zebswiss

2000 Boxster 83k. After searching (without luck) to find a simple, cheap, polyurethane sway bar bushing replacement to firm up my Boxster, I decided to be creative... I measured the bars and bought universal bushings off the shelf with the intent to modify if necessary to make them work... If you ask (Autozone) for bushings for a Porsche they will say "sorry, not available, go to your dealer". So ask them for the I.D. size you want (inner diameter) or for the part numbers below or just go to the shelf and look. Energy suspension has frame mount bushings that will work on Boxsters I know because I just did it. (and 996's since all the part #'s on my Boxster were "996") Here are the Energy Suspension Part #'s: Front- 95156 (1" May have an "R" for red or a "G" for Black at the end of the number)$19 Rear- 9.5123G (19mm) $21.79 with tax Available at Autozone, O'Reilly's - they may have to special order. How to do it: Front- 1. Put the car on a lift or up as high as possible on jack stands- please be safe, I don't want you to get hurt by doing this mod. 2. Pull the front black plastic pan off by removing 4 plastic nuts and 5 or 6 clips (easy) 3. Unbolt the sway bar to "frame" bolts (2 on each side) 4. Bend the metal "strap" down enough to remove the bushings. 4. Pull the bushings and metal brackets off, GREASE the new poly bushings LIBERALLY with your favorite grease, install new bushing and new brackets(included), Note: You will need to add several (4)washers on each bolt to fill the gap so there is not metal to metal contact on top (you'll know what I mean). 5. Start the front bolts first, then use a jack to push "strap" up to compress urethane, then bolt the back bolts on(takes some work, but it doable). 6. Replace plastic pan Rear- Much easier than front. 1. Remove 4 sway bar mount bolts 2. Use the stock Porsche Bracket but replace the old soft rubber bushings with new firm poly bushings - - GREASE THE INSIDE OF BUSHING FIRST OR THEY WILL SQUEAK LIKE CRAZY! 3. I used a flat piece of aluminum (1/4" thick x 1/2"x 1")on each side to fill the rounded space behind the new flat poly bushes 4. The poly bushings are a little bigger, so crank them down until they are snug, but don't torque them too tight as they are aluminum threads. 5. The Polyurethane will spread a little, but if you've greased them well, it's okay. The ride is not sacrificed b/c the up and down movement is stock, only the side to side movement is stabilized. Now go drive, and you'll be shocked how much you've just improved the stability of what was already the best handling car on the road. It's like the car is glued to the road, totally controlled, no more uneven (front to back) lean at all, feels like a German race car. Enjoy, Zebswiss