100plus

Hi guys,

Just yesterday my suspension was giving out a sqUeaky sound. As long as the road was not even, the suspension would go squeak squeak. This is only happening to the front left side.

Went to my local indy and he claims its the suspension mounts.

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

porsches996

Usually squeaking sound is coming from bad lower control arm bushing.....you will probably have to replaced the control arm.
If you want you can make a test sound first....if you jack up your car and you release the tension on the jack once the tire touch the ground can you hear the squeaking sound...if so the problem is the control arm
Good luck

Robert
2000 C4

philooo

many have reported the control arm bushing as a solution indeed.
you could also have the bushing replaced but it might cost very similar money than replacing for new.
it is an easy job.

as previous poster said, jack up your can and then let it go back down fast, you will see if the sound is consistent and you might even be able to locate it by ear.

San Rensho

If what you have is a creak/squeek when going over a speed bump fairly slowly then it could also be the control arm ball joint, the one that connects the control arm to the hub. Temporary fix is to put a pinhole in the bal joint boot, then thread an aerosal straw (like the straw that come with WD40) and spray WD40 or silicone or grease in there. Squeek goes away for a few days or weeks, but not more than a couple of months. I started doing it regularly but I gave up, too much of a hassle and the creak only happens over big/slow bumps.

100plus

Thanks guys for your input. My local indy actually put my car on the hoist and lifted the car up. He suspected the suspension top mounts to be the culprit as he recently performed a similar job to mine. As i was saying, my car on the hoist and he turned the car left and right always looking at the top mounts for play etc. He removed the plastic covers under the hood where you usually put an aftermarket strut bar and true enough, the left side top mount had play as he steered left and right. Hopefully that is the only problem.

I was considering of also replacing my control arms but with polybushes. Any negative feedback on polybushes?

Cheers

Dharn55

Some pictures of the top mount on my car. This is the drivers side but I am replacing both of them. The sound I had was a very loud "Clacking" on some bumps, not all bumps. By the way, if anyone is gong to try to "lubricate" the ball joints don't use WD40, use a true lubricant. WD40 only acts as a lubricant in the short term and can actually wash away other lubricants. You can get lithium grease in an aerosol can that you could use the tube from a can of WD40 to inject into the joint and it would be a better, longer lasting solution. But if the ball joint is failing you should replace it.

geetee

I had a squeaky front last year. It seemed like it went away but now it's back and not going away. I have an appointment with a shop next week and I'll update. He mainly does porsche suspension and he already had an idea - suspecting a few bushings. He'll check and do alignment.

Dharn55

Here is a source for bushings if you want to just replace the bushings and not the control arms, etc.

http://store.powerflexusa.com/porsch...ngs-p1040.aspx

They claim the polyurethane bushings are superior to the rubber OEM bushings, but it can get pretty expensive to replace all the bushings.

geetee

Thats a great link. Thanks.
The shop said he'll be able to tell by doing a few tests so I'm hoping he can find everything. Along with the squeaks is that the steering/handling is getting a little sloppy along with vibration on the steering wheel. Shocks/springs pretty recent. Alignments pretty recent also with tires/wheels road forced so all I can think of is old sus. components.

Porschelova

Hi guys,
I have a squeak, but can't say it is a suspension problem. First I thought it was a transmission thing, but debunked that. I also thought it was a high RPM since the first time i heard it and felt it i was going fast and just shifted into 6th gear at high RPMs. Freaked me out, but there was nothing unsafe about it. For some crazy reason the first thing i thought was my IMS fix lasted 7K miles. It happen later that same day since the car behaved perfectly. That time lights in dashboard flashed but thinking it was because the squeak is like something slips and to the car is like something gets disengaged and back on. AGain, the car runs fantastic . it has happened one more time, again at high RPM and lights flashed - either ABS and or Oil, but my oil is great. And finally, yesterday it did it going from 2nd to 3rd, to turn at a light - not fast - no high RPM. I put an OBD2 reader - nothing - car is perfect, but is worrying me. Local dealer is not an option. Has anyone heard or experienced anything like this? The car has a 2001 cab 44k miles; IMS fix at 37K, and it is a great running car. Typically runs like new. Stumped! Thank you

Astro

NYoutftr

My car just developed the squeaking noise.
If the lower control arms are replaced, does it need to have alignment again?
There appears to be 50 different brands of lower control arms for the 996, ranging from $60-$850.
What is a reasonable choice in brand.
5000 miles and a few track days a year.

dporto

It won't last long...ask me how I know. Replace the coffin arms (The LCA with the ball joint at one end). Bushings? Eh...yes, they are probably nearing the tail end of their lifespan, but unless they're extremely worn or cracked, they're not causing the squeaks and creaks. They're also a huge job to replace. Start with the LCA's/Wishbones and move on from there.

wyovino

I just did the jack and drop test shown above and I need to replace the lower control arms. Which brands are good at a reasonable cost?

Also, I tested all four corners. The right front creaks, the left front and right rear squeak (kind of a chirp). The left rear didn't make noise. I guess it makes sense to replace all four, right?

hatchetf15

Just replaced all my control arms and tie rods. Meyle and TRW are OE sources I used (found X74 top mounts at Ellis) and I compared best prices at RM, Warehouse 33, 5150, RockAuto, Design911, etc. Plan $1200 for all parts, including hardware/boots, plus whatever top mounts you select. This will keep stock or M030 spec.