davidnyc

Done. Passenger side took about 15-20 min (obviously with car up on stands and wheel off already). The headlight sensor on the driver side took me for a loop. Didn't do my research enough to figure out what that was before tackling this DIY. It was simple thing, but just didn't know what it was at first.

If I had to do this again, this would be an hour job total. I wish the coil packs were this easy, that took me forever because couldn't get my hands in there.

GaCoast

How are the Rock Auto Parts??

aviography

I have the URO ones from Rock Auto, installed them myself almost 3 months ago, good quality and no issues so far, probably have 1,500 miles on them.

alpine003

Your URO bushing will probably suffer a premature wear in the long run as they tend to use substandard rubber. Not as bad though as using URO branded coolant hoses. Ask me how I know...

Dharn55

Replaced my front lower control arms today. When turning and going over bumps the creaking and groaning was really bad. Seems to be entirely gone now. I thought I was also getting creaking and groaning in the rear but did not heat it on the test drive I just took. If I start to hear it I will also replace ethe rears.

I bought the Meyle controls arms on Amazon for $100.57@ including shipping. The Porsche OEM list for about $750@, TRW seem to go for $400-$500@ on line (by the way the ones off my car, which I have had since 2000 and 4,000 miles, were stamped TRW and I am sure they were the originals) and I saw URO's for around $70@. I read a lot about URO's failing pretty quickly so I spent the extra on the Meyle. I figure even if they don't last as long for $100@ I can replace them 4-7 times. Easy job, maybe an hour or so on each side.

perryinva

Is it always the lower control arms? My suspension still has the occasional groan/clunk on a bump after replacing all the tie rods.

dporto

Most commonly, yes. There are also the Vertex/EPS arms with replaceable ball joint (this is the part that actually fails/gets squeaky) for around $150 Ea. I went with these, as well as the wishbones with the urethane bushings. They seem well made. Who knows if I'll ever need to replace them or the ball joints again, but it seemed like a good idea...

davidnyc

Seemed "similar" to OEM, but what can I really tell?

For the stupid low closeout price, it was worth the attempt. The front of my car does make less noise now when going over a big bump slowly. When I do a track event, I'll see if I feel any difference. Before, it felt like one of the front wheels had a slight shake (like the front of a broken shopping cart wheel, but not as pronounced).

Niceguyeddie

For these odd tool sizes I use standard tools that seem to fit tighter...I will have to document them, but my most used box end wrenches are 5/8, 11/32, and 3/4. The 11/32 fits better than 18mm and one of the others is used in place of 16.5mm. Why do tool sets leave these out?(and also the 21mm)

Niceguyeddie

I replaced my right side with one from eEuroparts.com for $81. The quality seems good. Now I notice my left side is creaking so I will do the left side next. I will document the wrench sizes I used (the standard sizes). I know it won't matter to you guys who go full bore professional, but guys like me who carry an all-purpose tool bag--it's a way to keep it lighter. Keep as much tools as you need without waste and for as many jobs and emergencies you can think of.

Schnell Gelb

Seems like a good idea if you plan to keep the car long term. So does anyone know if the ball joint Vertex use is generic or a stock Porsche part?
http://www.vertexauto.com/showitem.a...nt%20Or%20Rear
Vertex identifies the replaceable ball joint as :Part No: 99634100100
http://www.vertexauto.com/showitem.a...0%26%20Boxster

dporto

it/they look just like the stock arms - in fact I think I remember that they had the Porsche part #s on them. They also take a core charge until you send your old arms back to them, so yes I'd say that the arm itself is the Porsche part (in at least some cases). Since Porsch doesn't sell the ball joint itself, I would think that it's a part that Vertex has developed for the purpose of rebuilding the arms (which Porsche says can't or shouldn't be done).

Schnell Gelb

Vertex would pay for the tooling and minimum order for a run of totally custom ball joints ?
More likely it is a stock/slightly modified Ball Joint from another vehicle.- which is great - but which vehicle?
I was hoping someone would recognize the part from the enlarged photo linked here ?
http://www.vertexauto.com/UserData/I...rge/279386.jpg

dedens

I am looking to replace Control Arms components on my 2000 C2. Were you happy with the CA from Rock Auto? If so, which brand did you purchase? Trying to avoid the cost of genuine Porsche parts but don't want to compromise quality. Suggestions?


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meirschwartz

your two options are TRW and Meyle. both OE manufactures (meaning you buy the same part as the OEM minus the Porsche logo).
i couldn't find a good price on the TRW, so i went with the Meyle, but they should both be the same as the OEM.