My 08 CTT needed some refreshing. Changed out all the rubber bushings. Man what a job.
Shoutout Thank you to @Brainz and his threads:

https://rennlist.com/forums/diy-caye...n-refresh.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/diy-caye...oval-tips.html

Life savers. And to reiterate, BUY the wiper removal tool. Evidence was left by the dealer that replaced the front shocks before I purchase...

Expect the front to take 6-ish hours.

The rear, is whole other ballgame. Some of the Tightest bolts I have ever dealt with. Insane. Being up on a lift would have been a big help, to get a nice break bar in there. Being on jack stands, you really gotta use some strength. Also, own the rear, I found the order of replacement to be very important as the shock is a an odd angle. So if you take all the control arms, off it was EXTREMELY difficult to muscle things back into alignment. Alone. On the ground. Pouring sweat. Probably my least favorite moment every wrenching. But, on the second side, I had much better time. Much easy if you leave the forward upper control are in place, then remove and replace the lower control arm, followed by the rear upper control arm and the thrust arm. Then change the forward control arm.

Got all put back together, test drive around the hood, no squeaking, no rattles, and feels tight, like a new Cayenne. Worth the effort if you have the time available, but Lordy, it was some work. I dont know how many hours a dealer charges... but I dont know that they make money on this one. Its tough.

cw

 

Worked best for me to keep the forward upper control arm place, along with the shock on the knuckle, then replace the lower control arm.

Mass amount of hardware. Feeling much better now.

 

I am doing this exact same job on my 2009 GTS right now. Front is done, very easy. Question for you - on the rear, did you replace the outer bushing in the knuckle? If so, did you remove the knuckle completely?

 

I bought the bushing. But did not replace. To be honest, I wanted to, but after the first day messing with the rear, I was whipped and just didn't have it in me. I think you could change it while on the car. The other thing, just thinking while writing this, the knuckle has 5 connection points. The two upper arms, thrust arm, lower control arm and the half shaft. I bet that lower bushing is fine. Still wish I could have changed it tho. The only other bushing i wish I could have changed, would have been the lower shock bushing. The one that's in the end of the shock. But not sure it's a changeable bushing.

Cw

 

And just got notice that the missing half of the rear seat bar bushings, have shipped. I'll tackle that some time. Fronts were super easy.

Cw

 

That's a lot of scrap metal, lol. Kudas to you on your achievement. Got the cost and/or PN breakdown by any chance?

My least favorite job was doing a transmission drain 'n fill + filter in December with wet snow on the ground. On jack stands. I was really questioning my life choices at that point in time and said never again.

 

Great work. Bet it feels like a new truck. How many miles so I can predict how many years away this fun is for me.

 

I am going to give those outer bushings a go as soon as I figure out a way to get my on vehicle bushing press to fit - there is not much space for the press sleeve/guide to fit. At worst I'll break out my air hammer and knock them out. Since doing the rears is such a PITA, this morning I opted to buy new complete strut assemblies from Miessler Automotive in Germany and be completely done with it for peace of mind.

BTW if you happen to somehow mess up the pigtail/plug for the rear ride height leveling sensors, Connector Experts stocks them for $88 (p/n CE6021F)

 

My 09 is at 99k (lived it's first 6 years in Chicago area prior to our ownership and it has seen few salted roads since then and is no longer a winter vehicle) and I am doing the job as CW except I am also replacing the rear strut assys while I have everything apart so I don't have to go back in there again for another 100k mi.

 

Just finished this on my front end. New upper/lower CAs, replaced bent driver side front air strut with salvage unit, new sway links.

I did not escape unscathed… broke bolt off of sway bar, both plastic mounts for the ride level sensors, and the salvage air strut leaks air so I have to go back in again. For the alignment, the subframe had to be loosened - it apparently popped into place and had been all out of shape since the salvage wreck.

seemingly simple job, just lots of fuss removing those ball joints.

and no need to remove the cowl in the front. every bolt head is a non-swivel straight shot with the right extensions, totally doable under the cowl. Bring a small light.

 

Pete, just hit 165k. It really seem to go down hill quickly after about 140k. I really started to notice then. Especially after driving my wife's CD.

 

Pete, just hit 165k. It really seem to go down hill quickly after about 140k. I really started to notice then. Especially after driving my wife's CD.

 

Attached are screen shots of what I purchased. Used these screen shots to make sure I had what I wanted and not duplicating parts.

 

Has anybody tried out these OEM refurbished air struts? $500 for a pair of refurb front seems pretty good… ($1000 for the rear pair)

Rebuild Master Tech

I am trying to sort out if they do the damper oil and internals, in addition to the exposed rubber bits they describe.

 

Doesn't sound like they do the oils and internals

We then make sure the cores are up to par with our standard, this includes but not limited to, shock rebound, alignment, electrical integrity, oil leaks, and more. RMT then tears down the units and replace anything that goes bad, this includes the airbag sleeve, any and all O-rings/ seals, screws, ball joint(s), protective dust boot, aluminum can, and more. All of RMT’s airbag sleeves match or exceed the quality of the original airbag sleeve that was on the OEM strut. Each of RMT’s components are thoroughly inspected before assembly. Every airbag sleeve is crimped in house and tested.