Lower Rear Control Arms

[jkubiak14]

On a recent drive to Las Vegas NV from Chicago IL in my 2005 Porsche 997, I hit what appeared to be a poorly repaired pothole on I-40 about 50 miles East of Kingman AZ at 80 MPH. The car seemed to leave the ground and jump into the left lane, heading sideways into the guard rail. It happened quickly and I was anticipating hitting the guard rail and spinning out, possibly rolling over. Suddenly I was able to gain control of the vehicle, straighten out and slow down. I contribute this to the PSM, certainly not my driving skills. As we continued our journey the car felt very unstable at speeds over 45 MPH. Calling ahead into Kingman AZ, we located a repair shop and limped the remaining miles into town. The shop Manager quickly pointed out that the left rear lower control arm had snapped in two and was hanging there by the fastenings at both ends. The right rear lower control arm appeared bent from the center. After renting a car and waiting three days for parts and repairs the Manager showed me the damaged parts and mentioned that the car had been towed at some time, using the control arms as a hooking point. The arms showed signs of hook marks near their centers and were most likely bent and weakened from the tow. Oddly enough there was no damage to the front suspension. The car made the 1850 mile trip back to Chicago and handled fine. I do have reservations about driving it on the highway though. Has anyone had a similar experience? I was wondering if there might be any related potential residual damage to other suspension components. My local independent shop couldn't find anything else wrong. Thank you for any thoughts or advice.

[KNS]

I think that if your local indy found the car sound then you should be fine. I'd get an alignment if you haven't already and if the car still checks out then you're good to go and I wouldn't worry about it any further. Don't mention to the shop doing the alignment about your incident or the tow damage, just see how it comes out.

[jkubiak14]

Thank you for the reply Kurt,
The repair shop in Kingman AZ did send my car out for a four wheel allignment after replacing the rear lower control arms. A little pricey at $279, almost double the amount I have paid in the Chicagoland area.