jhynesrockmtn

I had mine up on the lift for a few weeks and did coolant tank, water pump, thermostat, motor mounts, oil change, LN filter modification and a few other things. I busted a rusty bolt on one of the exhaust clamps being too aggressive with the breaker bar. I ended up using a torch to heat stubborn items after. I bought an AOS but gave up on that and will tackle it over the winter along with the suspension items you are tackling. I also plan to change coil packs and plugs and install Fister mufflers. Just finished the FF trans mount insert last weekend. Looks like a great list, good luck and happy wrenching!

JimmyB

Got a small amount done this morning - undid a few more bolts on the front & rear suspensions, took the heat shields off and soaked every exhaust bolt I could find in PB Blaster. More tomorrow.

Current frustration is that the passenger side strut top nut won't budge, even with my electric impact wrench. Suggestions?

Slakker

If you aren't reusing the top hats you can get a little more aggressive with it.

If the impact won't work, you're next option is a 6 sided socket and breaker bar.

JimmyB

Thanks - will have another go at it tomorrow.

In the meantime some shiny things arrived in the mail today...

jhynesrockmtn

A little heat worked wonders on mine

dporto

I had to cut the top nuts off of both of mine...Good Luck

Slakker

Oooh. So shiny!

JimmyB

Still here, still plugging away at this. Got held up for a couple of weeks there with some unexpected work travel.

Got the top nuts loosened in the end. Current frustration is that I can't get the front strut(s) out from under the fender. The Pelican book says to loosen the lower control arm bolt, which is what's holding me up - I can't for the life of me get the thing undone, and there's precious little room to get a decent socket on it. Any pointers?

I have everything else undone or loosened, the spring is all compressed with h/t zip ties, but I can't lower the assembly enough to get the strut out from under the fender - hence the need to loosen the aforementioned bolt I guess.

Help!

911TTCAB

Did you drop the thrust arms? Loosening it won't work.

JimmyB

Ohhhhhh. The write-up in the book is for a C2. More difficult on the C4, I now realise. According to this:

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-question.html

I need to separate balljoints, remove driveshafts. Hmm.

Slakker

Try using a set of spring compressors instead. I think it's a lot easier....

dporto

^This^... I did the same thing the "first" time I dug into my car to replace the springs...2 hrs. wasted, put 'er back together... The second time around, I was sure to have all parts, tools, instructions etc... The entire job (springs, struts and front wheel bearings) still took me a few weeks to complete (since I was only working nights/"spare time")... I think when I figured actual time spent working it came out to about 8 hrs. total - Good luck - it's so worth it when you're finished!

JimmyB

And ... she's done!

For various reasons to do with losing my workspace and running out of time, I ended up entrusting the work to IMA Motorwerke in Chantilly - well impressed with them,. btw. Got the car back on Saturday, just in time for a dash to BWI and back.

I have to say I'm absolutely delighted with how it drives and sounds now. I know I'm comparing old, worn shocks with new ones, but the Euro M030 is exactly what I hoped it would be. The ride is just a little higher than with the H&Rs, I haven't measured it yet but I no longer scrape the front of the car going into my car park at work. And there's waaaaay less crash-bang over the bumps, and the couple of little knocks from the suspension are all gone.

The DesignTek exhaust sounds beautiful. Docile at part throttle but with a wonderful bark when you plant your foot. The car sounds like a Porsche now. And shifting is crisper and slicker - the Function First shifter had already made an improvement, but the FF trans mount inserts and new engine mounts have also made a huge difference. Oh, and my exhaust tips don't sag any more

Soooo pleased to have my 996 back on the road. And now I have five days off of work to drive it