Clunking/clacking on front suspension of C4 -PROBLEM SOLVED

Recently I have developed a clunking, really more of a clacking on the front drivers side of my C4. It is a fairly sharp clack when I go over some bumps, not all bumps just the sharp ones. I put on PSS10's a couple of years ago but this has only started recently and seems to be getting more pronounced. I put the front up on jack stands and took both wheels off to check for loose bolts, ball joints, etc. Nothing seems loose on the struts (at first I thought it might be the nuts/bolts at the top of the struts) or the controls arms. I used a jack to raise the suspension to see if this made any difference but it did not seem to. I am going to take off the under pans to look at all the suspension members and the mounts for the differential, the steering, braces, etc. in case anything has loosened up. I am thinking that a bushing or something may be worn out. May have to take out the strut to see what is going on but thought I would ask if anyone had any ideas as to what it could be.

I have a stock 2003 C4 suspension but have been having noises of late. What kind of bumps? I get clanking over bigger bots dots(reflectors) for instance at sub 30 mph speeds. Also notice it over broken pavement. Always lower speeds when I notice it.

Maybe something related to the brakes? pads? Any suspension clanking or clunking that I've experienced has been brake pads or end links for the sway bar. There is a possibility that is could be the balljoints or tie rods too. It is really hard to replicate suspension noise that occur while you are driving and WOW (weight on wheels).

Well I found the source of the noise in my front suspension. Last week end I took the strut out, and with a C4 you have to separate a couple of the ball joints. But in checking the control arms, etc. I did not find anything loose. I had bought a set of thrust washers from Swift Performance thinking it might be the springs twisting, and when I disassembled the drivers side strut look what I found, the center of the strut mount on the drivers side is set in rubber and had come completely loose. I'm thinking this could be the source of the sound I have not taken apart the other strut yet, but ordered replacements for both sides of the front. With a C4 the mounts list for $237@ but I got them from Sunset for only $145@ and they had them in stock, everyone else I checked had to order them from Porsche. One local dealer actually wanted $285@. AT the $235@ I probably would have gone to the Tarret Engineering Monoballs for $499, but with Sunsets pricing the OEM's were 40% less and I don't track the car. Should be back on the road this weekend with no clacking sound.

Good work Doug. I HATE rattles man....Ive been trying to find a rattle on my car for a while now. No shop has ever been able to locate it. Over sharp bumps the left rear suspension gives off a boing type rattle. Of course my mechanic cant replicate but i hear it almost every day. I just bought new coilovers so hoping to uncover the issue once I do the swap.

Great find Doug!

I had the strut mount bushings replaced on my C4S last year because of a rattling problem, and that took care of the issue.

Quotes source post: 9431428

+1, nice job.

i had both my Fronts Replaced Last Spring, both were Shot

I have been reading these types of posts for months because I have a clunk, clanking noise as I mention in post #2 above. I recently asked my Indy about it and he took a quick look underneath for loose drop links, etc, and popped the cover over the strut mount top and peeked in. NOW I see from looking closer at Doug's photos, there is no way you could see this type of damage with the size of that concave washer under the nut. Anyway, The noise is driving me nuts. I assume there is no way I can verify the condition of that mount without complete removal?

I had a similar noise last year, turned out to be the swaybar drop links. Replaced them and the car was fine until this fall when a rattle returned, this time it could be felt in the steering wheel in some bumps. Turned out to be the right side tie rod. Rattles in the front suspension can be almost anything

The suspension component build quality on these cars are crap, imo. All fixed now but here was the process for the front rattling after warm noises: 1. drop links replaced - no noise improvement 2. inner and outer tie rods replaced - (one noisy inner)got rid of the speed bump creak noise 3. strut bushings replaced - (one cracked, both hard) little bit quieter, but much smoother over bimps 4. lower control arms and balljoints - (both balljoints were totally wasted) all front noise finally gone Have new control arms for the rear but waiting for the lift to open up. That should be the last of the noises.

Well, the oldest 996s are 14 years old now, how long do you expect suspension components to last?

hmmmm.. Have the same kind of noise you describe.... I will have to check this out.

Quotes source post: 10035195

exactly. Frankly, I'm beyond impressed with how little noises there are from my car. No creaking, rattling, squeeling, etc. My car is 10 years old with 160,000 Kms. Frankly, the maintenance on it has been negligible I do expect some of these things to wear out eventually. I had a rattle in the front of my car last summer that drove me NUTS...after 2 days inside the dash, I found the plastic cap from a pen! So it wasn't even the car hahah I have just started to find a clunking in my front suspension when fully loaded. It's -30 here right now, so maybe that's a sign that the rubber let go? Have to check this weekend.

Quotes source post: 10031346

That is correct. The concave washers hold the strut rod to the rubber enough to keep it from pulling through (good thing!), but blocks any real visual inspection. Mine were fine, had a similar clunk/clack,b ut replacing both sets of TREs fixed that on my '02 C2 with 48k miles.

perryinva, thanks for speaking directly to my comments. Will be working on this more next week.

Good to hear you solve the problem...thank you for sharing your discovery!