Hello, new 2006 997 C2S owner, bought with 60k miles. Question is while going over small road bumps, front end has mildly harsh clunk. Is this normal for 911 of this age? Should I be worried about a suspension component? Read about control arms, front strut mount, but not sure what this might be. Don't want to replace/spend more than necessary to fix issue.
Thanks for input.

 

If everything in the front is tight and the bushings are good its most likely the springs in the perches - The front springs are in the perches with nothing in between them. Metal on metal. In the right conditions the front spring can get unindexed to the end point and the clunk you hear is it re indexing to the end point. The stock springs have more "tension" when the front suspension is uncompressed compared to aftermarket springs which is what prevents this with the factory set up.

It probably happens the most to you when you go over a small divot at moderate speed but not fast.

 

hmm, would that explain why the front end seems to float if i'm going up a steepish driveway at an angle so as not to scrape bottom? i can actually feel the far front wheel impact the pavement from being in the air.

 

2009 C2S 163K miles

Finding these clunks can be maddening.... I would not take my or anyone else's opinion here... you need to do some work to find it or you will spend money and time and may not get it. IMO, it is likely to be that lower control arm with the three attachment points. In my experience, it is a control arm.... If you are going to take it to a dealer to fix, then just take it in. They can usually nail thees pretty quickly. To find the source of these clunks, I purchased some chassis ears... my dealer used them to find a front end clunk years ago.

Read about it here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ed-advice.html

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

These cars don't have a lot of suspension travel. It's not unusual to lift a wheel when going over a big bump at an angle.

I'd pay attention to Bruce's comments. A few years ago when many members were posting about how to keep their brake rotors from rusting in the garage and what polish to use on their lug bolts, Bruce was driving his car.

He's one of the first members here to really put some serious miles on his 997. As a result, he's got a ton of experience with suspension components aging, diagnosing issues and fixing them himself.

 

Thanx for that..... keep in mind I really am a hack.....but to be clear, what I learned from owning two Porsches since 2000 is that suspension clunks are common and there is no pat answer as to where or which component is clunking. I am a DIYer now, so I needed some tools to find the bad actor. A dealer sometimes will guess well based on the sound given their years of fixing them...

Back when I had my 2000 Boxster S, I had the 2nd highest mileage Boxster/911 (water cooled cars) sold at this dealership. So when I brought mine in for a clunk in the rear, they were not sure but said it probably was the sway bar links... so they replaced them... nope... they got it wrong. That is when the shop foreman put on chassis ears and we went for a ride. He nailed it. They had no experience with the car. Today, given the age of these cars, I suspect they can probably figure it out quickly... I guess.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

Exactly.

I also have experience with two Porsche. From my experience - MEYLE OEM parts are cheap and excellent.
Recommend buying Control arms (top + bottom) and on the way I would also recommend replacing the End link + Tie rod (right and left).
These parts tend to wear out after a few tens of thousands of miles.
You will get a new Porsche with a sharp feel (the parts are not expensive).

Good luck

 

A front end clunk is often a worn strut top mount or worn control ams as stated below, but no, a front end clunk should not be there - something is worn or loose. The lifting a wheel thing is a combination of the chassis rigidity and the limited suspension travel - nothing to worry about there.

As we approach cooler weather, the next thing you'll experience is backing up when it's cold with the front wheels heavily angled, you'll feel a slip and hear a clunk noise. This is the Ackerman Effext of the geometry of the front suspension and the wheel will actually hop and catch. Only happens when it's cold because the rubber tire compound gets harder. Nothing to worry about there either.

 

Add me to the list who agree with this advice. I bought the wireless chassis ears from Amazon and used them to diagnose my front suspension clunk that showed up immediately after I installed a ton of brand NEW suspension components up front. Turns out, one of my new monoball camber plates had too much play in it, out of the box. ~$200 for a chassis ear tool that you'll keep and reuse your whole life is much cheaper than blindly replacing parts until you finally stumble upon the right one.

 

If you recently replaced the brakes, did you replace the locating disks on the backs of the pads? The big pads on the 6 piston / 350mm rotors (on turbos and GT3s) can rattle/clang over hard bumps.

Otherwise agree with the suggestions to look at the strut mount first.

 

Remove the wheels and check to see if the struts are tight. Then look carefully at the springs to make sure one of those hasn't snapped. If they look good, check suspension parts. Be safe. Make sure the car is well supported even if you're not under it.