I think it's time to rehab/overhaul my front suspension. I have the Chassis System Failure warning on my 90k mile 2011 Panamera 4S. Have a big leak in front right air strut and a slow leak in front left, so going to replace both. While I'm in there, I'm planning on repairing/replacing all the wear items as well. This is where my main question comes from. It seems from reading the posts on this, many in the forum (and the dealerships) just replace the bushings instead of the entire arm (unless covered under warranty). When should I/we become concerned about the health/lifespan of the ball joint (since it doesn't appear to be replaceable)? Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with how long these ball joints hold up? (Is there a source for replacement ball joints?) It's obviously much cheaper to just do bushings (~$125/side) vs complete lower arm ($390/side), but i don't want to save a couple hundred bucks just to have to replace the whole arm before the new bushings wear out. Also, is there a source for the upper arm bushings besides that serbian poly bushing? Or does everyone just replace the whole upper arm? Thanks.

(Just to help out, I am probably leaning towards complete arm replacements using FCP Euro. That way I can just replace the entire arm in the event of future wear/damage essentially free, minus shipping.)

 

I replaced the front lower control arm bushings but now am having some clunking noises and am starting to think its the ball joint although they seemed good when I checked them.

 

I was told by my local Porsche Dealership service tech and a local indy shop that I use that it is best to replace the entire arm as ball joints get tired at about the same time and pressing the old bushings out and new bushings in makes for possible issues and costs end up close due to the extra work needed to R&R the bushings VS replacing the arm.

 

Yes, ball joints get much looser over time. I know it is best to spend as little as you can, but buying full control arm oem like loemforder will pay in the long run.

 

Thanks for the replies. Y'all have confirmed my thinking. I tend to overdo things sometimes when it comes to my vehicles, so I wasn't sure if i was being over-cautious.

 

Are new bolts required/recommended for control arm replacement? It would seem that they would be ok, but I don't know if any are torque to yield like the caliper bolts. Speaking of, I had just replaced my caliper bolts in the last work I did. I guess I need to get another set now for this overhaul. Anyone disagree or know that they are actually multi-use? I now have the new updated bolts that went from external to internal torx or 12 point or whatever. I just remember that the front and rear bolts were different/opposite heads before and now match.

 

The control arms should come with new bolts already. At least oem lemfoerder do. Total 3, one for ball joints, two for arm pivot points.