JD BOXSTER

Replacing the inner tie rods on the 986 and need to apply grease to the toothed rack.

Any one have a suggestion as to the correct lube required?

Also anyone know how to tighten the large clamp on the boot near the rack? like it might be a special Porsche tool?.

Thanks,

JDBOXSTER

Any lock in finding the causes of the groaning and clunking? I am going thru the same thing with my 2000 986.

JD BOXSTER

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Hi all, well it looks as though I'm going to have to replace the track control arms on my 2000 2.7, just checked them and there seems to be quite a bit of play in the drivers side one. Does anyone know the best place to purchase them and what the correct part number is?

While trying to find the sight glass for the A/C (unsucessfuly, does it exist?) I noticed that the cabin filter doesn't seem to have a cover over it, should it have? All replies gratefully recieved.

Good Information Was the car on the jackstands and suspension freee when you backed off the mounting nut a 1/4 turn?

i just installed new shocks and bearings and have this same clunking Thinking I overtightened the shock nut on the bench?

Thanks, JDBOXSTER

I am in SERIOUS need of expertise on this. Have been to mechanics, dealers, private shops, etc. and only getting guesswork. I've even replaced lower control arms on a mechanics advice and it was a total waste of time (and money). So,

what I need is for someone, and I know you are out there, to PLEASE tell me what the symptoms are of bad strut bearings / mounts. Here's the background. The car has perfect steering with no play or drift, front suspension is quiet at any speed on any surface going straight. It has 65k miles. New tires. But, slow down to 5 MPH, turn the wheel left or right and hit a bump the size of a walnut and you get a metallic clunk from the front end. All bushings check out, all other suspension parts inspect well. I read somewhere, don't know if it is true, that if you get clunking goint straight, it's ball joints, if you get it turning, it's strut bearings. Can someone shed some light on this? If that is the problem, what components need to be replaced? My undying gratitude to anyone that can help with this. Great forum - proud to be a new member and proud to drive that beautiful car.

I had strut bearing problems on my VW Jetta 1.8T. the noise is as u describe. I had replaced the strut mounts, but the sound was still there. I finally solved it by jacking the car up, and placing the front on stands.

- I then placed the jack under the control arm of the offending side, and jacked that up a bit, so that the suspension was under some tension. Not enough so that the car was lifting off the stands, but so that there was weight applied to the strut mount.

- I had my wife turn the steering wheel left to right with the engine off. She could reach in and turn it from outside the car with the window rolled down. I was able to see the strut clicking in the mount while this was happening.

- To solve the issue, I ended up just backing the nut off on the strut bearing mount a 1/4 turn. I guess the nut was too tight, and not allowing the strut to move freely in the bearing. I had it tightened to spec according to my 8 yr old (seldom used) Craftsman torque wrench.

- On VW's there is a 2nd nut that holds a collar on that I suppose prevents the strut from falling out of the tower. I just tightened this 2nd nut down on top of the 1st one. In reality, your strut will never fall out of the strut tower, unless there is catastrophic damage to the front suspension.

I think that shops have problems isolating that clunk is because they can't isolate it on the lift. Once my car was on jacks, and the suspension was unweighted, the sound disappears.

Hope u get it fixed. that metal 'sprong' sound is most annoying.

HTH's

Peter - 8 more days to Pcar ownership.

According to Pedros website you can buy a 1 inch marine drain plug at West Marine for 6 bucks to pull the tubes out

JD BOXSTER

What were the symptoms that you needed to replace the inner rods? Loose sterring and road wander?

Thank you for the great pictures. I am changing front shocks real soon and appreciate your info.

I thought that the tie rod and ball joints had to be removed to get the shock out?

How hard was it to compress the shock for removal? Two person job with spring compressor?

Thanks again!

JDBOXSTER