So I finally embarked on my long-anticipated coilover installation and thought that I had everything well in hand. Unfortunately the project has hit a snag. In the process of articulating the front wheel carriers/control arms in order to gain clearance for removal of the old struts I somehow pulled both front axles free of the differential.

I,ve stopped for the night to reach out to the RL hive mind to ask for guidance:

What will be the best way to re-insert the half-shafts back into the differential?

Will I have to remove the axle nuts and back everyone out first?

The lower control arms have long bolts that look like a real PITA to remove, am I going to be able to avoid this?

I’m attaching a couple photos from under the car to illustrate the pickle I’m in, apologies for the poor quality phone photos.

Driver’s side

Passenger side, the half shaft is wedged at the top of the differential housing

 

2006 Carrera 4, 100,700 miles

 

You have two options , 2nd option maybe quicker to do.

1) remove and separate the stub from the axle and then try to pop it back in and join the axle to the stub tighten up the bolts. This may or may not work but in most instances there is enough to allow for it.

2) You can loosen up the top (strut mount) and try to press it down and move it to the outside to gain the extra space for the axle to back up... Yes control arm bolt might need to be loosened or removed.

Check out this for some info...

 

I have replaced the front transmission axle on my car but did not run into this issue....
As suggested by 997ajk, I would separate the differential axle from the main transmission axle (6 Allen bolts), and try to re-insert carefully the small section into the front differential. Did you pull real hard, to extract that part out of the differential?
And then, yes, you will have to remove the bolts holding the front hub. It is not that difficult, and it will give you enough wiggle to access the strut and spring.

Yves

 

Thanks Yves, I appreciate the feedback. I loosened the LCA bolts and in leveraging the original strut to clear the bolts under the fender, this is when I pulled the half shafts from the front diff.

Essentially I followed the procedure for a 2WD car without realizing that the front axles would have limited range of motion due to the sway bar.

Since the new coilovers are a bit shorter than the factory struts I have a bit more room to maneuver but I think I’m going to attempt to de-couple the six Allen bolts. I don’t have a 340ft-lb torque wrench and, with the car already in the air I think this is my best option.

 

Thanks, 997ajk, looks like he did exactly what I did, although only on one side. Seems that he removed the ball joint at the toe link on the passenger side but didn’t do so on the driver’s side until he needed to re-attach the axle.

I’m going to attempt the six bolts at the CV joint and then attack the ball joint if necessary.

 

Front axles re-attached! Since the knuckle articulated down far enough for the half shaft to slip out of the diff it was a simple matter of careful manipulation to re-position the axle and then raise the knuckle with a floor jack. For AWD cars the coilover procedure is so simple on the rear wheels and so much more complicated at the front. For anyone else attempting the job I’d recommend following the advice I read in TheBruce’s excellent DIY thread suggesting that disassembling more makes the job easier. Specifically the ball joint at the knuckle/tie rod. Not only does this provide a bit of range but it avoids stressing the steering rack.

 

A bit late to this discussion, but my DIY front strut R&R (for AWD 997s) post is here:

AWD 997 front suspension R&R:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...n-r-and-r.html

I actually had one of the axles pop out before too. But as I had the axle nut loose, I just popped it back in. I did buy a huge breaker bar and an equally large torque wrench just to do the job though.

 

I’ve buttoned everything up, torqued everything to spec, got the car on the ground and it seems I have a new problem. Two, actually.

First, the front end alignment is terrible. It doesn’t appear that my camber or toe have changed but to track straight the steering wheel is turned 2° or so to the right.

Second, at anything above about 35mph the car feels horribly unsettled, like it’s on ultra skinny tires. The rear feels splashy and unstable and I’ve not exceeded 40mph out of concern. I’m about to lift the car back up, take the wheels off and go back over everything.

What should be my focus in addressing these two issues? Should I consider stiffening the suspension damping? On a 0-30 range soft-to-hard I set the rear at 16 and the front at 18.

Thanks in advance!

No more wheel gap!

 

I actually figured it out! The steering was simply a matter of correctly torquing one of the tie rod ball joints, tightened it right up.

As for the rear I made my second stupid mistake. The spring perch on the driver’s side was twisted out of position, I had installed the top mount rotated incorrectly and this was causing all kinds of spring rate and camber problems. I disconnected the drop link, both upper control arms at the knuckle, and removed all three strut top nuts, this allowed the whole strut to turn on its axis. Buttoned everything back up and took advantage of the removed subwoofer to dial in a couple more clicks of stiffness before a test flight.

I’m happy to report that the installation of coilovers has not only refreshed my suspension but also taught me a few valuable lessons.

This is a big job and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly, no matter how easy the YouTube videos make it seem. I worked from 1-9pm yesterday and put in another 8 hours today. If I had to help a friend do it I’m confident that duration could come way down but there are some elements that just can’t be rushed.

I have the car just a little lower than I like but I’m glad I did it and glad to have a forum like RL to share it with!

Before, the dreaded 4x4 wheel gap

After, no more wheel gap

I think she likes it

 

Great job and nice looking C4! I just got myself a 997 C4S as well and am considering lowering the car, albeit with just lowering springs. Learning as much as I can before I decide to do it. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Thanks, @cesx997. I've had more than a year on the BC Racing coilovers and they've served me well.

 

Gotta love a happy ending. 👍

 

Hi@TheMurse so I took on the lowering springs DIY over the weekend, overall went well but ran into the same problem with axle drive shaft popping off the front diff. I have removed the front plastic undertray for more access and used floor jack on the wheel carrier to help as I manipulate it back into place, but alas no luck yet. I realize it’s been a while since you worked on yours but was hoping to ask if you had any tips or advice in how you got yours to pop back in. Thanks in advance!


passenger and driver side

 

You can use a long pry bar and hammer (just make sure not to puncture your boot - hit it around the screw area (see red marks)) , there is a lot of space there and you don't need to do anything outside of removing the wheel .......or at times it can pop back in with your hand as well but this also means that the circlip is too loose