997.2 front suspension creak

[tryert]

Hi All. My 2010 C2S has been suffering from a loud and persistent front suspension creak of late. My OPC has tracked the problem down to a worn top mount bearing on the drivers side. They want £1200 to replace it although they will discount a bit given the age of the car. Not covered by my warranty.
My question is whether this is a reasonable cost or not. I imagine I'll be sorting the other side before long too. Thanks!

[ATM]

tryert said:

Hi All. My 2010 C2S has been suffering from a loud and persistent front suspension creak of late. My OPC has tracked the problem down to a worn top mount bearing on the drivers side. They want £1200 to replace it although they will discount a bit given the age of the car. Not covered by my warranty.
My question is whether this is a reasonable cost or not. I imagine I'll be sorting the other side before long too. Thanks!

I can't imagine the part costing more than 2 or 3 hundred at a stretch. So this feels like the best part of 1000 pound for labour. I'd get a quote from a specialist. You can maintain a Porsche warranty if you use genuine Porsche parts. If you have a different warranty you can use any parts. I'd be tempted to get the tools out and have a crack at it but my current suspension arm repair has been waiting for the weather to get better for at least a week now.

[johnconners]

I had both replaced on my 987.2 S (suspect the parts will be the same) for about a third of that at an indie so seems outrageously high to me.

[Paynewright]

Bearing is about 20 quid. Top mount 50 both from 911uk so seems a lot. That said may include a geometry check.

On my 996 I could change the bearing and top mount in under 2 hours.

[AndrewO]

If it’s Porsche warranty they should cover it, I had one done.

[tryert]

Thanks all. A well respected indie has quoted less than half the OPC figure to do the job with Porsche parts and check the geometry afterwards. Will go that route unless the OPC comes back with a decent discount. Will also push the warranty point as there seem to be differing opinions on whether or not it should be covered.

[tryert]

Just to conclude. Managed to get the OPC quote down to a semi respectable level. In the end they were adamant that this is a wear and tear issue and so not covered by the warranty. Not sure I’m happy with the degree of negotiability in the pricing. Some people probably don’t bother to argue the toss and so are getting somewhat ripped off in the process.

[ATM]

tryert said:

Just to conclude. Managed to get the OPC quote down to a semi respectable level. In the end they were adamant that this is a wear and tear issue and so not covered by the warranty. Not sure I’m happy with the degree of negotiability in the pricing. Some people probably don’t bother to argue the toss and so are getting somewhat ripped off in the process.

Out of principal I'd still go to the indie. If we put up with this sheet it will never stop. Don't give them the business after this blatant attempt to shaft you royally.

[moonigan]

tryert said:

Just to conclude. Managed to get the OPC quote down to a semi respectable level. In the end they were adamant that this is a wear and tear issue and so not covered by the warranty. Not sure I’m happy with the degree of negotiability in the pricing. Some people probably don’t bother to argue the toss and so are getting somewhat ripped off in the process.

I cant find the exact policy wording but this is the list of exclusions from the Porsche website. Whilst it mentions shock absorbers it doesn't specify top mounts.


Wiper blades
Tyres
Brake pads and brake discs
Shock absorber
Clutch disc and clutch pressure plate
Drive belt including tensioning guide rails and roller
Spark plugs
Batteries
PDCC reservoir
Coolant
All light bulbs (excluding Xenon and LED-lamps)
All filters, fluids, oils and grease


https://www.porsche.com/uk/approvedused/porscheapp...

[gwsinc]

Both front top mounts were replaced on my CS by the previous owner under warranty after my test drive, it had squeaky steering and very noisy suspension over bumps. This was done at south London OPC. Guess it just depends where you go and who you speak to on the day.

They apparently said the warranty doesn't cover 'noise' defects, but they did it anyway in this case.

To me, noise is an indication that there's something misaligned or perished so the fact they don't normally cover noise defects didn't make much sense!

[tryert]

gwsinc said:

Both front top mounts were replaced on my CS by the previous owner under warranty after my test drive, it had squeaky steering and very noisy suspension over bumps. This was done at south London OPC. Guess it just depends where you go and who you speak to on the day.

They apparently said the warranty doesn't cover 'noise' defects, but they did it anyway in this case.

To me, noise is an indication that there's something misaligned or perished so the fact they don't normally cover noise defects didn't make much sense!

Agreed. In my case they are saying it’s a wear and tear case. The car is 8 years old and has done 29k miles so it’s conceivable that a set of suspension bearings will have worn out or corroded by now. I know from experience that Bmw warranties don’t cover such items either. There does always seem to be an element of discretion with these things though.

[ATM]

Slippydiff said:

I've just had two and half grands worth of steering rack and rear damper top mounts replaced under BMW warranty on a 5 year old 75K mile 330D ...

Tanking it round bends for 75000 miles really takes its toll on those big buses.

[tryert]

Slippydiff said:

I've just had two and half grands worth of steering rack and rear damper top mounts replaced under BMW warranty on a 5 year old 75K mile 330D ...

Apparently there’s a 60k/6y life on Porsche suspension components and my worn bearing has been on the car since 2010. Any wear and tear beyond that isn’t covered. Bearings can be noisy but still serviceable I’m told. guess I’ll have to be content with my loyalty based discount

[AndrewO]

In my case it was Reading that couldn't find the issue so I dropped it off at Swindon where I'd bought it a few weeks earlier. Quite a common issue with these cars so in hindsight I'm not sure why Reading struggled to find it.

I think the car was about 8yrs old at the time so worth pushing the warranty ?

From memory the bearing sits in an aluminium top mount and it develops play over time/mileage...not so much a creak but a knock on mine.

Edited by AndrewO on Wednesday 12th September 16:34

[anonymous-user]

Taking it to Reading was the mistake, suggest you check the bodywork carefully for damage.

[D.no]

tryert said:

Apparently there’s a 60k/6y life on Porsche suspension components and my worn bearing has been on the car since 2010. Any wear and tear beyond that isn’t covered. Bearings can be noisy but still serviceable I’m told. guess I’ll have to be content with my loyalty based discount

I was given the same line from Porsche Swindon regarding a noisy water pump bearing on my 2008 997.2. They argued that despite the bearing making a noise, it was still actually functioning. After pointing out that noise in a bearing signifies impending failure (noise = vibration and heat, and will eventually result in failure when considered in the context of a water pump), and that if it was left until it failed, the resulting warranty claim could be MUCH larger, they conceded, and replaced the water pump under warranty. Credit due to them for acknowledging this and fixing the issue.

Centre Gravity would be my port of call if it's not covered, because you'll need an alignment anyway, and may as well get the car set up to your liking...