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Porsche Carrera 3.4 996 Suspension refresh

Julian
Thursday, 22 April 2021 / Published in Porsche, Restoration, Suspension

Porsche Carrera 3.4 996 Suspension refresh

Porsche 996 Carrera at Balance Motor Works
Porsche 996 3.4 Carrera 1999

We’ve recently completed a suspension refresh on this rather lovely 1999 3.4 996 Carrera 2. We know these can be tricky as numerous bolts are prone to seizing. What we didn’t expect was how seriously corroded some of the suspension parts were. They were original, and 22 year old nuts and bolts don’t like to come undone. So what should have been a relatively straightforward install, turned into a major fight, and then a minor rust restoration as well!

Take a look at how corroded the front MacPherson Strut is !
New Koni Special Active looks much nicer than the old unit
New Koni Special Active looks much nicer than the old unit
new koni damper rear porsche 996
New Koni Damper on the rear axle

The rear of the car really didn’t want to play ball, every eccentric adjuster was seized in. In order to remove we had to grind off the head of a number of bolts, and then drift the bolt through to remove.

Front Strut Tower

Unfortunately we noticed some corrosion on the front strut tower, the owner wanted us to attend to this which slowed the job down even more. Still when we removed the arch liner and cleaned back it was apparent our actions have probably saved the old girl from expensive repair work further down the line.

Porsche 996 Corrosion under strut towers before cleaning up
Corrosion under strut towers before cleaning up
Rust being cleaned up under strut tower – the area much larger than thought hidden by the arch liner..
front strut tower with second coat of rust encapsulator
Front Strut Tower with second coat of rust encapsulator

The Buzzweld Rust Encapsulator as used on our other chassis restoration projects, actually converts rust underneath. By stabilising corrosion from Fe203 (rust), to magnetite we remove the reactivity of not only the corrosion itself, but we reduce it BELOW that of bare steel. In addition Rust Encapsulator is infused with Glass Flake. Upon application the flake will spread throughout the coating, prior to setting. What you are left with is a coating with evenly spaced toughened glass particles. These increase abrasive resistance and hardness, but they also create a convoluted path through the coating that moisture, and contaminents will have to travel to re activate the corrosion, add to that the corrosion will have been stabilised by the above, and you now have three layers of protection from a single coating.

rear strut tower getting the same treatment
Rear strut tower getting the same treatment

Offside under strut area now looking ready for many more years service.

Then we switched to the other side of the front and it was even worse! I guess this makes sense as this side will seem more water, and particularly more salted water in the winter.

Near side front strut tower underneath worse than the offside
Nearside strut tower cleaned up
Nearside strut tower cleaned up
First Coat of Rust Encapsulator on the nearside - Porsche 996 Restoration
First Coat of Rust Encapsulator on the nearside strut tower
Finished near side Porsche 996 strut tower
Finished near side Porsche 996 strut tower
POrsche 996 rear suspension new "Coffin Arms", new Rear Adjustable Toe Arms and new Koni Special Active Dampers & Eibach
Here is the rear Suspension complete with new “Coffin Arms”, new Rear Adjustable Toe Arms and new Koni Special Active Dampers & Eibach Springs (From Balance Motorsport)

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