Rear Suspension Clunk/noise
 

I have two Boxsters .Both 986 . Both cars at around same mileage 140000kms. BOTH cars have the same clunk over bumps .... i describe it as a flat clunk / rattling sound . In pursuit of the sound i have replaced engine mount, Macpherson struts and various rubbers on anti-roll bar etc ....no luck ... this noise persists. Is it a common fault as both my cars and one more friend's car all
have this same sound . Is it the trailing arms and if so which one ? Hope you can assist ryokan.

Track arms (the tuning forks). Replace both sides. You can't test them while they're on the car. The ball joint where it attaches to the body has a plastic bushing inside it that wears out and causes metal to metal noise. Unfortunately it's not a replaceable item, you have to replace the entire track arm.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/98633104307M80.htm?pn=986-331-043-07-M80&bt=Y&fs=0&SVSVSI=1049

What piper said!

Re rear track arms
 

Agreed - very likely the track arms, and almost impossible to test short of just swapping them out.

I used the Vertex poly rebuilds on my 2001S and really have no complaints as compared to oem, although some have expressed some theoretical concerns in the past.

I have also heard the 987 track arms fit and work well. Does anyone know if they offer any advantage - real or theoretical - over the standard 986 version? I ask b/c I need to replace these soon on my 2004SE.

Thanks everybody for the collective wisdom.

I have Cayman trailing arms on mine. Don't notice any difference.

Had the same issue on my 98 986 with 180k kms. Agree with everyone responses. Tuning forks will probably fix it.

I ended up doing the entire rear suspension seeing as I wanted to get it done anyways. Problem fixed!

Funny thing is that the tuning forks ball joints I removed look and "feel" fine. Anyways, problem solved.

Had the same issue and discovered a few bolts to the rear storage container were loose. But, it sounded like a suspension issue.

I've got the Cayman arms on my 986 boxster and just put a pair on my 2009 Cayman, TRW JTC1316 from Amazon, price fluctuates but I got the latest pair for $78 each I think [edit was $68 each, score! Currently $89]. Crazy :,-)

WOW! Even at $89, that's $180/pair! F-in A man! Great price! I changed mine last year, though. Is there an equivalent substitute for the fronts?

I wonder why the site says they don't fit Boxsters, though.

It's the 987 part # so my guess is Amazon doesn't know it's a match for 986. The part is very similar to the 986 part, bolt hole end to end it is the same length, the 987 part has a little more curve to it, maybe to give better clearance for the e-brake cable or maybe to give more clearance for bigger wheels?

Thanks. My concern was if it would change the alignment/geometry, but if the bolt holes are exactly the same, then it shouldn't.

Like I said, I changed mine last year, but it's good to know there's a cheaper option if I should need them again.