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So, I got a PPI done on my 2008 C2S. The shop reported "All four rear upper control arm bushings are cracked." I'm inspecting them now, but they do not appear cracked or worn to the point of replacement. The shop also stated "active RMS oil leak" and my garage floor is bone dry after a month. I think they are full of it and looking for work. Thoughts?
I replaced all four shocks at 94K miles (only the rears were leaking) and examined all my bushings very carefully and did find tears but only in the rear, lower control arm.... that center bushing with gaps that has a tendency to tear. The only "common" wear in control arms appears to be these lower ones, at least given my research.
Regarding the RMS.... hmm...... my old 2000 Boxster engines (yes, I had two, both blew up) leaked from everywhere. My indy said ignore it and I did. That 2nd engine lasted 150K miles and seeped..... very rarely, I would get a spot on the ground... but I started using higher viscosity oil and it would stop. I guess the lesson here is that some seepage does not mean a serious problem.
I always remind myself that techs are financially incentivized to find problems.
As you probably know, a tear in a bushing won't cause your car to explode.... but it will clunk. In my Boxster, I had two bad ones in the rear that I let go for too long and I could get the car to change direction very slightly at high speeds by throttle on/off.... my point here is that you should experience symptoms if they are bad. If you are holding a control arm, you should know all this.
54k on the car. I've worked on own cars since my first, so I know my way around, but this is my first Porsche.
I am getting a bit of a clunk from the rear, so I was hoping these control arm bushings were the culprit, but now I'm not so sure by looking at them. Slightly worn, yes, but cracked? I don't think so.
I also noticed my passenger side sway bar end link is worn - I'm thinking this may be the culprit. Shop did not report this on PPI.
My 2009 C2S has been pretty good on control arms... I say this because my 2000 Boxster would go through control arms.... at 60K, I would need to replace something (got 197K on the chassis). Symptoms would always be clunking. Which arm it was is a difficult thing and the dealer needed to use chassis ears to find them. I had the 2nd highest mileage Boxster the dealer had the time so we were in unfamiliar territory. I forget which would go in the front, but in the rear, it was the lateral arms... the ones that went front-to-back, poking forward from the wheel carrier.
But I went through .... IIRC, three sets in the front and rear.... rears were always the lateral ones, fronts I can't remember.
Sway bar links ... IIRC.. clunk was more on the tinky side (still a clunk) while control arms were more solid clunks.
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Rear upper control arm bushings
