DM

I'm looking at a 944 S2 in a remote location and I need to perform a "self diagnosis" of the control arms (and anything else a good PPI would cover).

How can I tell if they are going bad?

What else should I check for if I do the PPI myself?

David

Ethan

I remember a guy who once looked at mine, and his simple test was to put his knee on the front bumper and pushed down...I have no idea how he could tell anything from that but...just one simple way to look I guess. Good luck, you'll love it!

PorscheDoc

If you drive it and it doesnt clank, it is problaby good. I had one go out on me, and it went from not clanking, to clanking within about 20 miles or so, it was drastic. You can crawl under and check the integrity of the boot, but you can't really tell much unless you get it up on a lift and start jerking things around.

N_Halbert

The way my mechanic check it is with a BIG set of channel locks. You put one jaw on the top ball pin/spindle and the other under the bottom of the control arm and squeeze. If you can get any compression it is warn and on it's way out. This is done with the car sitting on it's wheels, suspension loaded. It works best if you have the car on a lift. Take alone some ramps if you have them.

Mark944na86

Using the channel lock test, I've been told by my mechanic that movement less than 1mm is acceptable, much over 1mm and you should look at replacement.

But there is a bright side to this unfortunate aspect of 944 ownership; apparently for 928s anything over .5mm and they need replacing!

-Mark