Spoiler failure warning light - 997 Turbo and Turbo S

[Duncan-zg87s]

Apparently it is relatively common for the hydraulic system on the 996 and 997 Turbos to fail, this usually happens after around 5 years post manufacture. The seals within the hydraulic rams tend to fail, causing a leak of fluid and potentially failure of the motor unit. One or both rams can be affected and replacement of the whole system at a Porsche centre can be thousands of pounds !! The issue with replacement is that after a period of time the problem can or will arise again. An alternative is to have the rams, hydraulic lines and motor unit assessed and repaired. One such provider of this service is P-speed in Bielefeld, Germany. I have found them extremely useful and very helpful. They will test and repair the system with a lifetime guarantee, so check them out. When a failure occurs, usually the upper spoiler tray will not elevate and removal by trying to manually raise the upper tray can be very difficult. Another simpler way, which also mitigates any paintwork damage to the spoiler parts is to release the rams from inside the engine bay lid. On the 99& Turbo this is quite simple and does not require cutting of any zip ties. The procedure below will cover bot the Gen 1 and 2 Turbo and Turbo S.

Orientation. The left and right are the sides as you face the engine compartment.
Tools
10mm socket with extension piece and ratchet
Torx tool and T10, 22, and 45 bits
11 and 12 mm spanners
Circlip pliers
Small flat headed screwdriver
Special C-spanner well covered in plastic tape

Note: No zip ties need cutting.
1. Place a cloth or old blanket across the entire engine bay and adjacent bodywork to prevent hydraulic fluid contacting paintwork and any loss of bolts. Place removed parts into labelled containers for safe-keeping.
2. Remove both plastic intercooler air intakes by pulling on the small plastic plugs. The use of a flat headed screwdriver may be needed. Put air intakes to one side.
3. Remove the fan. Using a Torx T22 (? 23) tool, remove the 4 retaining bolts and place all to one side. Between the fan and bolts are 4 thick rubber washers, be careful not to lose these. The fan motor wiring needs disconnecting and the wiring easing from the housing.
4. Using a 10mm socket, remove the 4 bolts holding the motor unit and ease out the unit, hydraulic lines and wiring from the deck lid. Put the 4 bolts to one side. The wires to the motor should be eased off. The red and black connectors are of a different size and therefore can only be re-connected to the appropriate terminals.
5. Hydraulic rams. Pull off both left and right black caps to the ram units and put to one side, you may find some hydraulic fluid within or coating the caps. Place a 12mm spanner over the brass nut at the ram end to hold in place; do not turn this nut. Use a 11 mm spanner to loosen the steel nut holding in place the hydraulic line end-piece and loosen. Hydraulic fluid will probably escape, therefore try to catch this in a receptacle or with a paper towel. Remove the steel bolt whilst holding the brass bolt in place. There are 2 thin brass washers either side of the hydraulic line terminals, be careful not to lose these.
6. Circlip removal. The circlip is difficult to see, but it is there. For each ram and using quality grip release circlip pliers, remove the circlip. You may need the assistance of another person to ease the circlip gently off with a small screwdriver, as it can be difficult to remove with the circlip pliers alone. Be careful at this stage as the circlip may spring off and be lost. Put the circlips to one side. Once the circlip is removed the ram is now mobile in the housing. There is a larger black washer (spring ring) which should not be removed under the circlip, do not allow this to fall away. With the hydraulic line now free replace the steel bolt with the 2 copper washers hand tight into the ram. Keep the circlips safe.
7. Loosen but do not remove the 3 bolts securing the ram cylinder housing units to the deck with a Torx T 45 tool.
8. Lower and close the engine lid and with the assistance of another person, gently pull up the spoiler and remove. Place the spoiler, with the ram struts facing up, on a towel or blanket taking care not to scratch any paintwork. Take the C-spanner covered in tape and align the hole in the outer sleeve of the spoiler strut with the hole in the inner strut and then unscrew from the spoiler lid by turning the C-spanner in an anti-clockwise direction. Take great care not to scratch the spoiler paint work whilst using the C-spanner.
9. Open the engine bay lid and continue to remove both ram cylinder housings using the Torx T45 tool. Keep the 6 securing bolts in a safe place.
10. The right-hand ram housing unit has the microswitch unit attached which needs removal. Remove the black plastic housing by easing off. You may need to use a small flat-headed screwdriver to gently assist the removal. Use a small T 10 Torx bit to loosen the 2 screws affixing the microswitch unit to the right ram. Be careful not to lose the small screws and after removal place some tape over them to hold them to the microswitch unit.
11. Place the ram struts removed from the spoiler into the corresponding ram cylinder housings. Tape the circlips to the ram cylinder housings for transportation to P-speed.
12. You will now have the motor unit and hydraulic lines and the 2 ram units with spoiler struts and circlips, which should all be carefully packed and sent to P-speed.
13. You can replace and reconnect the fan and safely secure the microswitch wiring to the deck should you wish to drive the car.

I hope you find this helpful, much easier and far less expensive than having the same unit from Porsche put back in

[RiccardoG]

Don't own a Turbo but high five for a super useful post!

[Duncan-zg87s]

Thanks for the appreciation. I do have a 964 RS too, so as the TTS is waiting for the repaired hydraulics to arrive from Germany, I can play in the other. :-)