Porsche 986 tie rods and control arms

I'll be replacing the tuning fork control arm and tie rods to to complete the front suspension replacement on my 1999 Porsche Boxster. The coffin control arms that I replaced earlier were made by Sidem. So I tried to find tuning forks made by them, but could not, I used Meyle instead and they seem to work just fine together. The tie rods were manufactured by TRW. I ordered it all parts from autohausaz.com as they had the best price for the quality parts.

[@scottshand8559]

Suspension torques are best applied with weight on wheels, you can emulate this with a jack under the rotor (use a block of wood also) and raise the hub to approximate ride height.

[@silver911100]

Truth

[@RennvisionbyTheKnowledgeGruppe]

You need a 32mm inner tie rod tool. Cheap on Amazon. Never use a pipe wrench for setting torque on the inner tie rod. The clamping force could deform the ball joint socket of the inner tie rod and cause abnormal wear. Using the special tool will allow you to set proper torque based on factory recommendations. You don't want these coming loose going down the road.

[@jdkroh]

pipe wrench was definitely a cringe moment.

[@juliaswati5242]

1-1/4 is the right size for the original inner tie-rods. It's 0.008" smaller than 32mm. There's a reason they don't include the 32mm in those kits -- there's an SAE size that's a snug fit.

[@juliaswati5242]

Thanks for sharing this. I always prefer and try to use water with detergent/soap to clean plastic parts rather than chemicals and sprays. It's both better for the environment, as well as friendlier to the rubber and plastic components.

[@abtappy1190]

Very nice job 👍🏽

[@RockyTopAviator]

Interested in how your test drive went? After replacing my shocks I was able to get most of my steering wheel vibration resolved, there's still a bit of drift/shaking at much greater than normal speeds though. I've questioned if it was the remainder of the parts you've replaced.. Thanks for the video!

[@jasonsporschechannel945]

It wasn't bad. The car was drivable, but the alignment was obviously out. The first thing I did to the suspension was the shocks, and that took most of the shake out of the steering, but every time I change a suspension part I notice a new issue. Which makes sense, because if all the bushings and ball joints are worn then they kinda work together. But when you add a new stiff part into the mix, it enhances the instability of the other old parts. If I ever restore another car, I'll buy all the suspension parts together, install them all, then get an alignment and be done. I appreciate you watching. I'll have another video soon where I do my own alignment.

[@RockyTopAviator]

@@jasonsporschechannel945 I appreciate your willingness to take the time to make the videos. Makes sense on the parts replacement schedule, it's a big bill all at once though, so I understand the stepwise process to solve your problems. Keep up the great work!

[@hello_edu]

Fantastic video thanks for sharing. I own a 986 in need of a suspension update and wonder if I could do it myself. My constraints are lack of mechanical experience and need for a DIY garage for space and tools. How long in total did this update take you?

[@jasonsporschechannel945]

Are you just doing control arms and tie rods on all 4 corners? I would think that you could probably do it in about 6 hours if you had every tool that you needed, and removed the wheels in advance to look it over so you could wrap your mind around what needs to be done. Of course there's always the unseen issues like stuck bolts or hard to remove ball joints. If you had a friend with a garage where it could sit overnight if it had to; that would be ideal. Now, if you're also doing wheel bearings and shocks, it's going to take about twice as long. Don't be discouraged, I believe someone with little mechanical experience could easily do the control arms. The shocks are slightly dangerous because of the springs. Wheel bearings have to have special tools, and are just a bear. But I'm sure you can do all of it. As with everything in life, have fun with it. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for watching.

[@floydautoparts856]

First of all thanks for the great video, you are really cool. I am the sales manager of an adjustable control arm factory in China and I think we can cooperate. What do you think?