Noise after Upper Rear Track Arm Replacement
 

I replaced my upper rear track arms, that were causing a clunk, with adjustable arms from Hardrace on my 55K mile 2003 boxster. The clunk is gone and the ride is much stiffer. Now I have a rattle that is audible when going over bumps at speeds under 25 mph. The rattle occurs from each rear wheel and appears to come from behind either the passenger or drivers head depending on which wheel is hitting the bump. I think the noise is being transmitted up by the shocks. Has anyone had such a problem after changing to the stiffer track arms? Any assistance would be appreciated.

did you replace them with "race" arms, which have no nylon bushings but metal bushings. In this case the noise would be normal

Those arms shouldn't really make that much of a noticeable change as to what you're describing.

Double check that you have tightened down the locking nuts properly on the adjustable ends, and that they're not touching anything else.

Sounds like the same problem on mine??

I was told by Zentrum that it is the "Lower Control Arm Bushes" that are the cause, they crack or corrode and will rattle like mad, especially if you drive over cobbles. It should not cause any handling issues though.

I was also told that you can't physically see the problem on the bushes and it only manifests when assembled and the car is moving.

http://www.hartech.org/parts.html do a £90 replacement part which I will try someday otherwise its a £200 part if going original.

Was told to get both rear sides done as they often go together.

Dragonflyoh, those lower, longest track arms do go out and cause the noises you are speaking of. Might be the newer, tighter adjustable uppers are giving the lowers the room they need to rattle now. It's always a slippery slope.

Vertex sells them with polyurethene bushings that should not wear out as fast as factory ones:

http://www.****************************************.com/ShowItem/128301%20Porsche%20Rebuilt%20Control%20Arm%20-%20Rear%20Track%20Arm.aspx

The part I replaced is index number 8 in the attached drawing. I was thinking I might hear from someone that actually replaced their arms with the adjustable arms and hear what sort of experience they had. I am thinking RandallNeighbour may be on to something with the slippery slope. RandallNeighbour are you saying that index 17 may be causing the noise?

Many times the rattle comes from...
 

... worn drop links.
If you can manually twist the droplinks with the car on its wheels, they're probably toast.
Good droplinks should be very difficult to move by hand because the joints are tight. After the joints wear they can generate a loud rattle when going over bricks, pavers, etc.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Dragonfly, ignore what I wrote above. I didn't realize you bought an adjustable trailing arm (#8)... I though you'd replaced #17 with an adjustable unit (that's what I did).

Sorry about that.

Do test your drop links according to Pedro's advice. That's a good word from him.

Drop Links
 

Thanks for the help.
I was able to move the drop links, with WOW, and using gloves. Not a lot of motion but enough that I will replace them. I found them on E-bay,(Deutsche has a pair of drop links for $67), Pelican, and requested pricing from Sunset. I shall replace the torsion bar bushings at the same time.
I shall post the results.

Dragonfly, read this carefully:

RUN AWAY FROM DEUTSCHE PARTS ON EBAY.

Their stuff, especially their drop links, are total crap. I know this from repeated personal experience. Learn from my failures.

Buy factory parts unless you have $$$ to spend per corner for Tarrett Engineering fully adjustable ones.

Check with Sunset Imports in Oregon. They sell at 10% over their hard cost plus shipping. Sometime they are a LOT cheaper than anyone else.

RandallNeighbour,
Thanks for the warning. After I posted my comment I did some searching on DEUTSCHE and decided they were off my list. I read some of your comments as well as from owners of several different models of automobiles and they were all in agreement with your assessment. I shall see what Sunset comes up with. Thanks again.

You might also want to consider these as a better alternative to new factory drop links.

http://www.tarett.com/items/boxster~cayman-products/986-987-rear-drop-link-set-986rdlnk-detail.htm

After reading this thread, I think my car needs drop link replaced.
has anyone looked into Powergrid.inc adjustable drop links?

After changing the drop links and the track control arms, # 9 on the drawing in a previous post, all is well. Just need to get a four wheel alignment. The ball joints on the track control arm were sloppy loose. Now I hear a couple of other rattles that will require some looking after. Thanks for the support.

Whoa! so THAT is what is making the rattling! I have just been living with it. Now I know what to replace, thank you gents!

Replaced all my end links, front and back. I am enjoying a much quieter ride these days. Though now I can hear that the tires are nearing the end of their life... fix one thing only to discover something else :rolleyes: :D