2003 Porsche Boxster - Steering Noise

[jbalderas]

I have a 2003 porsche boxster; there is popping creaking noise heard in the steering, I have found no TSBs. Does anybody have any other info, do they have updated steering intermediate shafts or it could be something else. Noise is there over slight bumps uneven surface...

Thanks Justin

[steven kiser]

welcome to the forum. does this car sit for prolong time periods? has there been any body work from an accident? when i chase these issues i use a tool i purchased from snap on tools that has 6 leads that clips onto the vehicle where ever and by turning one off at a time the noise can be narrowed down. it's a chassis ear and i've had a few and will emphatically tell you that the less expensive ones are junk. get a good one, hook it up and have someone drive while you listen. if this has been in an accident and the panels haven't been properly installed you'll get snapping noises being caused by the panels shifting at the meeting points. good luck and i'm sure that there's more help on the way...........

[crmeyers]

I'm with Steven. If you have the tool he's talking about (it's called The Chassis Ear - comes wired or wireless), place the sensors in the areas in question. I guarantee you'll find the noise. If you don't, place it on a drive on rack, and get someone to forcefully jounce the vehicle. Good luck. Noises are sometimes hard to find.

[steven kiser]

spoke with a cousin of mine that owns a "fender reapair" shop in the mid west and he agreed with me about the accident repair issue. he stated that this car as with a lot of sport cars use the body as a frame and if the repair's aren't done properly or a non qualified body epoxy is used the seams will in fact creak and make popping noises that the car will amplify like a speaker would. the area that's bad may be located in an area that's far enough away from the area the noise is emulating from to cause fits. he said that if you narrow the noise down with the "ears" work towards a rubbing noise more than the end result noise. i'm kinda confused about what exactly he's trying to say but the best i can come up with is that as the noise travels along the metal it finally ends up sounding like it's somewhere else.