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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHLower Control Arms / Wishbones
Leading reported evidence
Check strut towers and everything looks good and tight
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I checked the strut towers and everything looks good and tight.
Leading evidence: 'Check strut towers and everything looks good and tight' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check inner tie rods' (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.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Once I replaced the rest of the suspension, everything is great!
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I replaced the tie rods (inner and outer) on both sided and the swaybar bushings up front.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I am running these on the front on my 2000 Boxster.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I used both of ^^these^^ (EPS) on my car and have been happy with them (they've been in service for about two years now).
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So after spending countless hours trying to decide what could be causing the knocking noise in the front left (driver's side) of my 03 C4S, I've narrowed it down to possibly the lower control arm or "wishbone" or both. I've looked around and there are several companies that make replacements for these but I wanted to see if there are any that I should avoid? I want to keep the "streetable" feel of the car so I'm not looking for "track-worthy" components, just OE replacements. I was also wondering if you could replace the bushings or if you have to replace the entire component? Lastly... how difficult is the work and will it require an alignment afterwards?
Thanks
This was just being discussed on Facebook on the 996 owners group. TRW (the original supplier to Porsche) no longer makes 996 arms. Someone mentioned the 997.1 arms may be a direct replacement if you still want original parts, but I am not sure about that? Can anyone confirm?
For the "wishbones" often called the "tuning fork" arms consider these:
https://www.europeanpartssolution.com/updated-lower-control-arm
^^These guys also sell one w/ a replaceable ball joint which is a nice feature to have:
https://www.europeanpartssolution.co...arm-with-joint
You could replace the lower control arm and lower wishbone yourself if you have the tools and you are mechanically inclined. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to show you exactly what is involved. If your suspension is original and you have determined one lower control arm and/or wishbone is worn out, how far behind could the rest of the rubber bushings possibly be? You probably need to replace all 4 lower control arms and all 4 lower wishbones. Yes you need an alignment afterward. To save money you should purchase the parts from Ebay. The vendor "
deutschepartsusa
" has very good prices and has sold thousands of parts, with over 100,000 positive reviews. Yes it is possible to replace only the bushings. You will need a special ball joint press tool. A blow torch. It would save you a little bit of money but it would add a significant degree of difficulty for the DIYer.
I used both of ^^these^^ (EPS) on my car and have been happy with them (they've been in service for about two years now). They tightened up the overall feel of the stock suspension and got rid of the "creaking" noises I was experiencing. Unfortunately in my case I had other issues as well (struts/shocks, top mounts etc...). Once I replaced the rest of the suspension, everything is great!
You certainly can replace the bushings yourself (there are a few companies that make them, including Powerflex) but it's an awful lot of work. It's also extremely helpful to have access to a press (12 - 20 ton would work I think) and plenty of time. I wouldn't I wouldn't attempt to do them on a daily driver with only a day or weekend available... too many potential pitfalls.
Excellent info! Does anyone have any personal experience with
https://www.europeanpartssolution.com
? I've found in the past that some of these less expensive suppliers are actually OEM suppliers so you just pay a lot less for the same stuff since it doesn't come in a "Porsche" box.
Thanks
I have had good success with Meyle suspension parts like LCA and tuning forks arms, and the 997.1 rear tuning fork arm (997 331 043 01) is a match for the 986 Boxster front tuning fork and the 996 all 4 corners tuning fork (996 341 043 06 and 996 341 043 03). Meyle shows this as a crossmatch on their website but nobody else seems to. I am running these on the front on my 2000 Boxster.
Charha01, I have the EPS polyurethane control arms in my car and they are awesome same as Dporto mentioned. Also FYI check them out in Amazon they are selling for $119 each. I think I grabbed mine on special 2 years ago for $89 a pop.
Not quite sure about that ejdoherty911... When EPS site sells the part for $139 each + $16 S/H or a set of four for $584 + $29 S/H (est.) then Amazon sells the same darn product EPS Links for $119 each & free shipping.. So $476 for 4 links and free shipping sounds like one heck of a lot more reasonable deal to me.
https://ww.amazon.com/Porsche-Boxster-Cayman-Upgrade-Control/dp/B00NP51K4W/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=X1RWR21FTYTSGJ01DG9Q
I agree. Buy from Amazon. My original response wasn't clear, I just meant buying parts sold by EPS was a good option. And get them as cheap as possible.
UPDATE
So I got under the car yesterday after a long drive. I could definitely hear the clunking noise from up front (driver's side) so I thought I'd see if I could find the source of the noise. I put the front tires on blocks so the suspension would be loaded but I could not find anything that looked or felt wrong. All the bushings looked OK and the rubber boots on all the ball joints had no signs of tears or damage. I couldn't replicate the sound or even move anything except for the tie rods which I could rotate back and forth on their ball joints (is that normal?). I really don't want to pay a shop $$$ to tell me what's wrong since I could just use that cash towards replacing things. Is there any other detective work I should be doing to try and determine what the hell is making this noise? The other symptom I've noticed is that the front end seems a little "squirrely" instead of just rock solid. Like if I were to let go of the steering wheel it might change direction on its own. The alignment was done not long ago by a very reputable shop so I know that's not the issue.
As always... thanks for the help.
Pop the rubber plugs on top of the strut towers and make sure the top strut tower nut is tight, as well as the camber plate nuts. There is an outside tie rod and an inside tie rod. Maybe it is coming from the inside tie rod. One other thought...jack up the drivers side of the car to unload the suspension and rock the wheel back and forth to see if the wheel bearing has any play.
I checked the strut towers and everything looks good and tight. The wheel bearings seem good... no play. Is there a way to check the inner tie rods? The boots looked fine.
Thanks
About all you can do is grab onto the tie rods and push and pull on them to see if there is any play. You could also get the front end up on jack stands, have someone help and turn the wheel lock to lock while you watch the tie rod ends for any play. While on the jackstands, put the jack under the tire/wheel and slightly load the suspension, then watch the tie rods while someone just very slightly moves the steering wheel back and forth (not trying to "turn" the wheels...just a movement). What you will be looking for in that slight movement is any slack or play in the tie rods.
It�s been a while, and someone more knowledgable than me will surely reply, but I think you can feel the tie rod play if you put the car on the lift and put your hands at 3:00 and 9:00 on the tire and give a tug in both directions. You should feel play or clunk like that. Again, it has been a while. 6:00 and 12:00 provide different info (ball joints?). The experienced old timers can tell a lot by tugging on the tire...
My clunking was tie rod ends. One in back and one in front were bad. The one in the back was the noisy one as the bolt had snapped but appeared to still be connected....it was not.
Yes, the old times technique sounds correct. That's how I do it 12 to 6 o-clock shake to diagnose the bearing, besides a good spin of the tire to hear grinding.
Then 3 to 6 shake for clunking noises, excessive play or signs of a steering linkage is going bad and any other associated suspension components (bushings, etc.).
UPDATE... I replaced the tie rods (inner and outer) on both sided and the swaybar bushings up front. I just got the car aligned and it appears that the noise is GONE!
Confirmed that Amazon has the same EPS tuning fork/control arm for less than EPS and with free shipping, it saved me $70 ordering through Amazon than ordering through EPS...kind of silly for EPS to charge a premium for those willing to shop on their site.....not the best way to continue to create brand loyalty.....one would think they go through the effort to improve on the OEM part with an upgraded bushing and then sell to Amazon for less than those willing to buy from them directly. Either way, I'm excited to DIY these on my rattling rear suspension.
The reason this is often the case is because companies like this prefer to just manufacture the parts and not sell them themselves. It's not easy dealing with the public, taking orders from customers, shipping them out on time, or dealing with defects/returns.
It's just easier and cheaper to deal with online retailers who order bulk shipments
thanks Preluooood Guy
makes sense.....i turned out to be a pain in the *** customer as i cancelled my order with them when i did a quick amazon search and saw the savings....
So you guys recommend to replace all the Lower control arms? I am in the process of doing the suspension, looks like right passenger front ball bearing joint on the LCA is shot, I was just looking on amazon to order a set of LCA, seems like these have lifetime warranty.
https://www.amazon.com/Front-Lower-Control-Joint-Boxster/dp/B0779GZKWP?ref_=RAsinC_Ajax&pf_rd_r=T1Y3BCKK2N02BDS588PR&pf_rd_p=64b07fb5-5831-5c47-a41e-a5e453e683cc&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=15731991&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Front-Lower-Control-Joint-Boxster/dp/B0779GZKWP?ref_=RAsinC_Ajax&pf_rd_r=T1Y3BCKK2N02BDS588PR&pf_rd_p=64b07fb5-5831-5c47-a41e-a5e453e683cc&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=15731991&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I was going with Meyle till I saw them
Amazon
Amazon
But seems like you guys like the EPS and to do the tuning fork upgrade also.
Saw I got the arms from 1A and sent them back, the Meyle seemed to be better quality, I also went with EPS tuning forks and the Ohlin R&T and Torque solutions adjustable control arms for the rear. Hopefully be back on the road later this week.
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