Thanks ONEBADBLUE930! My spoiler has been giving me the dreaded spoiler failure light for months, but the spoiler seemed to be working fine. I took it all apart and one of the rams was leaking.

I just want to inform people that when you release the top retainer ring-clip, it is a good idea to shoot it at a draped open blanket or something to catch all your parts that go flying out, and for goodness sake, do not try and look at it! Pointing it at your face could ruin your day. I had mine pointed away on the first ram, and my parts shot across my yard and into my many various types of cactus and desert thorny plants. It the took me a hour to find my retainer clip, wing lock, metal cap, and brass plunger. LOL

I cut my threaded rod to 5.5 inches. (I hope the new assembly can hold the force that it will have to hold).

The chrome bars are easily twisted off the spoiler with nothing more than a hex tip, to hold the sleeve, and a firm grip and twist counter clockwise to release.
I took a close look at the sensors that relay the spoiler position by contact with the chrome sleeve. Those are delicate and I can see those going bad fairly easily...It looks much like a Gibson guitar pickup selector switch, but tiny. If you guys have a dash light, but working hydraulics, that would be the first thing I would look at.

My spoiler is now in the fully up position to stay. I must say, I think it looks more like a 996 Turbo now...Not to be confused with the Boxster look anymore!!

My micro-switches/sensors are working and no more dash light!!

The electric motor wires were just taped up and secured. No error code or lights!

One added suggestion: It is not easy to compress the spring back down. I was able to secure the new bolt between a clamp, and wear work gloves while you compress the spring. With the spring compressed, align the chrome sleeve hole with the spoiler attachment groove and secure it with a hex/allen tip, so you can get the retainer clip back on.

Thanks for the write-up. Works like a charm.

 

Question... can the spoiler be unplugged and remain in the low position without throwing any codes?

Thanks!

 

If you don't want to deal with the ram springs and shooting parts, here's a solution based on a kit being sold on ebay that was discussed in an earlier thread. The kit uses the existing rams so all you have to really disconnect is the hydraulic system. (P.S. The parts don't really add up to the cost of the kit -- you're paying for the design and knowledge too. I was satisfied with the kit).

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...mechanism.html

 

The problem is not enough down-force at high speeds. Not really a safe idea. If you simply trip the micro sensors on the passenger ram, the system won't know the difference, and unplug the motor.

 

my spoiler was a known issue when i purchased my turbo. sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldnt. and occasionally it seemed as though the hydraulics would get scared and wet itself. (again, i knew that was the issue) i purchased the aforementioned ebay kit and was shocked to find that it contained a few nuts and bolts. but then quickly figured out that i was indeed paying for the knowledge and expertise. which is fine by me, considering the alternative was a $1500 repair bill. it came with very easy to understand and follow instructions. took me about 30 minutes to install.

 

My fix was right at 20 bucks for bolts, washers and nuts.

 

Easycare just replaced the entire assembly with a new one. Too bad the warranty finally expired. RIP easycare. I'll miss you. I guess a 10 year warranty is all one can expect

 

i had the "ebay "fixed wing kit" in hand, and the guys at speed gallery took the time out to rebleed/refill my existing stock rams, and after a couple of sessions of messing with it with decklid on a bench. voila. all working again, no cels or uneven up/down travel. i wanted to stay with the stock wing.. as long as it worked

speed gallery KILLED it

also got my new f14's installed. you were right to keep em

( PS anyone wants the ebay kit at a discount. new in box. hit me up )

 

that's for sure. come to find out, the hydraulics can be disabled without a kit in down position and without throwing a cel. i wasn't really pleased i bought the kit. but i thought there was little hope of repairing the leaking rams. until my techs did it in an hour and a half.

 

Yes, absolutely...I rolled around that way for over 2 years with mine. With regard to the later response about lack of downforce, I'm not sure what that owner is doing with his car but I never had any problems or concerns for my own usage.

However, full dislosure...after I pulled the actual hydraulic system and motor out, now I get CELs. I believe it's related to the micro-switches, but I haven't resolved the issue yet. Just disconnecting the system never resulted in any CELs for over 2 years for me. Good luck!

 

Well Steve, the way I see it, Porsche has the wing go up for a reason....Down-force. I'm sure they would have left it off to save weight, if it was not needed. Maybe that's why slower Porsche's' do not have one??

I have also heard from a few very knowledgeable Porsche People, that it makes a significant difference in handling. I never drove with one stuck down, so have no personal reference.

If you just putt around town, there probably is no need. If you are tracking it, or doing any high-speed runs, you would probably need it more. That's most likely why the "track" Porsche's have big wings from the factory, and NA's do not.

 

Sure, point taken. My point is that I've had 2+ years with mixed driving and never had any problems or rear end nervousness with the wing down. It certainly depends on how you're driving, what you're doing, etc. I don't want the guy to think his car is going to fly off the road if he exceeds 80 mph, but I'm also not trying to say there aren't benefits to not having the wing fully raised either, since it's clear there are.

Regarding your statement that Porsche might have left if off if they could have saved weight, I completely disagree. Porsche has taken a very heavy/complex approach to the 996TT that you can see is absent on the GT2 and GT3 models. Weight savings was not a top priority at the time the 996TT was conceived from what I can tell.

 

the stock 996 wing provides 20lb of down-force at 190 mph... Doesn't seem that crucial to me unless maybe I'm misunderstanding... Maybe it changes 100lb of lift to 20 lb. down-force?

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...downforce.html

 

The stock rear wing on a 996tt is supposed to provide 18lbs of down force at car's top speed of 189mph. I got this from some Porsche literature a while back. If I can dig it up I will scan it and post it here. In any case, the stock rear spoiler is basically a gimmick IMHO. If you want real down force you need to go with a larger rear wing like the GT2. The problem is that these cars have inherent understeer which will only be made worse with more rear downforce. The GT2 has increased downforce through the front bumper/aero to complement the downforce of the rear wing. If you just add a large rear wing to a 996tt with a stock front, welcome to understeer city.....In other words, all things being equal, if you want to reduce the understeer on your 996tt then leave the rear spoiler down as that will make the rear slightly easier to come around...

 

Doesn't the seller offer a refund if you're not satisfied? Glad you found a fix to the leaking rams. It seems like this is a recurring problem -- hope your fix lasts a while.