Experiences with my Cayenne S 2004 Cooling Pipes and Thumping!
10-12-2014, 04:14 PM
#1
Cruisin'
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Experiences with my Cayenne S 2004 Cooling Pipes and Thumping!
Last year I posted about my consideration in getting a 2004 Cayenne S. I took the plunge and bought it and largely its been a very reliable car. I purchased it at 80k miles and now 1 year later have 108k.
I drove it about 3 months before I decided to start looking into the cooling pipes. I hoped that they were already done but after taking it to a independent shop, they said they couldn't tell me. I assumed they weren't when I could smell antifreeze and ordered the kit from Suncoast....
WOW what a JOB!
Took me 3 days at 6-7 hours to do it... most of it was the fact that I didn't have the brute strength required to wrestle those pipes out at that angle. I actually ended up using a butane torch to get the little plastic shards out. I'll post a few pics. Anyway, pipe install was great. No leaks or anything. To those that said I couldn't do it, having never attempted this before, I totally understand why you said that lol. It's totally worth the 1000 bucks you would pay someone else to do the install.
Thanks to everyone for all your help. I will definitely be donating to the forum.
Now on to the next things....
The clacking of the AC doors is incredibly annoying. I'm thinking that one of them is stuck or worn out because the midlevel vents on the passenger side don't work.
Thumping at low speeds. Feels like its coming from the front. Quiets down at about 20 mph. Shifting also feels a little sluggish (which makes sense if the differential is being resistant right?)
I had a "self proclaimed" german car mechanic look at it suspecting that it was the driveshaft or the mount, and he said my "differential is ruined" and I needed to rebuild. I've also heard about the transfer case going bad on these also... how can I figure it out without spending more on diagnostics? If I need to rebuild my differential are there any DIYs? I know it probably not easy but I figure if I can do those cooling pipes... I can do anything lol.
Is there anything I should know about Sparkplugs... I'm going to get some today.
Brake pads. Going to get those too... Any input or links would be greatly appreciated
THANKS GUYS! YOU ROCK!
I drove it about 3 months before I decided to start looking into the cooling pipes. I hoped that they were already done but after taking it to a independent shop, they said they couldn't tell me. I assumed they weren't when I could smell antifreeze and ordered the kit from Suncoast....
WOW what a JOB!
Took me 3 days at 6-7 hours to do it... most of it was the fact that I didn't have the brute strength required to wrestle those pipes out at that angle. I actually ended up using a butane torch to get the little plastic shards out. I'll post a few pics. Anyway, pipe install was great. No leaks or anything. To those that said I couldn't do it, having never attempted this before, I totally understand why you said that lol. It's totally worth the 1000 bucks you would pay someone else to do the install.
Thanks to everyone for all your help. I will definitely be donating to the forum.
Now on to the next things....
The clacking of the AC doors is incredibly annoying. I'm thinking that one of them is stuck or worn out because the midlevel vents on the passenger side don't work.
Thumping at low speeds. Feels like its coming from the front. Quiets down at about 20 mph. Shifting also feels a little sluggish (which makes sense if the differential is being resistant right?)
I had a "self proclaimed" german car mechanic look at it suspecting that it was the driveshaft or the mount, and he said my "differential is ruined" and I needed to rebuild. I've also heard about the transfer case going bad on these also... how can I figure it out without spending more on diagnostics? If I need to rebuild my differential are there any DIYs? I know it probably not easy but I figure if I can do those cooling pipes... I can do anything lol.
Is there anything I should know about Sparkplugs... I'm going to get some today.
Brake pads. Going to get those too... Any input or links would be greatly appreciated
THANKS GUYS! YOU ROCK!
10-13-2014, 11:46 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Thumping could be old tires or the drive shaft. The support bearing on the drive shaft commonly fails. Differential failing sounds more like a grinding than a thumping. Doubt you have a differential failure.
The transfer case doesn't often fail, but the stepper motor on it can. You'll either start getting 4-wheel drive errors, or you'll feel the car popping a but during a long, tight turn on pavement.
Transmission probably needs new fluid. If you're getting hard, banging shifts, then you probably need to rebuild the valve body. It's something that will get progressively worse over 5-10K miles once it starts. About 1K as a DIY for the rebuilt unit, fluid, filters, etc. Otherwise, lookup the DIY on the fluid change and start there. Go with stock plugs. You can buy aftermarket pads that dust less, but most report giving up some braking in doing that. Either in the cold, wet, or initial feel. Haven't heard of a pad that dusts less and gives you 100% of what the OE pad does.
The transfer case doesn't often fail, but the stepper motor on it can. You'll either start getting 4-wheel drive errors, or you'll feel the car popping a but during a long, tight turn on pavement.
Transmission probably needs new fluid. If you're getting hard, banging shifts, then you probably need to rebuild the valve body. It's something that will get progressively worse over 5-10K miles once it starts. About 1K as a DIY for the rebuilt unit, fluid, filters, etc. Otherwise, lookup the DIY on the fluid change and start there. Go with stock plugs. You can buy aftermarket pads that dust less, but most report giving up some braking in doing that. Either in the cold, wet, or initial feel. Haven't heard of a pad that dusts less and gives you 100% of what the OE pad does.