Bola964

Hi,
I am looking into replacing the rear deck struts/shocks, and wanted to try doing it myself on a '97 NB car.

I was looking at the engine bay, and the old shocks are all the way to the back and with very little room to work with, specially on the right side of the car.

Any tips, guides, bulletin, or other information that would help me making it less painfull, and that would prevent me from doing a big mistake?

Thanks.
Rodrigo.

Blue TTop

Remove the airbox cover and filter and there is plenty of room on the right side.

cgfen

Place some shop rags between the shocks and the engine bits.
That way, if / when you accidentaly drop a clip, it will fall onto the rag instead of into the black hole.

And to make it even easier look here.

Hmmm Robin Sun's site seems to be down?

Look here instead.

http://www.pcarworkshop.com/index.ph...d_Shock_Struts

ciao

TMc993

EDIT: cgfen beat me to it by one minute...

It's a fiddley job but not difficult. I found with both my front and rear deck struts that spreading a white cloth/towel inside the engine bay under the area where you are working will reduce ricochets and ease locating the circlips when (Not if) they slip and fly around the eingine bay. Also, have a telescoping magnet ready so you can fish around in the crannies when (Not if) the circlips slip and get away from you.

Good luck.....

IXLR8

Yes, get the correct struts from Porsche. They are only slightly more than going elsewhere if you shop at a discount Porsche dealer.

The aftermarket units can end up turning your engine lid into a catapult making the lid stop very hard against the stops. Great if you want to fling burgers.

Thread

plymouthcolt

Remove the fresh air blower on the left.

Howard
1997 911

pp000830

I have found that both the trunk and the engine lid struts have a very short service life so I just keep a prop stick in the trunk to hold the lid up. I have been looking at a prop rod with ball joints on the ends as a long term update.

PelicanParts.com

TMc993 nailed it! Not a difficult job at all just be patient and careful not to get struck in the back of the head!

KNS

I made this mistake and bought some from one of the popular Porsche parts suppliers, they were way too strong! Get the correct ones for your car from Porsche. They are easy to change.

IXLR8

The experience I was relating was after I installed front and rear lid struts for a local 993 owner who bought them from an aftermarket supplier.

I installed struts on my own 993 that I got from Sunset Porsche.

Gas-pressure spring, rear engine lid – markings (new units – packaged 2010-10-26)
STABILUS
371068 0370N 292/10 AM17
911.512.331.01

Original unit markings:
STABILUS
LIFT-O-MAT
2522LS 0370N 132/03 D 09

From that thread link I posted
Both new and old show 0370N...

Could 370N be 370 Newtons = 83 pound-force per strut?

Sure enough, placing the end of the gas-pressure spring up against a bathroom scale and compressing it showed 86 pounds.

G-MASSA

No need to remove the fresh air blower on the left. It's quite an easy job with the decklid down with Just enough room for your arm and your melon in the engine bay. You definitely will need to Remove the airbox cover. It's Really not a tough job at all-I did two 993's in 15 minutes even after reading the posts here. Go for it. One note, as others have stated- you probably only need to replace one rear decklid shock at a time. Two new ones creates a catapult.

H.H.Chinn

The trunk struts requires a long flat blade screw driver to poke at the release lever at the base of the strut deep in the opening on each side of the fender.

Bola964

Thank you guys for all the info.
Will try to work on them this weekend, if not, upon my return from a trip in the end of June.
Will post pics once its done!
Cheers,
Rodrigo

jscott82

For anything that you expect to drop (front strut clip) tie a leash to it with dental floss...

jlivingood

Did all four of mine (front and rear) this weekend. Kind of a pain but just due to the small spaces. Frustrating but good to have finished.

Had to run to the corner hardware store to get the longest (6 inch) screwdriver I could find - an "Ace Precision Screwdriver" that worked well. Otherwise used the floss so I didn't loose any clips, and that saved me from losing 2 in the engine bay. And draping towels all over the body work helped since I was doing all sorts of maneuvers to contort myself to get these in and out.

Hopefully these last for awhile!