SLC Tortfeasor

I just thought I’d share my words of wisdom on rear spoiler repair.
When I bought my 2001 996 Turbo three months ago, I knew the rear spoiler was broken. My local Porsche dealer guesstimated, without inspecting the spoiler, that it would probably cost roughly $1,500 to fix. Well, I took the car in to a different local reputable Porsche shop, and they quoted me a whopping $3,941 to fix it. The reason: BOTH hydraulic rams were broken, AND the pump was also broken. So they were going to buy all new parts to fix it.

In despair, I turned to the Interwebs. I seriously considered buying a fixed aftermarket spoiler, even though I slightly prefer the stock look. But then I found multiple positive mentions on other (lesser) forums of a company that repairs the components of the system for far less than buying new parts. I haven’t seen them mentioned here on Rennlist for this kind of work, so I’m putting out the word for the benefit of others who might find themselves in similar circumstances.

The company is called Cabriolet Hydraulics, located in Bradenton, Florida. Folks here on Rennlist have praised them for their work in repairing hydraulics for convertible tops, but they don’t seem to be on Rennlisters’ radar for rear spoiler repair. I called the company up and spoke to the owner, Sig. He says they do repair spoilers, but he doesn’t advertise spoiler repair anymore because he was getting overwhelmed with that work and couldn’t keep up.

Long story short: He knows what he is doing and has repaired lots of these systems. He is reliable and easy to work with. He charged me about $740 to repair both broken hydraulic rams and the broken pump. And he gave me a three year warranty. I had my mechanic ship the entire broken system to him, including the hydraulic lines, which cost about $50 each way for second day air mail. So including my mechanic’s time for removal and reinstallation, the total cost to repair my thoroughly broken spoiler hydraulic system was under $1,200. Obviously a lot of money, but a whole lot better than $3,941! And Cabriolet Hydraulics offers a three year warranty on the repairs.

According to my car’s service records from prior owners, this is the third time the rear spoiler has been fixed over the course of its 40,000 miles since 2001! It’s far too early to say how long this latest fix will last. However I’m optimistic, because from what I can tell I baby this car a bit more than the previous owner.

A couple of tips from Sig, the hydraulic repair expert:

1. Big temperature swings are bad for the hydraulics, so this is another reason not to leave the car parked out in the sun for long periods of time.

2. Leaving the spoiler deployed in the up position for a long time is also hard on the hydraulics. I’m not sure how long a “long time” is though.

I am not affiliated with Cabriolet Hydraulics and have nothing to gain from posting this review. Given how unreliable the spoiler system seems to be, I just suspect there will always be people who could benefit from this info. I hope it helps someone.

cbracerx

Thanks for the info, good to know we have options out there.

rmc1148

I've seen them mentioned here and on 6spd= good info.

"02996ttx50

yes, good tip/find! they have been mentioned for their spoiler work but as you say, the cabrio rebuilds. i re-bled so continue to remain hopeful and confident

Kevinmacd

Yes I spoke to them after not seeing their website referring to the spoiler system. They seem to talk more to the cabriolet top hydraulics. Yes they do rebuild the entire spoiler system. Im wondering if pentosin is not to compatible with the seals, and if power steering fluid is better. Just something to think about!
I have a full system in the box that failed and will ship it off to them for repair if this newly replaced system fails.

rmc1148

I cant believe that they have not came up with a replacement fluid that is inert by now.

Macster

Not sure how you can get to the belief the hydraulic fluid in the spoiler is the problem.

If it was not seal friendly all spoiler systems would leak/fail and sooner rather than later.

There is nothing sinister about the spoiler hydraulic fluid. The fault lies with the system in general.

The spoiler hydraulic system uses considerable pressure (my info is 30 bar (or 435psi!) when extended) coupled with (at least this is my opinion) the system is just too complex, dare I say Rube Goldberg-ish, to be as reliable as it should be, which is to say it should never fail. I note my Boxster's spoiler system continues to operate just fine now with over 288K miles and more deployment and retractions than my Turbo's spoiler system will likely ever experience.

TheDeckMan

The high pressure will for sure take its toll on the system over time. My Corrado has a powered setup but instead uses a cable ram setup, never had any issues with it and it is over twenty years old.

I was waxing under the spoiler when I noticed in the engine bay it seems like mine is having a seal leak Going to pull apart and put in a EBWerks static mount setup for the time being while I dive into rebuilding the factory ram setup.

rmc1148

I guess I was mistaken I did not know it was just plain hydraulic fluid thought it was something harsher..

fly2low

Thanks for the info
I had to look up the meaning of your handle - cool
thought it referred to a GD lawyer

SLC Tortfeasor

;-) Hah, yes I am a lawyer, but don't worry, I'm one of the good ones!

fly2low

Tortfeasor

A wrongdoer; an individual who commits a wrongful act that injures another and for which the law provides a legal right to seek relief; a defendant in a civil tort action.


for those who don't know

z06801

Which firm?

Macster

Harsh is a relative term.

Pentosin is not a necessarily benign fluid. It is harmful to rubber IIRC. I would not trust it on painted surfaces or wiring insulation either.

As soon as I spotted my spoiler's system was leaking I washed the fluid away and and removed the fuse so the spoiler wouldn't deploy and force more fluid out.

But inside a hydraulic system for which it was intended to be used Pentosin is as benign a fluid as one could want.

dprantl

One property about Pentosin that I did notice the first time I handled it was how extremely thin it is. The stuff pours like water. The Lucas power-steering stop-leak that some DIY's recommend when refilling the spoiler system is THICK. Maybe just making the fluid slightly thicker makes all the difference.

Dan