWER B 1 56.55
2 996-504-234-01 STRUT-TOWER B 1 56.55
3 900-378-100-01 TORX HEAD SCR 2 2.43 4.86
4 900-075-010-03 HEX-HEAD SCRE 4 0.56 2.24

 

I'm having exactly the same problem as above. I've ordered the parts detailed above and twice received the same identical parts (as in the bars are the same and not differentiated left and right)

My local car Porsche dealer is going to put a query into Porsche Germany to see what the problem is.

Did you ever get the correct parts?

 

That is definitely not encouraging! I’m still waiting for my third replacement, it’s getting annoying now as my car has been out of commission for well over a month.

 

Still waiting for my new parts to arrive. Just looking at the central metal part that the braces attach to - it looks so flimsy I question the value of using it. If the chassis / turrets are flexing that much, the movement would surely bend that flimsy central part?

Also on the UK cars the metal brace seems to fouls an electronics module.

 

I’m also still waiting and Sunset hasn’t offered any timeline as of yet. A bit frustrating really, hopefully Porsche gets their act together. Has your dealer provided any timelines?

The forces on the firewall are primarily horizontal, not vertical and when you bolt it all together it builds the strength of the mounting point.

I had not heard it causing electrical issues before, I guess it’s possible although I can’t imagine that much water getting into the area unless you have drainage issues.

 

Thanks for reply

I suppose if the 997 uses that point it must be structurally sound - and the load must be higher on a 997 chassis. Just seems so weak

Had to send Porsche a similar pic to what you posted earlier to explain the problem.

Will see what Porsche Germany say!

Mike

 

Mike,

Did you receive any updates? Sunset has not replied to emails which incredibly annoying.

 

No updates - I got my Porsche Tech to send over this forum to Germany to highlight the problems we are having.

Doesn't seem to be just one bad batch as I had another lot delivered and they are the same

 

Hi Ashfin

Do you have anymore pictures you could post of the bars not fitting correctly? My Porsche tech needs some more pictures to show where the issue is and the above aren't sufficient apparently! I didn't want to start taking the wiper off again to fit them to mine!

Any help gratefully received!

Mike

 

Mike,

I looked through my pictures and I don’t have any other pictures that would help. Unfortunately I gave up and put my car back together last weekend. I literally haven’t driven it in nearly 3 months and I’m getting zero response from Sunset. Needless to say I will be finding a new parts supplier and it looks like this project will have to wait until Porsche figures it out.

I could perhaps bring the parts to the Porsche Experience Center or a dealer so they can see the issue but I would have to think that Porsche corporate would have to foot the bill to take it apart and evaluate the issue.

 

Thank you to all for the information in this thread. I love reading about these helpful, inexpensive improvements to our cars! I ordered the front strut bracing from Suncoast after seeing some have success in receiving the correct components, but unfortunately I had the same issue as everyone else. Fortunately, I was able to correct the drivers side brace by cutting the tube, turning it 180 degrees (essentially so the “foot” of the brace is in the opposite direction) and welding it back together. After repainting it, I just had to add a shim to account for the length change by cutting the tube. It fit perfectly.

So, if you can weld, or have access to someone who can do it inexpensively, it’s a good option to fixing this problem!

 

Porsche should have a jig set up to fabricate both sides, the fact that they are asking for more pictures and can’t rectify the issue makes me think that they’re not making an effort to check the part. If they took the incorrect part and put it on the jig they would see the issues immediately. Frustrating.