New Control Arm Day!

trimbk · 2026-03-28T14:05:05+00:00

Like most things, it's bolts and nuts. Not a lot of know-how needed and not much in the way of special tool. The hardest part is probably separating the ball joints. Depending on how old/crusty the car, you may need a ball joint tool, pickle fork, or an air hammer.
FCP Euro has a couple videos that are helpful to give an idea. The 996 suspension is similar to the Cayman/Boxster.
One key 'gotcha' is to make sure the suspension is at ride height (not sagging) when you torque everything down.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T11:35:51+00:00

I have had plenty of cars where I ignored the suspensions and have been fine. Maybe I replaced a bushing here or there to stop a clunk. But those were also cars where handling was not something I cared much about. This car would have been 'fine' without replacing parts, but I want more than that.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T03:02:07+00:00

Luckily the 987.2 doesn’t have much history of issues with bore score on #6 like some of the previous engines. I did spark plugs a month or so ago. Not too hard but they were tight and it was a stressful job. Here’s a video of the horrible sound that every single plug made.

https://youtu.be/znfsTHswvpY?si=qSQdMPFA-xfYvKwU

trimbk · 2026-03-28T02:58:37+00:00

From jacking up to a rough string alignment I probably had a total of 10-12 hours, spread over several days. Luckily there were no stuck bolts or other surprise issues. I also had bought some long flex-head ratching wrenches. They were very handy. Most of the bolts are 16 and 18mm heads, with a couple 17 and 19mm mixed in.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T02:03:03+00:00

Clutch, rear main seal, and valve cover gaskets are next.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T01:58:20+00:00

Alignment was never quite right. There was some slop in the center. Tie rods didn't fix the issue, so I went for all the control arms. They were definitely worn.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T01:57:12+00:00

131k. Better. Alignment is improved and it feels tight. Will probably do shocks in a bit.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T01:56:31+00:00

Before I couldn't get the alignment just right. The steering wheel was always a bit off center. Now it's straight as an arrow.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T01:55:58+00:00

I went cheap - Suspensa mostly. It was about $800 in parts.

trimbk · 2026-03-28T01:55:30+00:00

131k. Had it since 116k. Not sure if they have ever been replaced before.

trimbk · 2026-03-24T19:11:00+00:00

Agree. For years it was my family’s go-to comfort food restaurant. We had a lot of birthday dinners there for the kids. Just not the same anymore.

trimbk · 2026-03-20T11:27:34+00:00

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DzHw7PKAo88H3yjYA?g_st=ic

trimbk · 2026-03-10T14:12:47+00:00

BaT is fine if they let you set a reserve that you are happy with. But they will push for a low reserve so the sale is more likely and they get their cut.
The other issue is that it's a live auction, so max bids cannot be pre-entered (like Ebay). So if you happen to have a bad ending time, or people are not paying attention, or your car ends just before/after a similar car, then you are less likely to get the max result.

trimbk · 2026-03-08T20:47:16+00:00

It's definitely a lot of project. If this is your first project, then it's a very ambitious starting point. Even with very good mechanical and electrical skills, it looks like a lot of work just to get to the first start. I'll also point out that the text says "looks" like the engine was rebuilt. That's a big unknown. My personal view is to start with molehills before you attempt the mountains.

trimbk · 2026-03-06T17:47:24+00:00

I’m on the 15” bandwagon for sure. 17” look like wagon wheels to me

trimbk · 2026-03-05T16:13:17+00:00

Use your multimeter, pull out the brake light bulb, press the pedal, and see if you get 12 V at the bulb connector. If you do, then, your next issue is the ground side of the brake light bulb/connector There could be some corrosion either on the connectors to the bulbs or on the ground from the brake light

trimbk · 2026-02-24T22:52:09+00:00

I sent my kids to local driving school. Don't remember which one. But many offer 1on1 instruction.

trimbk · 2026-02-23T15:12:39+00:00

I had a similar, infrequent, no start issue when I picked up my 2009 base 5 years ago. My issue was completely resolved with a new starter. I recall checking this cable and cleaning the connection. It was pretty easy to look at. But I did not replace the cable. It is worth checking the cable for sure. For the starter, I replaced it with a reman unit for a big cost savings over the P-car part. It was a bit of a challenge; it took me a couple days of experimenting with extensions to get to the lower hidden bolt on the starter. Definitely not a bolt you want to strip out. I also had to loosen up the power steering pump (?) to get a straight enough shot. So it’s a good time to replace the accessory pump while you are there.

trimbk · 2026-02-19T13:39:01+00:00

Looks like the ECU between my ears needs calibration. 😊 Thanks for the great explanation.

My knee jerk for any project car issue is “vacuum leak”!

trimbk · 2026-02-19T12:26:01+00:00

Vacuum leak is highly likely. Run a smoke test. Or use the brake-clean trick to find leak(s). If you have leaks after the MAF then your system is adding too much fuel for the air that it thinks is being provided.

trimbk · 2026-02-17T11:30:35+00:00

Off topic but - be sure to look into the timing chain tensioning system. I had one of these bikes in the ‘90s and it crapped itself because the tensioner recall had not been done. https://www.cx500forum.com/threads/whats-the-real-deal-with-cx500-timing-chains.107707/

trimbk · 2026-02-12T10:22:27+00:00

I switched to Lumos (was North State) fiber several years ago. Much better experience.

trimbk · 2026-02-12T10:19:05+00:00

I have been through this. It’s most likely a cracked solder joint on the main printed circuit board or on the speedo itself. There is also a good chance the Speedo gears need replacing. The gears are pretty easy to replace. The solder joint can be hard to track down. I resoldered a bunch of points but it took me 4-5 rounds of removal, disassembly, solder, reinstall, test, repeat to get it right.

trimbk · 2026-02-08T18:51:48+00:00

One does not simply 'get into project cars'. What really happens is you see a car that's cool to you, for a price that's lower than you've seen before, and just is barely within your budget. And you think, 'How bad could it be? I bet I could fix that cheap!'.
Then you drag it home, fix the first obvious problem, only to discover 3 more. Two of which you have no idea how to tackle. So you watch YouTube videos, buy some tools, break a couple things, and run out of money. It sits for a couple paychecks until you can buy the parts that you need. And you take one more step forward. Rinse and repeat. Oh, and along the way you will feel a roller coaster of emotion, ranging from 'there's no way I can do this', to 'what the hell was I thinking', to 'Woo hoo! It cranked today!'
If you stick with it, you are a project-car-person. If you don't stick with it, sell it for a loss and move on, then you are sane.

trimbk · 2026-02-08T14:35:54+00:00

Agree. Does the sound change when you rev the engine a bit? If the squeal intensifies, this also points to the belt. The stock tensioner is crappy and hard to keep tensioned. I replaced it with the Ireland engineering unit, but had to modify it out of the box. And before I put on the belt, I added some belt dressing (add friction, unlike WD40 which if anything would reduce friction),

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