996 C2 Suspension Upgrade

Knocking out a little suspension upgrade on a 996C2 this week. We are installing Bilstein HD shocks/struts with Eibach lowering springs, which will give the car a little lower stance, and a firmer ride which will help in the corners. We got tied up slightly due to not having new bump stops/bellows for the fronts, so that has set us back slightly.

Old front struts and springs

Old rear struts and springs.

After a little work, we have one rear strut out of the car and assembled, ready for re installation.

And the rear struts up in place. It takes some ingenuity to get the rear suspension down far enough to get the struts back in place. When you remove them, the rear carriers rises up under pressure about 4-5 inches.

Going after the fronts. Removing the front tie rod end gives better access to the lower ball joint. Once I got the front struts out, I realized that we didn’t have front replacement bump stops and bellows. At 70k miles, the original ones had fallen apart and needed to be replaced. I should have those in a few days.

In the meantime, the customer wanted me to install the LN Engineering oil filter adapter. The idea is that it eliminates the canister filter which some people have complained about stripping the plastic housing, etc. They also claim some increased filtering with a standard NAPA filter. In my experience, I have never stripped or ruined or seen a ruined filter canister housing. IMHO, that likely occurs from trying to remove it with the improper tool. But to each his own. The downside of a metal filter is that you can not cut them open to inspect easily like you can the paper filters (which I recommend every oil change).

Old plastic canister housing.

And the new adapter and metal filter installed. Stay tuned.

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