I have noticed that after driving a bit I start to hear noise from front suspension while driving, going slow over changes in elevation such as driveways and what not. The sound is what I have come to know as a loose sway bar end link. Through research I found out that the previous owner was trying to track down the same noise and had swapped out endlinks and a couple of other bushings underneath not long ago. So fast forward to last month I took it to my local indee shop for yearly inspection and had them look at the noise as well. They said suspension was all tight, but there was a broken bushing in the steering rack so that was replaced. Initially it all felt good, but after a while the noise came back. Yesterday he wife and I took it out on our first long trip, about three hours total and by the time we got back it was so bad I expected to see my sway bar hanging from underneath the car. I tried to pinpoint the noise with her driving slowly by and what not, but it is not too loud outside the car. I even had her stand in the frunk and bounce a little to reproduce the noise. Last night's research showed that the strut mounts/bearings can go out causing similar symptoms. Today after driving around for about 30 minutes I put it on the lift and compressed the shock to see what would giggle. Everything was tight except the top of the shock. I have never worked on any Porsche shocks before, but when I grabbed the topshock mount and was able to move it it does not seem like that is normal.

Is this much play in the shock mount normal under compression? These are PSS9s which are original to the car, unknown as to if/when shock mounts have been replaced. If it is not a shock mount then I guess I'll start looking at something not suspension related giggling around on the outside of the firewall like the AC compressor lines banging around.


Obligatory car picture:

 

With no compression on the coil overs it will have a little play on the mount bushing there. My brand new H&R's did the same thing, however no clunks on the road what so ever. Check the strut bushings to see if there are any tears in the rubber.

 

Sorry, I should have been more clear. The video was with compression of the shock.

 

That is not normal. Something is worn out or loose up top.

 

That is what I was thinking. Thanks much.

 

Since these are coilovers I assume that one can change out the strut mounts and bearings on top without taking the entire shock off? Generally there is enough room to get in there with coilovers as opposed to OEM springs and what not. IT seems to be a bit of a pain to remove the fronts with the AWD.

 

The top is supposed to rotate and the bottom is not. There is bearing on top that allows the spring to rotate when you turn the wheel. On coil overs i think the bottom just sits on a round perch and relies on the friction there being more than the turning resistance of the bearing on top.

 

The description of how the sound get worse with driving and over uneven surfaces reminds me of when I had a noise. That particular noise was a dry ball joint. The ball joint boot had a small tear in it. It would get louder with more driving. It also would be louder on really hot days after it had been baking in my work parking lot. The ball joints are not replaceable so the control arm needs replaced. I also had noise in my strut bearing that would happen when driving slow and hitting bumps. With higher speed you could not hear it.

 

I had the same happen to my car, turns out it was a tuning fork making the noise. I thought it was the strut bearing, but after replacing them, the noise was still there. You need to remove the tuning fork and put it in a vice to see if there is any play in it, removing them takes about 5 minutes for the front. Mine had a very very small play, but enough to make a clunking noise, just like that of a sway bar endlink ratling. I replaced it using a 997 unit, and the noise was gone.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, good to know that the tuning fork is a 5 minute thing, I'll do that when I get her back on the lift. I had been trying to move things with huge channel locks and a pry bar while on the car. It is to be warm this week so the hunt will continue. Just get her warm and back on the lift until I can pinpoint. I'll have to take a long drive in the country on a nice 70+ degree weekday... the sacrifices I make. At the price point of these parts I'm not going to start throwing (anymore) money into the black hole without having a better idea of what it really is. I'm already out for an installed steering rack which may, or may not have needed to be replaced.