Vibration in steering only on Warm Days - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

RandallNeighbour · 05-25-2010, 01:09 PM

I have the bearing on order and it looks like a pain to change.

That would be an understatement. It takes specialized equipment too... the part is cheap but the labor involved is something like 3 hours per bearing.

m208334 · 05-26-2010, 01:06 AM

Glass, Does your problem only exist on warm days?

I have not looked at the bushings on the lower control arm. I am still perplexed that the car is fine on cool days, but on warm days the driver side front suspension knocks like crazy at very low speeds (5-15mph).

Glass · 05-26-2010, 08:59 AM

yes only warm days, it gets after you drive it. It does not do it for the first 10 miles or so until things get warm.

jcb986 · 05-26-2010, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m208334

Glass, Does your problem only exist on warm days?

I have not looked at the bushings on the lower control arm. I am still perplexed that the car is fine on cool days, but on warm days the driver side front suspension knocks like crazy at very low speeds (5-15mph).

What part of the US do you live in...State. Did you buy the car new and did you do anything or hit anything like a big pothole in a few months before your noise showed up.

m208334 · 05-27-2010, 06:17 PM

"What part of the US do you live in...State. Did you buy the car new and did you do anything or hit anything like a big pothole in a few months before your noise showed up."

I live in the Missouri. I bought the car new 11 years ago for my wife (and lost my corvette), but she hardly drove the car. About 2 years ago, I finally decided to drive the car and I really enjoyed the car. However, I returned to my Acura in the summer when the car became noisy. Since my son is 15 and starting to drive, I need to have the 3rd car in working order and plan to drive the boxster as long as the weather is not icy.

Update: Yesterday, the temperature was 93 when I left work. The problem started about 10 miles later so I decided to see my mechanic. The owner rode with me in the car (Autos of Europe ) and during the ride he said the noise was metal on metal. He called this evening and said he thinks he fixed the car but is not going to charge me until I drive it for a while. He said I had some lose/broken heat shields. He also told me my suspension is perfect and bushings are good everywhere. I will let you know if this fixes the problem. I am interested to hear why he thinks the outside temperature affects the heat shield.

My Site with one radio code contribution to Porsche Boxster users (after my own frustration) and a lot of my odd java programs: A2DVoices If you ever need a quick algorithm or calculation for cars, I might be willing to donate my help.

RandallNeighbour · 05-27-2010, 06:23 PM

I'm betting the heat shields expanded in the heat and that's why they started making a racket.

I've beat on my heat shields with a hammer a couple of times to get rid of annoying metal on metal sounds and rattling. Boy that felt good.

m208334 · 05-28-2010, 07:05 PM

Picked up the car this afternoon. The heat shields did not fix the problem. I still feel the knocking in the driver side front at low speed.

Another member suggested the inner tie rod might be the problem. I called the mechanic before I picked up the car and asked about the inner tie rods. He said he would look. Later, he offered to change the tie rods if I wanted, but was indicating it was my decision. He still thought the heat shield fixed the problem. That is why I decided to pick up the car and give it a try. Apparently he is not hearing/feeling the knock. The tie rod job is $1100 if I decide to go that route. I would gladly pay $1100 if the problem would really be fixed. Probably time for another opinion. Not sure where to go, but I am not ready to admit defeat.

Here is a video clip of the actual sound. When the knock occurs, it can be slightly felt in the steering wheel. The knock frequency does not change with speed, but it is not felt as much at highway speeds. This video was taken after the car was driven for about 10 minutes. On another portion of the video, the car makes a horrible metal sound while turning around very slowly. The knocking noise: The Annoying Front Suspension Noise

jcb986 · 05-29-2010, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m208334

Picked up the car this afternoon. The heat shields did not fix the problem. I still feel the knocking in the driver side front at low speed.

Another member suggested the inner tie rod might be the problem. I called the mechanic before I picked up the car and asked about the inner tie rods. He said he would look. Later, he offered to change the tie rods if I wanted, but was indicating it was my decision. He still thought the heat shield fixed the problem. That is why I decided to pick up the car and give it a try. Apparently he is not hearing/feeling the knock. The tie rod job is $1100 if I decide to go that route. I would gladly pay $1100 if the problem would really be fixed. Probably time for another opinion. Not sure where to go, but I am not ready to admit defeat.

Here is a video clip of the actual sound. When the knock occurs, it can be slightly felt in the steering wheel. The knock frequency does not change with speed, but it is not felt as much at highway speeds. This video was taken after the car was driven for about 10 minutes. On another portion of the video, the car makes a horrible metal sound while turning around very slowly. The knocking noise: The Annoying Front Suspension Noise

Ok, my experience with tie rods is when they go bad your steering will feel at little lose and you will get a shimmy as though the tire is out of balance. I have heard that the bushings in the control arms get worn can create a noise similar to yours. Let us know when you find it. Did you know the wiper fluid bottle is on that side behind the fender well. Also, have heard of people getting a knocking noise and found the thing was lose and with wiper fluid in it sloshing around created the knock.