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YOUR RESEARCHNew trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Leading reported evidence
Install ones (trws)
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I've now installed new ones (TRWs), but I'm still hearing the clunk.
New trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Leading evidence: 'Install ones (trws)' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Install ones (trws)' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I replaced the drop links at the same time I replaced the trailing arms.
New trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace trailing arms
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I replaced the drop links at the same time I replaced the trailing arms.
New trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Repair —during disassembly of the spoiler
Suggestion or failed attempt
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Discussions that contain suggestions
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Suggestion · Original poster
Maybe it was a shoddy repair—during disassembly of the spoiler to get the bumper off, I noticed two of the three rivets that hold the spoiler trim had their centers knocked out already.
New trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Repair —during disassembly of the spoiler
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
Maybe it was a shoddy repair—during disassembly of the spoiler to get the bumper off, I noticed two of the three rivets that hold the spoiler trim had their centers knocked out already.
New trailing arms didn't fix rear clunk - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Coverage and how to read this overview
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
7 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261027T084359Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I have a new to me '99 Boxster. 85k miles. The car is clunking in the rear at low speed over bumps. Reading old forum posts, it looked to be a classic symptom of worn trailing arms. I've now installed new ones (TRWs), but I'm still hearing the clunk. It may be a tiny bit better than it was before.
What should I check out next? To my knowledge, all the suspension is original.
Thanks for your help!
P.S. I don't know if this is related to problem, but the left arm was a lot more difficult to install than the right. My procedure was to screw the front bolt to the chassis and do the coffin arm bolt last. On the left side, the trailing arm did not line up well with the control arm—it was about 1/8 to 1/4 inch too short and required a bit of force to push the control arm and trailing arm toward each other to get bolt through the hole. The right side needed some nudging, but very little and was pretty easy to do. I don't know if this means anything.
IIRC mine was the same way. And, like you, the sound got better but didn't go away. Pretty sure my struts are shot. I replaced the drop links at the same time I replaced the trailing arms. Sway bar bushings are on my list to replace as well.
Glad I'm not the only one, Radman!
I examined the sway bar bushings and links and with a pry bar I've not detected any play. How can I examine the rear struts? Which part of it would cause a clunk?
I haven't discovered it yet lol! I could tell a strut was bad when it was on a lift as the wheel/tire was pretty easy to move. I'm also guessing the mounting plate at the top could be bad/loose.
Well I believe I figured it out. I was smacking the trailing arm with my palm, seeing if I could get that to rattle, but I heard a rattle toward the bumper. Eventually I found that one of the bumperettes could be wiggled up and down. The bumperettes bolt to a reinforcement bar behind the bumper. I took the bumper off and, sure enough, the two bolts that attach the reinforcement to the frame were loose.
I have no idea how they got loose loose. Kind of disturbing, actually. Maybe it was a shoddy repair—during disassembly of the spoiler to get the bumper off, I noticed two of the three rivets that hold the spoiler trim had their centers knocked out already.
So it looks like I didn't need to do the trailing arms, but seeing how common an issue it is, it may have been inevitable.
I hope this helps someone!
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