If you have the money, I'd replace more than just the LCA's.

Ha! That is toast...

R&R is quite easy and you get new ball joints too!!

Have fun.

What else should I be replacing?
I do have fairly new shocks and springs, sway bars and drop links.
I checked the tie rods and no play there.

I think I'm pretty covered right?

Other than the parts you list, the front caster control arm (the front axle equivalent of the trailing arm or track arm from the back that often makes noise) has a bushing that can wear out.

The 986 part number is hard to find outside of cheaper parts of indeterminate origin, but the 997 rear trailing arm is an exact match for the 986 front arms, the part number is 99733104301. I'm running these on my car right now, both Meyle and TRW make this part.

However this can be replaced without having to take off the front LCA so you can always do it later. And to remove the old LCA you will have to take off the fork end of that arm, so at that time you can move it around and see if it rattles or moves around outside of the intended range of motion.

Here is a video that supposedly shows how to test the ball joint in these types of arms to see if they are bad:

MAINTENANCE - Porsche 996

neat trick there for checking those parts! thanks Steve!

mine dont make noise so I'll skip on these for now and check them when I work on the LCA.

I do have a question about not needing to do an alignment after swapping LCAs. considering one is torn I imagine with the weight of the car it's sitting a bit off due to the bushing. with new LCAs and new "straight" bushings wouldnt the caster be a bit off? or is that difference negligible?

Caster is not adjustable and (in my opinion) the camber is only very slightly affected if that center bushing is worn. Of course, if the center bushing is worn/torn. the rubber bushing on the inboard end of the LCA might also be worn out as well, maybe after you put it on you can get a free alignment check at a place that does those?

thanks Steve!

the bushing is bad but it's not completely torn so I'll probably not need adjustment. I will also check the inboard bushing on the LCA. If I'll be in the neighborhood I might stop by the alignment place to double check further down the road.

thanks for the new LCAs you're sending my way! ;)
glad I could take those off your hands.

New lower control arms ('coffin arms' as some refer to) will renew your cracked "track arm coupling" bushings shown as presently being cracked, your ball joints, and the inner rubber bushings as well, which is where camber is typically adjusted via an eccentric mounting bolt.

Even if you mark and line up the eccentric bolts in exactly the same positions as they were before, you will *definitely* want to re-align the car afterward.

Jake I believe that's for the rear where the camber is adjusted through that bolt. The ones I'm replacing are in the front where the camber is adjusted through the top of the shocks (the little adjustment it allows) so camber wouldn't be affected.

Even if non-adjustable, I'll bet those a-arm to frame bolts will have some slop. The rubber bushings being replaced may have taken on a set, the manufacturing tolerances of the replacement arms will never be completely consistent, resulting in dimensions being slightly off from the old ones. Any changes in effective control arm length will be amplified by potentially severe, tire-eating toe-in/toe-out angle changes, which is the main concern if you have decent tires that you care about making last. If you want to check just one thing, I'd check toe. If you don't care much about tire wear, of course, your call to forego the alignment.

I got a "lifetime" alignment for my p-car, because I expect to do a bit more suspension work going forward. I was shocked at how far off the alignment was even after trying to put things back together as they came off. Although, I suppose it's possible that YMMV. I seem to recall you've already done some suspension work, so you know the drill. Nice job tracking down the torn bushing, by the way! Good luck. :)

I see what you're saying and I JUST put on a fresh set of Hankook RS4 that I'm trying to make last so I'll most likely swing by the alignment place(for the 4th time this year :D).


This is what happened to my front RS3s with about 10k miles on them.

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1sc9ssbs.jpg

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/...psoevkizl5.jpg


They still had tread on them:

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/...pszlw5tuzd.jpg


I made a claim with tirerack and they passed it on to the manufacturer who calls it "ozone weather cracking" so they will reimburse me for part of the price based on the tread left. Still waiting to see how much, they came and picked up the old tires.

The tires were on the car for 8 months maybe. Driven hard and autocrossed a few times. I guess these softer compound tires dont do too well with lots of heat cycles. Good thing i spotted the cracks and will be getting some $$ back. :cool:

well.. they just reimbursed me half of what I paid for the two front tires which is pretty good considering the tires were worn especially on the inside since I had -1.5 degrees of camber.

thanks "ozone weather cracking"! :dance:

props to Tire Rack! they run a pretty tight ship!

I got around to installing the new front lower control arms in under 2 hours and happy as a bunny, patting myself on the back I went for a test drive and it still makes that slight thump.. As I was replacing the LCA's I also checked the front trailing arms and they are in good shape.

well.. I'm fresh out of ideas.. :confused:
I was almost sure that's what was causing it.

what else could be in the front that's making that causing it? could it be something else but the suspenion? like something that sits in front of the firewall around the battery, brake booster, etc and is loose?

thanks guys!

Cristian

i figure i'd update this thread.

it was the stupid spare tire causing the thumping!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

i know i initially thought it wasnt but i tested again with the spare tire out and no more thumping. talk about chasing ghost issues.. :D

trouble is no matter how hard i tighten the spare tire it still moves around. why doe it even have this cut where the bolt sits allowing it to move left and right? it doesnt bother me now that i know there's nothing serious but i am curious if i am maybe missing a piece or something to really make it stay in place during hard turns?