Good indie mechanic in Sydney for Boxster 987

[Sabotage]

Hi All,

I hope somebody can help. I am the new owner of a Boxster S 987.1 and currently have it with the official Porsche dealer for it's first general service under my ownership. Anyway, Porsche have told me that the front suspension needs replacing. I don't know much about it, but it says on the report to replace both front radius arms, front bumps stops, top strut mounts and top strut mount bearings and says it will cost just a little under $4K to get done.

They are also replacing the coolant bottle for a little under $2K. I've "authorised" the coolant fix but not the suspension fix, because I'm hoping to take it to a good, trustworthy independent in Sydney to get it sorted. Is this wise?

Thanks.

[Yeatesy]

That’s a nasty surprise 😞 I’d give Autohaus Hamilton a call for a cost comparison. 

[TwoHeadsTas]

31 minutes ago, Sabotage said:

Hi All,

I hope somebody can help. I am the new owner of a Boxster S 987.1 and currently have it with the official Porsche dealer for it's first general service under my ownership. Anyway, Porsche have told me that the front suspension needs replacing. I don't know much about it, but it says on the report to replace both front radius arms, front bumps stops, top strut mounts and top strut mount bearings and says it will cost just a little under $4K to get done.

They are also replacing the coolant bottle for a little under $2K. I've "authorised" the coolant fix but not the suspension fix, because I'm hoping to take it to a good, trustworthy independent in Sydney to get it sorted. Is this wise?

Thanks.

Bugger.  I think PO must have driven it pretty hard, as we didn't experience any of the usual clunking associated with coffin arm problems.  Autohaus have the car details on their books already.  I imagine they will be able to supply OEM parts at cheaper prices than the Porsche badged components.  At the time, the Beru OEM coil packs were about $80/coil cheaper than the Porsche badged item, same part no.

Coolant bottles can be a pain, and the plastic just seems to break down on them.  I replaced the one on my GT3 when I had the engine out because I had one on the shelf (from when I was going to replace it on another car I had) and much easier to do with the engine out, so it was one of those "while I'm at it" items, but $2k, double ouch!!  

[Sabotage]

33 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Bugger.  I think PO must have driven it pretty hard, as we didn't experience any of the usual clunking associated with coffin arm problems.  Autohaus have the car details on their books already.  I imagine they will be able to supply OEM parts at cheaper prices than the Porsche badged components.  At the time, the Beru OEM coil packs were about $80/coil cheaper than the Porsche badged item, same part no.

Coolant bottles can be a pain, and the plastic just seems to break down on them.  I replaced the one on my GT3 when I had the engine out because I had one on the shelf (from when I was going to replace it on another car I had) and much easier to do with the engine out, so it was one of those "while I'm at it" items, but $2k, double ouch!!  

Yep! Couldn't believe it! I could be wrong, but I doubt Porsche would've found it had I not notified them of a possible coolant leak. The mechanic identified it when I had to get a blue slip to change the rego to NSW. Porsche told me they could not find any evidence of a coolant leak at first look and had to use, "soapy water" to find it. The mechanic didn't find any other problems so I was a bit surprised to hear about the front suspension. Thinking about it now, I probably should've told Porsche not to worry about the two thousand dollar coolant bottle and got the suspension fixed.

Thanks Yeatesy and TwoHeads - I have called Autohaus Hamilton to ask for a quote for - I'm guessing - front suspension replacement and we'll see how we go...

[Frank]

I bought my car from Autohaus, they did a little work on it like full service and bump stops etc and were well priced and they know their stuff.

I had it trucked to SA so of no further help than that.

Good luck

[Sabotage]

Okay so I've been talking to Porsche and an indie mechanic. Porsche have said the front suspension has "radius arms" also known as "control arms" that need replacing. The indie I've been talking to wants clarification as to whether they are, "lateral arms" or "coffin arms". Apparently "coffin arms" are significantly more expensive than "lateral arms".

[edgy]

A good little independent shop (especially if you're Sydney south) for service work is Ralph @ RPMS in Arncliffe  

 

[Sabotage]

Thanks Edgy - yes, I've heard god things about Ralph as well.

However, now I'm starting to think whether I should just replace the entire suspension. I've heard the Cayman R suspension is great and should fit the car. Anyone have any opinions on this and where I could get all of the parts from?

[Sabotage]

To add to my last post - not wanting anything super stiff and sporty and for track. Mainly just for weekend street and back road driving. So maybe just a little lower and a little more tuned for performance. My car sits on 19 inch wheels.

[Tips]

Call Dave at East cost suspension in a Taren point. He sets up cars well especially Porsches  and I’m sure would also recommend stock set up for ur type of driving as he did for my 996

[Sabotage]

Thanks Tips - will do.

In the meantime, I contacted Suncoast Porsche in the USA, who seem to do a lot of good retrofits and they have told me that while there is no "official" Porsche sports suspension retrofit for a 987 Boxster, they say that they can sell me the Boxster Spyder suspension. Here is their reply back to me. Pricing seems good too - even though it's US dollars;

Sorry but Porsche doesn't offer a retrofit kit for the Sport suspension on a 987 Boxster.

We used to offer the Boxster Spyder suspension kit as a retrofit, price is 2595.00 plus ship/tax. At the moment some of the component are on backorder so the kit is not on our site.

Here is the description of our product. If you are interested and don't mind to wait around 6-8 weeks for delivery then please let me know and I'll send you a link so you can buy the item.

Description:
This conversion kit comes with shocks and springs from the new Boxster Spyder, an extremely sporty suspension setup. This means stiff, short springs, and four shock absorbers tuned for hard compression and rebound. The body is 20 mm lower at the front and rear axle than that of a standard Boxster S.
Ideal for 2009-2012 Boxster or Boxster S models with standard suspension. Cars with PASM will loose PASM functionality, and will see a minimal drop in ride height.

I'll need to confirm that it will fit a 987.1. What do other members think?