Grinding noise while steering

[crwarren11]

2000 Boxster, 110k miles.  Longtime contributor here and original owner.  Hoping someone can help with this annoying issue.  I have a recurring grinding noise (maybe it could be described as groaning) during steering which is coming from the front right of the car.  I lifted the car and listened for the noise while having my wife steer...of course there was no noise, likely because there is no load on the front end when lifted.  Duh.  I can only hear it at very low speeds (pulling in/out of the garage; parking; etc.).  I figured it was a bad ball joint so I replaced the control arm (996 341 053 17) and track rod (996 347 131 04) as most likely culprits.  The sound seemed to go away for a couple of days, but it is back (well, I guess it never really went away).  Should I just go ahead and replace the control arm link (996 341 043 06) as the next step?  Any other ideas?  Is this potentially an issue with the power steering gear?  Any tips for further diagnosis? 

[JFP in PA]

More likely, it is the upper strut bearing.

[crwarren11]

As in 997 343 018 01?

[JFP in PA]

Basically.  Slow speed grinding noises are quite often these things giving up the ghost.  You can test them by putting your hand or a stethoscope on each one and having someone turn the wheel.

[crwarren11]

Thank you! I will check it out. Anything else to do while I’m in there? Bump stop, etc?

[JFP in PA]

As you will need to disassemble the strut to replace the bearing, the bump or any other bits that are showing wear are fair game as well.

[crwarren11]

Ok thanks! I’ll probably just order pre-emptively. Is the part with the ball bearings inside (I forget the name) prone to failure?

[JFP in PA]

5 hours ago, crwarren11 said:

Ok thanks! I’ll probably just order pre-emptively. Is the part with the ball bearings inside (I forget the name) prone to failure?

 

More prone to wear over time.