I'm chasing the source of my front end clunk going over bumps at any speed. The tie rods appear to be good. Just replaced wheel bearings, strut assemblies, sway bar links, and main control arms. I suspect these diagonal control arms. I removed the driver side arm. The rubber is very malleable and dry. Question is how malleable is it supposed to be? Car has 73,500 miles.

 

So, I have a better understanding of how these work. The rubber just protects the ball joint inside. I placed the joint in my vice and applied hand pressure to the joint. It did not move axially. Do I dare say it's good?

 

At 73k and ~15 years it's a good bet it's shot. I'd replace. Any play in that ball joint will translate to nasty clunks in the car. BTDT. 1/32" is enough to sound terrible.

 

You are probably right. I should just replace them. I have since buttoned everything back up, and I went out for a test drive. I can sometimes feel the movement under my feet through the floorboard.

 

Here's one option:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Porsche...wAAOSwCU1Y03jH

 

Just be aware that those parts are fundamentally different than the stock parts. Stock is a ball joint; those EPS parts are an elastomer bushing. So they change the effective spring rate of the car, and put stresses on things differently than the original design. Not necessarily good or bad, but something to think about before changing.

 

Correct. . The unfortunate reality is that there doesn't seem to be a replacement part available for just the portion that fails.

 

No kidding. Throwing away the whole arm is a waste. Not to mention they aren't cheap.

 

I had a front end “clunk” in my 2003 cab also (76,000 miles). Replacing both those arms fixed it.

 

The strut top mount is also a common clunk point when they wear out.

 

I too have a clonk from front end similar to described.

A couple of extra bits of info:

The car has to be fully warmed up and probably about 10 miles after the engine has reached temperature before the clunk will appear.

Any form of light braking causes it to disappear.

Top Mounts have been done.

Guessing then it could be the 'tuning forks'?

Thanks

Chris

 

Chris,

From what I have gathered, that sounds more like one or more of your inner or outer tie rods are worn.

 

That's great - thanks for info.

Kine regards

Chris

 

A good way to test them is to lift the front of the car. Grab one of the wheels hands on 9 and 3 o'clock and check for movement. It helps to have someone hold onto the steering wheel as it moves a bit between its locked position. Next, remove the wheels. Check for torn boots or abnormal play on the outer tie rods. Lastly, remove the outer tie rods from the wheel carrier, and push on the rod toward the inner tie rod and steering rack again checking for unusual popping and or movement.

 

986 Boxsters run that same arm in the front and they seemed to be hard to find but 997 331 043 01 is a match and what I'm running in the front. Both TRW and Meyle make this one.