Low speed clunk

Hi Im new here and was wondering if i could pick your brains people. Ive done a search on what im experiencing only to get mixed results.. Ive had the car a few months now and over the past few weeks when pulling into my drive (slight kerb) i get a knocking from the front left (uk passenger side). Ive noticed it a few times at low speeds. Now im mechanically minded and have access to a ramp so i had the car in and checked all the bushes and all looked spot on with good resistance. On the search ive seen that the fault could indeed be the Top suspension mounts/bushes. However before i go ahed and order a pair of these i wanted some input from fellow enthusiasts . Also if it is indeed the top mounts could this cause the the steering to feel fague at any point or could it push the alignment out? I know id have to get it re aligned after stripping the shocks but im not sure if im feeling a slight vagueness from the front left side (or it could be in my head as ive heard the clunk :hilarious . Thanks in advance for your help and i look forward to your answers.

Welcome to the site. You will find a lot of good information, helpful people, and very few a**holes. There is a 'known' issue with Cayman 's in full steering lock at low speeds making a pop or clunk feel in the steering, especially when cold. Very uncomfortable feeling in your stomach as it seems like something is wrong - makes me cringe thinking of needing to make a very tight turn under power. If you are turning into your drive from the street perhaps that is the issue. I don't know anything about dampers and struts so I won't venture any advice Good luck and enjoy your car!

I felt that too and thought I hit the kerb with the wheel. Later I found on this site that it's a known issue when backing up with wheels at full steering lock. No worries there. Enjoy the car

Have you tried pulling into your drive from either direction to determine whether or not it is just one side? If it is both then it is the known condition as noted by other folks. If it is just one side then you might want to have it checked.

Thanks for the reply guys but its not the full lock issue that you speak of and what ive seen in the searches. Its a knocking sound coming from a suspension component im sure of it as its a higher pitches knock rather than a full lock clunk (if that makes sense). I think im going to order a top suspension mount and bearing and replace them. Ill keep you posted on how i get on

I have the same issue... please let me know if you find the problem :cheers:

Will Do :burnout: Ive decided to order the Powerflex lower arm bushes also, suppose it will be a good time to do it as mine is 5 years old in March and OE bushes will be a llot softer than when they were new. Will keep you all posted

Just to add that I have noticed this too with the full-lock. I expected this type of movement in my 245,000mi Camaro, but not my 22,000mi Cayman . Glad to hear it's not a real problem.

I have a friend with a 2005 boxster , and he had a cracked spring. That could cause such a sound. PiperBoxster - Porsche Boxster suspension details

Having spoken to a few 996 owners (share the same Top mounts) these are prone for weakening and splitting but are hard to see without stripping. New mounts and Powerflex lower arm bushes will arrive tomorrow so ill let you know how i get on.

Update: Replaced top mounts and bearings (easy job to tackle).. Went to fit the Powerflex bushes to the lower arms only to find the bushes only fit the rear arms not the front. Suffice to say took it for a spin and when pulling on the drive... clunk!! I think ill replace the link arms now and see if this does the job. Suppose ill have to get the aligment set up again. Does anyone have the settings for a CS with PASM and 19's??

Thanks for the update :cheers: Too bad they were the wrong ones. Sorry, don't know the settings you are looking for.

Check the sway bar links, both the top and bottom ends to make sure the nuts are tight. Sometimes they can come loose on their own (usually it's the bottom end). Although, when one comes loose, it usually sounds like a rattle rather than a clunk. Speaking of sway bars, does your car have its original bars, or have they been replaced with aftermarket bars? Sometimes, if the front bar isn't installed correctly, the plastic hook that holds down the coolant pipes over the front cross member can break, giving a thump/clunk sound over small bumps.

Thanks Bill, sway bars are next i think. We did a suick spanner check of what we could see yest and everything was as it should be. The noise is only there when turning, i heard it at speed this morning whilst taking a corner about 25mph there was a small crack in the road i hit and it knocked then. Do these suffer from shocks failing? Mine has PASM

I don't have PASM on my car but still have this issue if that helps. Also, I was talking to a local mechanic and he said that it was the high pressure steering pump lines hitting the frame in-between two mounts that hold it secure. He said Porsche knows about it and has no fix?? Not sure if this is the same issue or not.... He is positive that's what I'm hearing. One thing to check... while sitting in your car with it on, turn the wheel quickly and see if you can replicate the noise.

If the noise is coming from the steering rack hitting something or moving, you should climb underneath and make sure the mounting bolts are tight. The rack is held onto the front subframe with two bolts in the crosswise part (the subframe looks like an "H", and the rack attaches to the horizontal part of the "H"). You'll need to remove the plastic undertray to get to the bolts. The suggestion to try to replicate the noise by moving the steering wheel back-and-forth quickly while sitting still is a good suggestion. If the clunk recurs, it's probably a loose rack.

Just tried locking the wheel side to side as fasst as poss and no noise. My next port of call (as ive now realised the noise is there from both sides) is anti roll bar bushes and a pair of link arms (sway bars) to see if this will resolve it. Ill also do a total spanner check when its up on the ramp. I know im being fussy as its only over low speed bumps etc but its driving me up the wall. If i cant locate it after replacing the above its off into a Dealer so they can locate it.

Glad I found this one. Just got car out from a full end to end service and dealer didn't "find" this problem but for sure know what you are speaking of, got it. Even been talking with pal that was a dealer tech for 30+ years but left about time 911s went water cooled. Was thinking stuck brake pad but guess not. Porsches all seem to have their little "issues" and we live with them. Versus some other cars in earlier days this one isn't all that big a deal.

Rob, I believe I have the exact issue. All other typical responses from hoses banging around to "that's nothing" is driving me up the wall. Will you please notify me if you found an exact problem area that made the clunking stop? Mine is on the passenger side of the car and can always hear it when the front passenger tire is directed over a manhole. Will not do it when the drivers side goes over the same bump. I can actually feel it in the steering wheel and the accelerator pedal. To me it's clear it's related to the suspension/sway bar. Porsche tech couldn't find any bad/loose connections anywhere on the front end. Any info much appreciated! Tyler

have you had a look at the struts (absorbers) or the top mount & bearings?

Top mounts were going to be my next port of call but no noise or sign of any issues. I rotated the struts by hand when I had the the inner and outer track rods off (one of which did have some play in but didn’t solve the problem) to see if the bearings were knackered but felt okay, granted this might be a different story under the weight of the car... was thinking I might do antiroll bar bushes and drop links since they’re reasonably cheap just to rule these out before I get into top mounts and all the bits to go with them.

the ARB bushes should be quite fast replacement and for elimination troubleshooting, you can remove one end of the drop links and taking that corner.

Any update on this? Sounds like I have the same thing. Drivers side (UK) I get a bit of a knock as soon as I touch a low speed pothole/small bump. I just had the boot hatch and damper off and adjusted bump stops and alignment incase it was that (as it's hard to tell where a noise is coming from sometimes) but I'm still getting it. I had a quick look at the suspension and all seemed OK, but not a thorough investigation. Not keen on replacing all the bushings and getting another alignment done as I'm not going to keep the car for much longer, but would like it to be fixed!

I had a similar issue that turned out to be the front track arms, also known as tuning forks. These are the ones that go diagonally from roughly the middle of the lower control arm to a ball joint connected to the body of the car in front of the axle. The ball joints were bad on mine. 99734104300 is the part number needed.

Replaced the top mounts recently as one had a little bit of a knock- still had the low-speed clunking though. I also replaced the tuning forks this morning as feeshta suggested (easy job, with a bit of help from a blowtorch on the main nut it took no time at all) and it's completely fixed the noises. The tuning forks have a ball joint on their front end which wears and then clunks. It's really hard to identify play from this part when inspecting the car- all seemed good and tight on inspection.