Car just failed a MOT. Question regarding alittle DIY.....

[MPowerMark]

Hello all,

Unfortunatly my car failed a MOT today. The car in question is a 987 Porsche Boxster S. It failed for having a front shock absorber heavily leaking and a part missing off the near side front coil spring.

So i need to replace the coil spring (apparently they come in pairs so i will do the two fronts) and i need a new shock absorber.
Are these simple DIY jobs? the shock absorber looks simplew enough and as i was able to change the discs and pads etc before myself i fancy a go at this. The coil springs however i'm not so confident about. Anyone have any tips on replacing shock absorbers and also coil springs?

Oh and also my handbrake wasn't operating too well. the handbrake drum on one side was replaced about a year ago but i'm wondering can the cable become alittle slack? can it just be adjusted so when then handbrake is pulled the brake pad grips the brake drum tighter? if so where is thios adjustment made?


I know i have asked quiote abit here but any help would really be appriciated. If i can save in labour and vat and just pay for parts i could do all this for around £350 which would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[MilleniumFalcon]

Good how-to guide here:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_T...

[MPowerMark]

Any tips compressing the spring or do i need to buy some sort of clamp to compress it?

[dvance]

Don't you need like a proper rig to compress the spring to fit it over the shock or is there a DIY equivalent?

EDIT: Wow those were two quick replies before I pressed Submit

[UpTheIron]

doogz said:

You need to buy some spring compressors.

Just make sure you're using them properly, from experience, if a compressor slips off a loaded spring, the spring can travel rather far!

And you do not want to be in the way of it if it does...

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

You need to be able to undo the bolt at the top of the shock absorber in order to remove the spring.
They usually have an Allen key and bolt arrangement at the top. The Allen key stops the shock absorber shaft from turning while you undo the bolt.
You might wanna make sure you can loosen (but don't remove!) that bolt before getting stuck in.
Then it's just a case of removing the strut, compressing the spring and separating the two parts. The spring is like a bomb waiting to go off so be sure to use some good quality compressors!
(The above assumes a MacPherson strut?)

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

I've seen a pic somewhere of a guy using lots of plastic cable ties to compress a spring.

I wouldn't recommend it.

[R11ysf]

Whilst working on a head on the kitchen table a valve spring compressor slipped and the valve spring put a hole in the kitchen roof (not to my mother's amusement ) That would have blinded me when that went and road springs are probably 10 times bigger with more force.

As mentioned above good QUALITY compressors are really worth the money.

[gareth.e]

I attempted to use spring clamps but failed misserable tbh.. (I thought they were fking terrible, felt like it was just a massive ballache to get them in postion and clamp them down.. I struggled to even get them up round the springs as they just didnt 'fit' maybe I bought st ones or have an akward car?)

couldnt be fked so ended up putting it all back together and handing it over to a garage.. Who then fked it up aswell! They didnt even bother to put all the washers, the protective damper cover, etc or even my fking strut bar back on for fk sake!

So I made them take it back and do it again properly. s.

[Kentish]

UpTheIron said:

doogz said:

You need to buy some spring compressors.

Just make sure you're using them properly, from experience, if a compressor slips off a loaded spring, the spring can travel rather far!

And you do not want to be in the way of it if it does...

They have been known to take a mans head clean off!

[MPowerMark]

Ok, i'm getting images of being launched to the moon on the back of a string hanging on for dear life. I think i might give this DIY effort a miss.

[944fan]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

I've seen a pic somewhere of a guy using lots of plastic cable ties to compress a spring.

I wouldn't recommend it.

Hmmmm.....

That must be one very strong person and one very strong set of cable ties. Or it's complete bks.

[944fan]

Kentish said:

They have been known to take a mans head clean off!

Your thinking of a 44 Magnum, and you watched Dirty Harry the other night!

[PigFilth]

I've done springs on a couple of Mk2 Escorts in the past - taken the strut off and then laid it flat on the ground and avoided being at either end of it while I used the spring compressors, but I suppose there's every chance of getting injured however you do it.

Don't buy cheapy tools though, if it gives way and you get hit it can be fatal.

To be honest these days I'd rather pay someone to do it for me.

[HellDiver]

Don't struggle with the spring compressors when the spring/damper is under the arch. Unbolt the top mount and the bottom of the strut, take the whole spring/damper assy out and then work at it.

[Caulkhead]

Can I suggest you take this opportunity to fit four new springs and dampers? If you've done over 50,000 miles a car like a Boxster will benefit from new suspension anyway and it won't be quite the same having a mix of old and new stuff under such a fine handling car.

[MPowerMark]

Any tips regarding the handbrake being alittle weak? can the tension on the handbrake cable be adjusted at all? like i said, parts for one handbrake drum were replaced only a year ago So i don't think its a wear and tear issue?

[Faust66]

Yep, you certainly need to be careful when using spring compressors.

I was putting Spax adjustables on my car a while back… my neighbour said I could use his compressors. Unfortunately they were rather cheap and/or knackered and one slipped off whilst I had the spring under full compression.

The spring JUST missed me (I had the strut under my arm whilst undoing the top spring retaining mount). The damn thing ended up 30 odd yards down the road!

I politely handed him his tools back and bought a pair of decent units with ‘feet’ that hook over the spring to stop ‘em slipping off. Think they’re made by Sealey and they’re pretty good.

The moral of the story is; don’t use cheap tools that are past their best… It could well cost you a lot more than money.

OP: don't be scared by these stories - if you buy quality kit and take your time, you'll be fine. Plus you'll have saved yourself some cash AND have the satisfaction of working on your own car.

[TonyRPH]

You should always replace dampers in pairs, especially on a performance car.

You should even consider replacing both front springs as well, to maintain the balance of the car.

The 'good' spring will almost certainly be weaker than the new one.

ETA: re-reading your post I note that the springs are supplied in pairs anyway.

All the more reason to do both dampers as well...

[caziques]

Faust66 said:

I was putting Spax adjustables on my car a while back…

Hopefully Spax (are they really still in business) are now using rubber for the bushes rather than the reconstituted cowst previously specified.

Also don't forget that they shouldn't be adjusted, again unless something has changed they only have one valve which adjusts the bounce and the rebound together. Set them hard and they push you off the road on a bumpy corner (the bounce should always be soft).