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Strut Bearings and Meyle Control Arm - Observations - Creaking
2009 C2S 202K miles
Going to have to wait a few days before I start my front suspension project but I thought some of you mechanical perverts would like to see the private bits of a strut bearing. Yea I know, nothing hardens your wrench like bare, exposed metal bits.
Back when my 2000 Boxster S was new, the 911 and Boxsters developed creaking in the front end when turning the wheel. You would hear it mostly when maneuvering in your garage or to park. Back then Porsche did a courtesy repair and replaced mine under warrenty. Technically, there was nothing wrong with them. Today, you can shoot silicon spray or a better yet, penetrate grease like, my favorite, Winzer Polylube 250. Just shoot it up there and turn your wheel back and forth.
Anywho... enough waiting, its gonna be good...... woohoo!!!! Here she is, all the way from Slovakia, Miss Strut Bearing and her whirling, twirling ball bearings held in place by only a tiny strip of plastic.....
Top one is whole unit, below is the other separated. Notice the grease.... appears to be some sort of silicone grease... it is clear. Anyone know what this is? No it is not KY. My Boxster had what appeared to me as lithium grease.... anywho, it is definitly a different grease. By the way, I did not pull these appart... they are not snapped together. One was separated a bit in the loose-fitting box. Odd... They are from FCP Euro and denoted as OEM but not Porsche labelled. I looked closely at the mold-marks and it is pretty clear to me they ground off the Porsche logo... that P-triangle thingy.
Next up is a Meyle front, lower control arm AKA "coffin arm". What Meyle does for shipping, is put a blue plastic cap over the ball joint and they insert a little white plug into each side of the center bushing. It is hard to see, but this center bushing is not solid but has two holes on each side. What I find kinda funny is I have to wonder how many folks install this arm with the white protective caps in place. It certainly looks like is should stay there and may stiffen the flex caused by those two holes. BTW, one of the reasons these arms go bad, is this bushing tears loose over time as it is only held in with 50% rubber given the two holes on each side.
And here she is, Miss Stiffy, with a grip on your strut, she always keeps you pointed in the right direction.
Yea, I got too much time on my hands.
Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)
Last edited by Bruce In Philly; 08-30-2024 at 03:57 PM.
Glad to see you having some good quality time with Miss Strut Bearing, Bruce. Looks like you'll be having a fun holiday weekend in the garage. Looking forward to your progress.
Hmmm, not to feed your paranoia or anything, but are you sure those white bushings don't serve a purpose beyond shipping?
You know, you may be right.... I sent a technical inquiry to Meyle to be sure. For the rears, the coffin arm does not have these inserts so I assumed the fronts do not. So looking at the pictures in the FCP catalog, the blue cap is missing but the white insert is positioned. Checking the Genuine Porsche part, it has this plastic insert. For Meyle, you discard the blue cap so I assumed (ouch!) the other were protective caps. They are not snapped in very tightly at all.
I have done the rears and the Meyle and original Porsche on my car did not have this insert... so I assumed it was a protective cap... like the blue cap.
Thanx Wayne always helpful.
Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)
Last edited by Bruce In Philly; 08-30-2024 at 09:33 PM.
In doing a bit of research... because I do.... I found that Sachs, Lemforder, TRW, Boge, and WABCO among others are all owned by ZF, a big German conglomerate. ZF sales in 2023 were 46.6 BILLION Euros with over 168 thousand employees. Wow.
The steering tie rods I purchased are TRW... well I thought so...
One of the sick, twisted activities I quite enjoy is reading a company's annual report. The ZF report is fascinating to me because of how many pages are dedicated to Human Rights, Climate Strategy, and resource use. They just created a new role of "Human Rights Officer". While it is couched in mitigating risk, still it is quite fascinating to me. They are reporting to the investment community, and regulators, their carbon footprint objectives including measurements.
Anywho... I am really curious about this whole consolidation of makers around the world going on right now.
Yea, I think you are all correct, it stays in. I have an email out... we shall see. If I don't get a definitive answer, I will leave it in, but will know for sure when I remove the old arm. Like I noted above, what confused me is the rears don't use these inserts and the bushing looks the same with the same holes.
No, they did not have them... I know that for sure, not the new Meyle I installed nor the Porsche I took off. That is why I was so surprised to see them on these.
When I watch the FCP Euro DIY videos for the front and rear control arms, the white plastic inserts are installed for the fronts (top and bottom) but there are no inserts for the rears.
Top one is whole unit, below is the other separated. Notice the grease.... appears to be some sort of silicone grease... it is clear. Anyone know what this is? No it is not KY. My Boxster had what appeared to me as lithium grease.... anywho, it is definitly a different grease.
(now Atlanta)
I recall, reading where Petza914 (if memory serves) replaced the grease on his new top hats with waterproof grease. That grease might be water proof already. Just a thought from the cheap seats.
When I watch the FCP Euro DIY videos for the front and rear control arms, the white plastic inserts are installed for the fronts (top and bottom) but there are no inserts for the rears.
Wow, thanx for the heads up. Yep, so I went to look at them... I then went to Pelican's video and they show an old, original control arm being removed and it has the insert. So I guess there is my answer. Thanx again!!
BTW, just for yuks, I watched a 996 front control arm video and that model does not have the insert. I wonder what drove the design change?
My wife will never understand me but she does enjoy having a stable full of cars that look good on her.
Excellent catalog link. Thank you. Yea, the catalog confirms, again, the fronts are different from the rears in a 997 with the fronts having that insert. Also, again, the 996 fronts do not have the insert.
Amazing range of Porsche parts including belts, brake pads, and cam position sensors among the tons of stuff. I wonder if those items are actually made by Meyle. The parts world is being turned on its head and it is almost impossible to know who makes what. I suspect this is a result of the move to electrification... who need cam position sensors in the long term?
I also wonder why say, FCP, who pushes Meyle control arms sells TRW tie rod ends.... when the Meyle catalog has them. There is much to this supply story than we know... stay tuned I guess.
Bonus question: Why are folks like us so enthralled with parts catalogs? I think we need some therapy... or a bigger tool shed.
Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)
Last edited by Bruce In Philly; 09-01-2024 at 01:57 PM.
Bonus question: Why are folks like us so enthralled with parts catalogs? I think we need some therapy... or a bigger tool shed.
'Cause in our younger years going into the parts store, they had a mountain of catalogs on special racks for ready reference and they miraculously had everything we needed and so much more that we didn't. "Sure, take that free catalog on the counter." Ooooh, it is shiny and red and sez gain an 'extra 50hp'. It is in writing so it must be true." I was not a gear head but more of a maintain and repair mindset. Something left over from being raised by parents and grandparents who lived though the 30s and 40s, tough times. Learning about flying with my dad I was exposed to a lot about engine monitoring and health. I had enough friends who thought they were gear heads, wanting to race for pink slips, etc. I would help, learn and then watch them blow an engine. I stuck to what I was comfortable with.
08-30-2024, 03:46 PM
Strut Bearings and Meyle Control Arm - Observations - Creaking
