Insomnic

One of the most common problems I've been finding with the 997 spoilers is the improper actuation due to the lack of lubrication. I've evaluated twelve other 997s from three dealerships, all of which had significant chattering and noise during their activation (engine off.)

Though mine was fine, curiosity got the better of me while I was cleaning my engine bay, so I decided to crack this assembly open and found a treasure trove of dried up grease and debris. In this post I'll run through the dismantling of the rear spoiler drive mechanism.

Parts that you will need:

• White lithium grease
• Light penetrating lubricant (I like Zep 45)
• Mix of Torx and metric sockets/drivers (<-- this means I didn't write them down )

Note: Everything looks clean in the pictures as I took them *after* cleaning and lubricating.



1. Diagram of the spoiler from the Porsche PET catalog – note that it does not include a breakout of the drive assembly, as it’s normally not serviced by the dealerships.


2. This image displays the bolts and fasteners that need removal in order to drop the shroud covering the drive assembly. Note that those in yellow are bolts with nuts, red and aqua are bolts and those in blue are cable fasteners.


3. Disconnect the power from the clips on the fan casing.


4. Remove the nuts (red) and the power connections (yellow) and set the motor (997 512 109 01) aside.


5. After removing the motor, clean off all of the remaining aged grease. Apply a white-lithium based grease to the internals; green indicates a light-medium application where purple indicates a heavy application.


6. Carefully pull back the two tabs to release the motor housing from the drive assembly.


7. After removing the motor housing, remove the two gears and gear shaft and clean off the remaining grease. Apply a light coat of grease at the green points and a heavy coat at purple.


8. Using the appropriate Torx driver (ie I don't remember), remove the two screws holding the spoiler sensors to the drive assembly.


9. Similar to step 6, carefully pull back the nine tabs to open the drive assembly. Pay attention to the two drive lines on the sides, and they will likely want to pop out and send pieces flying.


10. Remove the drive lines (pull up and out) from the blue rack gears – be careful not to lose the tension springs. You’ll also need to remove the two sensors which find over two plastic posts (be careful not to break them!)


11. Here is what the drive lines will look like detached from the drive assembly.


12. Clean all remaining grease and debris from the internal components of the drive assembly. Apply a light amount of new grease to the assembly tracks and gear teeth (green) a heavy amount to the reservoirs (purple.)


13. These two pressure sensors identify whether the spoiler is extended or retracted based on their contact with the blue rack gears. Clean off any debris from the sensors to ensure proper contact after reassembly.


14. Remove the bolts (red) to temporarily disconnect the spoiler hinge from the deck lid to access the drive lines for cleaning.


15. Once disconnected from the deck lid, gently pull the slack out on the drive lines and hinges. This will allow you to wipe off any old lubricant and debris from the line – you may need to push the slack back in and out to expose additional debris. Once clean apply a generous amount of light lubricant.


16. While working on one end of the drive line be cognizant of the other side, which also needs cleaning and lubrication (light lubricant.)


17. Once you’re satisfied with the cleanliness and lubrication of the assembly and its components, begin reversing steps 2-11. You may have noticed during disassembly that there’s an open area of the assembly (yellow), exposing the internals to debris and water. My only guess is that it was originally molded for an additional sensor or a carry over from a previous model; however since it’s not being used and appears to be more of a hazard than a benefit, I’ve covered mine with electrical tape.


18. Reversing step 4, reattach the drive assembly motor and connect the power leads. I would suggest NOT bolting the motor housing onto the shroud for now, as you’ll want to test that everything is functioning correctly prior to buttoning everything back up (see next step.)


19. Here you’ll see I’ve left out the shroud so that I can test the mechanism.. this would be easier with two people (one holding the mech, the other operating), however you can solve any problem with enough tape.


20. Make sure the drive lines are seating properly within the hinges before operating.


21. While extended, regularly apply light penetrating lubricant to the riser tube.


22. A little known fact is that the hinges have maintenance holes for lubrication; use light penetrating lubricant routinely to ensure things move smoothly.

rotesAuto

holy smokes! what an awesome thread! it must have taken a bit of effort!

kudos to you sir for giving enough of a damn to help educate others!!



I usually don't raise mine, unless it comes out on it's own......seems silly to drive around town with it out huh?
kind of funny to me

gray911

Thanks! Very helpful. I'm dealing with a squeak on mine and this should fix it.

USMC_DS1

Great write-up... will post it to the DIY sticky for others to find as well.

Edgy01

Great job. Mine was starting to really squeak the other evening so it may be time to do some preventative maintenance before something binds up and breaks.

Insomnic

I appreciate the feedback - there's not a lot written up about this area of the vehicle (I swear I'm the only person to hit that button with the engine off) and Porsche wants over $900 to replace the mechanism.

Drop a reply when/if you do the rebuild, I'd love to hear how it goes.

TriTom

Hi - mine began to squeak a bit and I immed put some sewing machine-weight oil on the left and right side hinges (see them in the first few pics) and now it goes up and down with nary a squeak!

Hope I don't have to do the rest of all that work described above! ;-)) Or....?

tx targa

My spoiler was lubed under warranty a year or so ago. (No way to not make that sound XXX.) Sound came back so they just replaced the whole mechanism. Glad I mentioned it before the warranty expires!

Insomnic

Ah, good catch! I neglected to throw in a picture for the lubrication of the metal hinges - I'll add one as soon as it's light out.

Mumbles

Nice posting Insomnic

Edgy01

Thanks again for providing such detailed instructions. Since my spoiler has been really making a real racket out back I knew that I couldn't delay much on taking care of this. It worked out fairly well. The part that I kept screwing up on and then finally figured out was on your photo #10. Specifically, where your red arrows are. If you don't ensure the drive rods are positioned precisely right the tail will never deploy.

My spoiler has NEVER BEEN this quiet!!!


Tools List:

8mm socket on a 1/4 inch drive
8mm combination
Torx 20 and 27

cairo94507

That is a very nice write-up and it will now cause me to go out to my car and activate the rear spoiler and listen to see if it makes noise, operates smoothly and quietly or not. Mine is still under warranty for another 2 years but I want to make sure it is working as intended. Thanks again.

Waliur Rahman

Nice post Insomnic.
My spoiler on 2007 Carrera is not re-tracting, when I try to do it manualy, I can hear the noise and seems like the gear teeth slipping (kit kit kit...sound). Any ideas?
On your post I cannot see the photos you mentioned. is there any way to email me the file?

d0lph1n

Thank you very much for your excellent instructions. I found a lot of very dry grease, rust on the rods and heavy oxidation. Now it works flawlessly, it's so quiet. I appreciate it.

Waliur Rahman

Excellent write-up Insomaniac. I took mine apart found the rear spoiler retraction problem. 2 Issues:
- The right side metal tube/cable is bent, thus the cable doesn't move easilly through the metal tube (your photo # 12)
- The 2 green/blue plastic strip with teeth (your phote number 10) is stripped in places
Any ideas on where can I get these parts?