I'm working on my '01 Boxster S with 75,000 miles. If I grab the front strut just below the spring mount, I can move the front right strut in & out approx .035" based on the location of the dial indicator. The front left has about .030" movement and the rears are each about .005" following the same process.
The movement in the rear cannot be felt by hand, while the movement on the front right seems like too much.
The upper strut mounts are tight and there is no movement at the top of the strut shaft where it bolts to the upper mount. There is no leakage from any of the struts and the suspension is original to the car.
So the questions is, is this too much movement? Are the struts shot?