Don Magee

I think I have a blown out Bilstein Pss-9 on my 993. It has felt as little off lately, and I took a peak underneath her and saw oil leaking around the front passenger side shock(strut). I'm wondering if they are covered under a warranty, or if I should just have it rebuilt. Has anyone had any experience with Bilstein on something like this? Any idea on the turn around time? FYI, I got them from ViperBob back in the day, and I doubt I have any receipt.

ilko

Bilstein rebuilds them. You would need to send it in. 2-3 years ago the wait was significant, hopefully things are much better now.

os993

When mine went out, I was given a good $ option to switch to PSS10. I think Bilsteins were out of of replacement parts. Check that angle out. Good time to upgrade.

levtron

Not to hijack the thread... I have PSS9. one of my adjustment screws on the rear right is VERY hard to turn. IF I jack the car a little and remove the pressure, then it turns much easier.

Other then that, they feel good and seem to work, but just can't adjust them.

Any ideas?

I AX, so would be good to change them for the day, but then soften them up for ride home.

Sorry for the hijack again....

goofballdeluxe

Is ViperBob a certified Bilstein seller? If so, you're good. Just have him print out a duplicate receipt for you; they come with a lifetime warranty for the original owner if sold by a Bilstein approved dealer

kjr914

When I checked about 2 years ago, it was $125/corner for rebuild. (Bilstein rebulding is here in SD...well, Poway) BUT, they didn't have kits in house and had to get them, which could have been months and I seem to recall some pricing increase for that...or maybe for other parts they might need in the rebuild. That's all from memory....and I may have been justifying an upgrade to PSS10 in my head to myself at the time...

Levtron, my PSS9 adjustors just spin all the way around and don't work, so you are ahead of me if yours still do something.

os993

ViperBob.......that brings back good memories. Is he still around this board? Outstanding guy and I also purchased my PSS9 from him and he installed them in his garage. I even got a complimentary lunch included, bbqed by mr Viper himself.

The spinning or non spinning of PSS9s was the downfall of my system. You never knew what the setting was, and if it was frozen, then at what setting was it frozen. PSS10s take care of that.

Don Magee

UPDATE:
After two months of effort, Bilstein shipped me two Pss-9s; however, the shop installing them just called and said the passenger side strut is missing the piece where the brake like attaches. It is not in the box. What should I do? How important is this piece?

Don Magee

Here is a photo.

Mark in Baltimore

How many miles were on your PSS-9s when the problem cropped up? I had them on my old race car before I went to Motons and got the dreaded spinning ****. Couldn't have had more than 2,000 miles on them, if even that much, although most were track miles.

Considering PSS-10s but am dissuaded by the poor reliability of the 9s.

I figure this would be a good data point for people considering these Bilsteins.

How many miles were on your PSS-9s when the problem cropped up?

Keith, how many miles were on your PSS-9s when the problem cropped up?

Oleg, Bob is still around a bit. I bought a shop manual from him that he recently advertised.

How many miles were on your PSS-9s when the problem cropped up? Your experiences echo my feelings.

JasonAndreas

That was known design defect with PSS-9 and (one of) the reason why they completely redesigned the adjuster mechanism for the -10. If you are the original owner they will replace it for free or they would/did when I sent mine in a few years back.

Don Magee

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do with the replacement strut with the missing brake line tab. See posts #8 and #9.

AZ Targa

Can you get the shop to pop off the bracket on the old one and attach it to the new one?

kjr914

Are you really asking how important a piece of the brake system is? Even if its "just" a tab that holds the brake line (from banging around, getting bent and rubbing against things cause premature wear and failure.....)


Call Bilstein and have them send another one. Or get them to upgrade you to PSS-10! Having your shop weld or glue on that piece is a hack. Its a component you just received from the manufacturer, demand it be correct.


Mark,
Mine were on the car when I bought it. But IIRC, they were put on around 70kmi and I bought it at 88kmi. They didn't work hardly at all then...so 18kmi of life The PSS-10 setup appears to be MILES ahead in terms of robustness....Big chunky adjustors. Since I don't have them I can't truly say, but I haven't seen/heard of anyone with PSS10 issues, unlike 9's.

MarinS4

That's BS. It looks to have rusted a bit then got knocked off during service.

That tab is there for a good reason. It supports the hard/soft brake line junction. I would not be comfortable running without it. Vibration will cause the hard line to crack and leak in no time.