I'm trying to chase down a rattle/shaking every time I drive over bumps. It has seemed to be coming from my front passenger side of the vehicle. Since this has happened, I replaced the struts (myself - 1st time doing it), then got it balanced/aligned. Issue was still there. This past weekend, I replaced every single suspension component in the front of the vehicle. The one part I could not replace was the drivers side inner/outer tie rods, as they were stuck on the steering rack and I couldn't get the bolts loosened. The rattle is still there. It's not necessarily a "noise", but it feels like the tire is bouncing over bumps, which I can also feel in the steering wheel. It drives fine on smooth roads.

What should my next course of action be? I live in RI and there's not many great Porsche mechanics around here, or suspension shops that deal specifically with Porsche. Have you guys had luck with your Porsche Indy diagnosing Suspension issues? I've never been to my local Porsche OPC, but i'm thinking it might be a good idea to take it to them in order to find out what exactly is going on, but I also don't want to pay an arm and a leg.

What do you guys think?

 

I don't understand the symptom you are describing - could you please say a few more words about what you are experiencing? Is the "rattle/shaking" just a sound, movement of the front suspension, movement in the steering wheel, a feeling you get through the seat, a feeling you get through the steering wheel or something else? Are these bumps while you are driving down the highway, or low speed steep bumps? What kind of bumps - irregular road surfaces, potholes, highway seams, expansion joints, speed bumps/tables? What is your suspension setup (both before and after the replacement suspension parts)? Is this new behavior, or something you've experienced over time? Were there any changed that happened just prior to the symptoms appearing? What are your tire pressures?

 

When u changed the strut did u replace the upper mount? I have seen a bunch of these fail recently on this board. It looks like they r hitting their life expentancy regaurdless of mileage

 

Wheel bearings?

 

Yes, the upper strut mount was also replaced

 

Hey Scott, how would I diagnose a bad wheel bearing? Is this a DIY type repair? I haven't looked this one up yet.

 

Prior to all of this, I knew I needed front struts, as they were leaking. The car drove fine, and did not rattle or anything over bumps. i drove the car sporadically while it was like that, for about two months. Towards the end of the two months, my front passenger wheel began shaking/bouncing over bumps. I could feel it in my steering wheel as well. Car was fine on smooth roads, and speedbumps, but would rattle like a basketball over any other type of bump, big or small.

1st step - Replaced Front Struts and all strut components (left original Springs)

• Car felt a little bit better after an alignment
• Seemed to have gotten worse though (or maybe it's my imagination)

2nd step - ordered and replaced ALL front suspension components this weekend - everything in the front suspension has been replaced, except for inner/outer tie rod on drivers side, which is not the problem side

• initial drive I still felt the shaking and there was now a loud noise associated with it. Went back under the car, tightened up all bolts, and the sound disappeared
• Car continues to drive ****ty over any bump....even a crack in the road with cause the front passenger wheel to bounce and feel unstable. If i drive with one hand, the steering wheel will shake and feel very unstable. If I hit a bump on the drivers side portion of the vehicle, it feels totally normal and planted.

This is where I'm at now. The struts that I replaced definitely needed replacement. The other parts I replaced had some rips/tears in the rubber boots, so they looked to be needed replacements also.

My goal is to spend a couple hundred bucks and have someone just fix whatever I may have ****ed up. I've been spending all of my free time working on the car and not getting results, which can be frustrating. The wheel bearing idea is not something I was thinking of, and maybe i should investigate that also.

 

Thank you for the additional detail. One more quick question - when you replaced parts, did you torque the suspension bolts for items with rubber bushings with the suspension loaded (so you didn't introduce any preload)?

In my experience wheel bearings grumble, roar or drone depending on progression of failure, and don't typically have an impact on handling over bumps (I imagine they'd have to be really shot for that).

And if you are fed up, and willing to spend a little, take it to a porsche indy and have them do the diagnosis and repair. That's probably the fastest way to a fix.

 

Unload the vehicle. Leave the wheels fully and correctly torqued in place. Grab the sides of the tire and try to move the wheel inward and out (as if steering). Feel for any looseness or slop. This will also be useful in locating steering/ tie rod end wear.

Then do the same thing at 12:00 and 6:00 on the tire. Any slop in this direction is usually wheel bearing related, but can also identify bad ball joints and suspension bushings (though less likely - especially since these parts are now new).

Having an observer looking for areas of movement is helpful (or doing the moving while you observe).

Rotating the wheel while listening for noises and feeling for roughness, is also a good idea.

 

I have this same issue. passenger side when I go over a bump but for me when turning going over the bump and only on the pass side. I have replaced everything as well and new components on it ALL I read something about the steering knuckle something.. something can be the cause of this. I have not looked into it any further as my tires are firmly on there and I have checked the bearings as well... I'm kind of just living with it now.

 

Don't kill me, but I did not torque my bolts. I tighten them until they're tight. I have a torque wrench but it's too big....and sometimes when I use it, i never feel it "click" even though it's as tight as it can possibly get. I've never used a torque wrench before I purchased this car. I think I need to invest in a good one, and a smaller sized one, because it seems to be pretty important. I've always thoguht that as long as I get it tight enough, without stripping it, then it's good to go. I probably sound like such an amateur right now (i am!). I ended up booking time at my Indy in two weeks to have them take a look. Sometimes its cheaper to have a professional properly diagnose and replace, rather than me guessing and spending hundreds of dollars and weeks of my time, without finding the cure. It can be frustrating!

 

Good ideas on all counts. Start fresh with a professional and buy quality tools for later.

 

The point I was trying to make was not about proper fastener torque (substitute the word tighten in my question above) but about tightening the bolts without introducing preload to your bushings.

If you tightened nuts and bolts (for suspension parts with rubber bushings) with the car lifted (on jack stands or on a lift) without lifting the suspension parts into the loaded position first, you introduced preload into the bushings (think of it as they are twisted). That isn't a good thing, and can lead to premature bushing wear and weird handling behaviors.

Glad you have an appointment to get it looked at. Good luck.

 

Also, make sure you torque wrench is actually calibrated...I had one that was way off. Vital tool but useless if not accurate!

 

Let us know the diagnosis in the end; I am curious.