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Old 01-28-2018, 08:26 PM   #1
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Suggested order of suspension repairs?

Hey guys - so I've been dealing with this infuriating, sanity-questioning inducing suspension vibration that I can feel through my steering wheel for the past couple of months. It feels like a rapid clunk/judder at all speeds above 20 mph. So far, I have:

1. Replaced tires and had them road force balanced
2. Replaced inner/outer tie rods
3. Replaced sway bar end links
4. Had an alignment done
5. Had the tires/wheels balanced again with a lugcentric balancer

Car is a 2002 Boxster S with 85k miles. Tire pressure is at the door jamb recommendations - 29 front, 36 rear.

I've taken it to a couple mechanics and most have said they cannot feel anything, but one suggested that my strut mounts are worn, rear track arms are worn, and passenger side rear strut is seeping oil. I figure I just need to start tackling these things since no mechanic seems to be able to tell me with certainty what the issue is.

My question is: if this were you car, what order would you do everything in? I plan on replacing the struts and strut mounts, rear track arms, and probably control arms since the Meyle OEMs are only like $90 each. As far as I understand, all of the above, besides rear track arms, require an alignment. As of now, I'm planning on doing the following - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

1. Replace rear track arms with TRW OEM parts - $175 each, I don't know if these would be the cause of my problem since it definitely feels like it's coming from the front end, but I've heard that they can impact it.
2. Replace struts, strut mounts, and control arms. Also, possibly sway bar bushings.

Is there any way of doing control arms without getting an alignment? Or should I just go for it and swap everything out?

Thank you everyone.

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Old 01-28-2018, 08:36 PM   #2
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Almost guarantee it’s your struts/mounts. At that mileage, I would have started there after tires. My wife’s infiniti had a scary vibration, front struts cured it. In my experience it seems struts/shocks create more vibration problems only second to tires...
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Old 01-29-2018, 09:07 AM   #3
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i have the exact same issue so very interested to see what fixes the problem for you...anxiously waiting

mine feels like someone is lightly tapping on the steering column while driving, it is really annoying and i am very curious what causes it seeing as i can feel it in the wheel. If i open the Frunk and rock the car up and down i hear a bit of a similar tapping noise so i'm thinking strut mounts may be a culprit. My next step is to put the car up on ramps, get under it and have a friend rock the car to pinpoint the noise.

Last edited by dav9515; 01-29-2018 at 09:10 AM.
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Old 01-29-2018, 09:20 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by speedyspaghetti View Post
My question is: if this were you car, what order would you do everything in? I plan on replacing the struts and strut mounts, rear track arms, and probably control arms since the Meyle OEMs are only like $90 each. As far as I understand, all of the above, besides rear track arms, require an alignment. As of now, I'm planning on doing the following - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

1. Replace rear track arms with TRW OEM parts - $175 each, I don't know if these would be the cause of my problem since it definitely feels like it's coming from the front end, but I've heard that they can impact it.
2. Replace struts, strut mounts, and control arms. Also, possibly sway bar bushings.

Is there any way of doing control arms without getting an alignment? Or should I just go for it and swap everything out?

Thank you everyone.
I don't have any input on what is causing what, but (in my opinion) these can be grouped logically like this:

Rear track arms - you can do that replacement by itself, and if you go back in later to change something else you won't have to remove/reinstall a lot of stuff all over again, just 1 bolt when the track arm connects to the LCA. No alignment required after changing

LCA - you can replace those without changing too much else, in the front you shouldn't need a new alignment but in the back you probably will since there is an eccentric bolt at one end of the arm that controls rear camber.

Struts - if you are replacing struts, then you should change the bumpstops and the strut top mounts when you move the springs and other parts over to the new struts. Mostly everything else can be reused. You should probably get an alignment, especially in the front since the front camber is set by the 3 bolts at the top of the front strut mount.

If you are doing struts, that is a good time to do all the rest since the more stuff you take off, the easier it is to do the struts, so if you have to take it all apart and put it back together, might as well put new parts on That's what I did when I replaced my struts.

Sometimes the rear TRW track arms can be found cheaper on Amazon, and for the front equivalents you can use 99733104301 which is made by both TRW and Meyle.

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Or should I just go for it and swap everything out?
If you have decided to do everything, might as well do it all at once
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Old 01-29-2018, 06:25 PM   #5
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Sounds like struts/mounts to me too. But there's probably a good chance other things are squishy too, and that replacing everything will give a noticeable improvement.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:45 PM   #6
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It feels like a rapid clunk/judder at all speeds above 20 mph.
Problem is the joint of number 3.



I cleaned and regreased the ball joints with grease for drive shafts / cv joints. It's a very tough grease. Works without problems. Also did this on the rear ones. It's a bit tricky to remove and install the circlips that hold the rubber bellows that protect the joints.

if the ball joint is gone, you need new 996 341 043 06 (after market parts are also available). The ball joint can't be replaced.

Regards, Markus
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Old 01-30-2018, 12:03 PM   #7
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Problem is the joint of number 3.



I cleaned and regreased the ball joints with grease for drive shafts / cv joints. It's a very tough grease. Works without problems. Also did this on the rear ones. It's a bit tricky to remove and install the circlips that hold the rubber bellows that protect the joints.

if the ball joint is gone, you need new 996 341 043 06 (after market parts are also available). The ball joint can't be replaced.

Regards, Markus

Markus - this is awesome. I found the EPS version on FCP Euro for $130 - is this a reliable aftermarket brand or should I go with an OEM for about $175? Is it possible that both the rear and fronts need to be replaced or would the steering wheel vibration more likely be caused by the front?
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Old 01-30-2018, 10:45 PM   #8
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I revised first front, than back. After revizing front the clunky noise was gone, but there was something i couldn't locate. Afetre revising back, this was also gone. Both (front and back) where out of grease. And the grease left was extremly dry and old. Also rotated the bearing 90 degree, so it could wear on another area.

I don't know the FCP Euro aftermarket product FCP Euro ID: 480298. From the photo this just looks like a polyurethan bushing insert - which in my opinion is crap (the red thing) - and not like an OEM part.

OEM parts are made by TRW. Meyle and others produce also in OEM quality.

This is how the parts should look like:



Regards, Markus
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Old 01-31-2018, 05:31 AM   #9
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My experience with polyurethane bushing has been that they are much stiffer than OEM and don't dry rot like rubber bushings. To each his own, I guess. The only place I woundn't use them is in the motor mount, which makes the engine harsher.

BTW, thanks for posting FCP Euro. Looks like a good source for Porsche parts.
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Old 01-31-2018, 09:22 AM   #10
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My experience with polyurethane bushing has been that they are much stiffer than OEM and don't dry rot like rubber bushings. To each his own, I guess. The only place I woundn't use them is in the motor mount, which makes the engine harsher.

BTW, thanks for posting FCP Euro. Looks like a good source for Porsche parts.
I have poly bushings on the Alfa Romeo sway bars and yes they are firm indeed, the bad is that you need to keep them greased, otherwise they will squeak like pigs...
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Old 01-31-2018, 04:19 PM   #11
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My experience with polyurethane bushing has been that they are much stiffer than OEM and don't dry rot like rubber bushings.
Maybe you should disassemble this bushing no3 and check how it works. It's not made of rubber. The boots on top and bottom protect it from loosing grease. The joint itself is much more precise than any pu crap.

Problem is that it runs out of grease and isn't designed to be regreased (as in most modern cars). On the one hand it's "maintenance-free", on the other hand it must be replaced after the "lifetime" the car was designed for - in general 10 years. And i'm pretty shure that PU crap won't last even 10 years or longer. Also there is the "noise factor". PU tends to make much noise if it isn't grease perfectly. And because there is no rubber boot that protects the PU joint, the grease will go away pretty fast.

Just my 2 cents

Regards, Markus
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Old 02-03-2018, 12:05 AM   #12
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I made a DIY article on repairing these: Rear Trailing Arm Rebuild DIY

Best of luck!

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