987.2 - Front Suspension Clunks

Team 987, I've had my 2010 CS for about a year and it has 49K on the clock. I drive it about 3 times per week from April-October, and rarely drive during the winter months (I live in Chicago). Previous owner put the Cayman R suspension on it, which looks great, and car has always has a stiff ride that I love. I bought the car for limited weekend driving and planned to track it... But haven't gotten around to tracking. I've recently heard some clunking on the front driver's side over bumps. I took it in at the end of March for maintenance and brought it to the attention of my Indy shop (they specialize in Porsche ). I also pointed out that the PSS tires are 4 years old. They took a look at the suspension and tires and everything checks out. I thought they were going to say "yeah, you need new tires and a suspension overhaul and it'll cost you $8K... And we should replace the brakes while you're here" but they didn't. Super straight shop, and I've been there twice since I bought it. I've now been driving it for two months since my last maintenance... And the clunking I hear from the front is annoying me. Car drives great, but I can't stand to hear something and not do anything about it. I'm tempted to take it to the dealer and see what they say, but I've heard horror stories of the "stealership" model. Has anyone experienced this with their suspension, and what trouble shooting did you go through to figure out the problem? Anyone in Chicago with a mechanic to recommend? Another important note is that I'm not a mechanic. Upgrades I can do on my own are limited to the signal indicator swap from orange to clear, and an update to LED interior lighting (check and check). Much appreciated, -JP

I took mine to a dealer once, right after I bought my 07 Cayman back in 2014, and although expensive I was very impressed with the service and would recommend them - Barrington Auto Works. There were several things that concerned me about the car; they checked them out and did not attempt to screw me with unneeded repairs. I have done subsequent maintenance and repairs myself. My experience is that in general you can go to an indy for maintenance things, but for diagnosis of an unknown issue the dealer is the best. That is of course a broad generalization and there are many exceptions both ways.

The clunking sound could be from a worn lower control arm link, or a LCA outer ball joint. If you plan on tracking your car and you get into fixing all the inherant issues of tracking a Cayman , upgrading the oem LCA's to GT3 adjustable ones with internal shims is the way to go. They will increase your track across the car so your wheels will actually look like you have spacers. Besides the added track width, the internal shims will give your front end the camber it needs -2.6, to prevent tire roll over on the outside shoulders. In the rear, the OEM camber adjuster will give you enough camber to prevent outside shoulder wear at -2.1. The actual inner tire wear is minimal with this camber compared to the outside shoulders if you do not have the added camber from the adjustable LCA's just from 1 track day. The toe in front should be "0", while the toe in in the rear should be 12-14 minutes. You might find the Pedro's techno Brace helpful holding your two rear subframes in alignment on threshold braking and turnin at a minimal charge.

usually first is to check the arms and strut/absorbers, mounts. you can also check the strut "absorber" foam which will disintegrate if the absorber is not functioning properly. to thoroughly check the arms, some may need to be removed. see what happened when I got a thunk last time - a refresh of the absorbers was required. https://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-and-boxster-chat/146937-bumpy-journey-changing-absorbers.html btw IMHO, PSS tend to get a little hard with age and lose their "stickiness"

The upper strut mount is a likely culprit. It's pretty quick to pull a front strut to inspect the mount. If your shop did even a half way decent inspection that would have caught the LCA/TA bushing and sway bar drop links and bushing if those were an issue.

Basic question, but there's nothing loose and bouncing around in the frunk, is there? Like in the toolkit area or something? I've had a few "suspension clunks" over the years that turned out to have much simpler explanations after investigation. Hell, I chased a "suspension clunk" on my wife's car for two years that turned out to be the sunroof, lol. Sounds can fool you.

+1 on the upper strut mount. There is a bearing plate in the upper mount that swivels slightly. This is the most likely source.

I have the original poster's same story... Clunking over turns , some moans and groans. Took it to the dealer they found nothing. Fast forward to the 40K checkup where they found the power steering fluid was low... Surprise, surprise - the noices are all gone. It sucks that you really can't check it yourself...

You definitely can check the power steering fluid level yourself. It does require that you remove the engine cover, but this is fairly easy if you have some mechanical skills. The reservoir is in the front left corner of the engine compartment. Be sure to use the correct fluid (Pentosin CHF 202) and add just a little bit at a time.

I took my CS into my independent for some new tires ( Pilot Sport 4S) and had them do a thorough review of the front suspension and a check of the steering fluid. Steering fluid was low, although no signs of leaks. Turns out the front LCAs were the culprit of the clunks. A few tweaks and my car drives better than ever. Thanks to all the posters for their suggestions. Cheers, JP

Subscribing to read later as I have the same issue that I haven't got round to looking into!

A common source of clunking are worn control arms links for both the front and rear suspension. You will hear a metallic knock over most bumps (not all, some bumps elicit a larger response than others) and some turns. The rear arm is also referred to as a track arm. They look like a tuning fork, with a ball joint at one end and a fork on the other. The rear is much longer than the front. The fork end bolts to the middle of the lower control arm, and the ball end to the frame. These arms keep the lower control arm from moving forward of backward. The ball joint is not replaceable to rebuild-able, so you have to replace the entire arm. You can buy the Porsche labeled parts for $$$ or the same arm from the same manufacturer without the P name on it for much less. That is the route I went. Occasionally you will see them on sale on Amazon for a seriously good price (I got a TRW rear are for $50!!!). More run about $120-$200 depending on where you buy them. TRW is allegedly an OEM for the part. Meyle is also recommended. The arms are very DIY-able if you are handy, especially if you have access to a lift. Just a few screws to get some paneling out of the way and 2 bolts for each arm. Takes a couple hours and way cheaper than the dealer. No more clunks for me!

987 box S I have a question for you all. I have owned my 987 for 6 years at this point and recently have noticed a strange sound which is difficult to track. It goes as follows immediately just after releasing the clutch and the car moves I get a slight squeak/ chirp this is the same in both forward and reverse however ... it cannot be heard when the engine is off I have tried without actuating the brakes and have the same noise however with engine off letting it go down hill of its on weight no noise - forward and reverse pushing the car with engines off - no noise engine on pushing the car can hear the noise just after approx 1/2 wheel rotation no activation of the brakes beforehand spinning the wheel on stands each corner no noise bouncing suspension no noise tried pulling the handbrake up a few notches and still get the noise tried moving off with brakes gently applied same noisw which can faintly be heard over the brake Wheels are solid when rocking in all directions by hand checked all the rubbers, basically all joints and suspension / sway bushes are newly replaced / stock PASM - had the issue before this work anyway all torqued time spec double and triple checked the noise seems to come from the passenger side and is more noticeable when your sitting in the drivers seat bugs the life out of me

Could be your front thrust link. Not sure if you can put enough force to move it with you hand. Link goes to the front frame from the center of the LCA. Could be either of the attachment points .

Definitely not the tuning forks, these were changed less than 100 miles ago

This is also a single squeak and never returns at speeds over driveway speed

since it only happens when you move off and with the engine on, you may want to have a look at the drive train instead e.g drive shaft, or transmission/engine mounts? how old is the clutch?

Changed both transmission mounts less than 100 miles ago i just changed the shaft boots but I will have a listen to see if it is these

Well, it turned out my 'same issue' as OP was actually the 'trunk clunk'. The rear hatch was clunking over bumps. I only realised when my OH was driving and it sounded completely different from the passenger seat

Mine was a rear passenger side top hat rubber bearing coming off the metal hat allowing metal to metal contact.

Replaced every suspension component Engine /trans mounts Springs and all arms Rotors front and pads Rear pads

oh my... where was the problem traced to? or is it still driving you bonkers?

Problem is still there steering rack bolts tightened Filled with steering fluid Can’t think what else it could be

Did you change the front motor mount? That one will allow some rotation.

@Tperry1 hasn't been here in 3+ years.. just FYI..

Resurrecting dead threads ….. a specialty.