I bought my 2004 Boxster S around a year and a half ago and have just recently joined R18. Hopefully I will get to meet some fellow members when I find the time to get to my first R18 meet.
I though for my first post on this forum that I would share my recent not-so-pleasant experience of changing all four anti roll bar drop links.
When I bought my Boxster it soon became apparent that there was a slight clunking or knocking sound when driving at low speed on uneven road surfaces - those painted rumble strips being truly horrible sounding. Having the M030 suspension package, which is already pretty unforgiving of bad surfaces, combined with 18 inch rims made for a pretty noisy ride. Last year I decided to replace the anti roll bar bushes, hoping that this would cure the noises. It did improve things a bit but the problem was still there. I decided to try replacing the drop links as, having done these before on other cars, I knew it was a pretty simple and easy job. Wrong.
Those who haven't yet had the fun of doing this job might like to know of the unexpected pitfalls that may await them. The drop links on most cars have a small (about an inch) thread at each end - one goes into the end of the anti roll bar, the other into a bracket mounted on the suspension strut. It's a fairly simple job of persuading the old nuts off and they just come out. On the Boxster, however, one end of the link has about four inches of bar that goes right through the strut and hub, holding it all together. This is where the problems begin.
Unfortunately, after being on the car for many years (probably since new) they are a real pig to get out! The first (n/s front) one came out with a bit of gentle persuasion from a rubber mallet and piece of wood but the o/s one was to firmly hold its ground for the next two hours. With limited room to bash it with a lump hammer it was a real battle to get the stupid thing out but, after lots of swearing and grazed knuckles, it eventually yielded and was out. Not surprisingly the rear o/s was just as stubborn, taking three hours to evict, due to even less space for a good hammer swing and the proximity of the brake lines.
I reluctantly decided to attempt the final one vowing that I would leave it until the following evening if it looked like another fight was in order. To my surprise it moved fairly easily, only taking half an hour before victory was mine. After nine hours of frustration, blisters and grazes the job was done. I even managed to summon the enthusiasm to take the car for a test drive to see if the clunks had gone. Success! It is a transformed ride. The rattles and knocks are no more making the job well worth doing - I just don't ever want to do it again.
Next on the list: Front engine mount...
Andy
I though for my first post on this forum that I would share my recent not-so-pleasant experience of changing all four anti roll bar drop links.
When I bought my Boxster it soon became apparent that there was a slight clunking or knocking sound when driving at low speed on uneven road surfaces - those painted rumble strips being truly horrible sounding. Having the M030 suspension package, which is already pretty unforgiving of bad surfaces, combined with 18 inch rims made for a pretty noisy ride. Last year I decided to replace the anti roll bar bushes, hoping that this would cure the noises. It did improve things a bit but the problem was still there. I decided to try replacing the drop links as, having done these before on other cars, I knew it was a pretty simple and easy job. Wrong.
Those who haven't yet had the fun of doing this job might like to know of the unexpected pitfalls that may await them. The drop links on most cars have a small (about an inch) thread at each end - one goes into the end of the anti roll bar, the other into a bracket mounted on the suspension strut. It's a fairly simple job of persuading the old nuts off and they just come out. On the Boxster, however, one end of the link has about four inches of bar that goes right through the strut and hub, holding it all together. This is where the problems begin.
Unfortunately, after being on the car for many years (probably since new) they are a real pig to get out! The first (n/s front) one came out with a bit of gentle persuasion from a rubber mallet and piece of wood but the o/s one was to firmly hold its ground for the next two hours. With limited room to bash it with a lump hammer it was a real battle to get the stupid thing out but, after lots of swearing and grazed knuckles, it eventually yielded and was out. Not surprisingly the rear o/s was just as stubborn, taking three hours to evict, due to even less space for a good hammer swing and the proximity of the brake lines.
I reluctantly decided to attempt the final one vowing that I would leave it until the following evening if it looked like another fight was in order. To my surprise it moved fairly easily, only taking half an hour before victory was mine. After nine hours of frustration, blisters and grazes the job was done. I even managed to summon the enthusiasm to take the car for a test drive to see if the clunks had gone. Success! It is a transformed ride. The rattles and knocks are no more making the job well worth doing - I just don't ever want to do it again.
Next on the list: Front engine mount...
Andy
