Anyone want to throw in a suggestion?

[Edwin Strohacker]

Porsche wise heads:

987 Cayman S with a squeak that's driving me mad - because I just can't find it. It's definitely coming from inside & also the passenger/nearside of the car & I'm 99% certain that it's around the boot lid somewhere. Here's what I've done so far:

Removed all the boot lid trim, test driven.
Removed the seat belt tower trim, test driven
Removed the A pillar trim to the boot line, test driven.
Added neoprene cut offs to the rubber bump stops on the boot lid I.e. the ones half way down the boot lid that are known to compress a little over time.

Refitted all the trim, adding felt to every clip to double up on the rattle deadening & for good measure, did the trunk clunk fix on the boot counter weight while I was in there, even though mine doesn't clunk.

I'm honestly stumped for ideas now, short of ripping the whole thing back to the bare chassis. Although I'm sure it's internal, I'm open to suggestions, knowing how notoriously tricky squeak & rattle hunting can be, with sound bouncing round a cabin.

P.s. Not the sports wart, that did rattle, but got the felt treatment long ago.

[Edwin Strohacker]

Thanks Moe, I've already shushed the brake light & been playing around with the bump stops forever.

SFO said:

try the gear lever gaiter assembly ..

That's interesting - would you be kind enough to elaborate?

[Edwin Strohacker]

SFO said:

I had a noise in my 997 that was driving me nuts, I was convinced it was coming from the left hand side of the dashboard, near the windscreen

turns out the 'skirt' alcantara frame which covers the gear lever was making the noise .. a few pieces of tape here and there, and all was quiet again.

Thanks, appreciate it. Fokker, if I take the seat out & drive it, will I nor get all sorts of error codes? Passenger weight sensor, airbags etc?

[Edwin Strohacker]

OK, all good ideas, thanks for these, still open to suggestions if anyone thinks of anything short of nuking from orbit.

[Edwin Strohacker]

6' but I've checked both seats aren't fouling the bulkhead or the headliner. This is where I hear it coming from.

[Edwin Strohacker]

Bluedot said:

I wish!

Tbh, I was hoping to encounter another Cayman owner who'd had the same & unearthed it but I'll be jiggered if I won't keep going until I find it.

[Edwin Strohacker]

Hugo911 said:

Have a read here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I did, I was the penultimate contributor Thanks anyway.

[Edwin Strohacker]

olly22n said:

I have heard that the rear boot lid can cause squeaks.

Have you tried driving with it open?

Olly, you're a genius. I'm now at least in the neighbourhood of the thing after trying that. For someone who's spannered all sorts of stuff on that car, it never occurred to me to try that. Now I just have to pin down the exact spot & do something to it.

[Edwin Strohacker]

Pope said:

Apply some heavy grease to the rear lid catch - in the U shaped part on the lid itself; known to creak and squeak while driving and can be quiet for miles before getting going.

Also the intake airbox mounts in the engine bay can cause noises - there was a bulletin issued for remedial measures (tightening the mounts for the box to the chassis). The box frets against the body causing a chirping noise.

That's great stuff. Thanks Pope.

[Edwin Strohacker]

Pope said:

Apply some heavy grease to the rear lid catch - in the U shaped part on the lid itself; known to creak and squeak while driving and can be quiet for miles before getting going.

Also the intake airbox mounts in the engine bay can cause noises - there was a bulletin issued for remedial measures (tightening the mounts for the box to the chassis). The box frets against the body causing a chirping noise.

Nope. Found the grommet in the airbox that squeaks, greased it up & lubed the boot stricker plate & catch, still squeaking. Bloody thing.

[Edwin Strohacker]

New top mounts this year, so I'd hope not. It's an elusive bugger that's for sure. Since I stopped it by opening the boot, that's the obvious place to focus. Logically, since I've had all the trim off, it points at the contact between the boot lid & the seal round the boot but like you say, stranger things.

[Edwin Strohacker]

I have tried the seat, that's sound afaict. The seal I have sprayed with silicone, the next thing will be to wedge some material between the boot & the seal I think, see if I can get anywhere with mechanically interfering between the two parts.

Edited to add: While it's all negative for now, but you lot have pushed me in directions I hadn't considered, so it's all appreciated.Keep 'em coming.

Edited by Edwin Strohacker on Wednesday 22 February 07:44

[Edwin Strohacker]

Yes, took the struts out last summer & greased up the cups at either end as it goes.. I'm kind of running out of car to fiddle with, but didn't try anything else today as Doris stopped play.

It's due a service in a month & I will take it to the OPC, so I might ask them if they can have a look - I know some have the capability to install microphones for rattle detection. One question - anyone experienced squeaks from the door cards? It's an obvious large piece of trim to look at.

[Edwin Strohacker]

The squeak has left the building!

It was...itwas...it was...




Wait for it...






The passenger door latch. I tried opening the door whilst on the move I.e. half latched on & it killed it. Bit of silicone spray & the squeak has gone. Thanks everyone, you got me over the line.

[Edwin Strohacker]

olly22n said:

Good work brother!

I spoke too soon, the squeak came back.

However, determined to fix it, I went back to researching it, discovering that it's very common on the 997 & 987 so I went back to it & have now finally found it & stopped it for good. I'm going to write it up for the benefit of anyone else who gets this chirruping noise on our crappy roads.

It turns out the quarter light window is secured by three bolts & a blind rivet. It's the bottom bolt that houses the blind rivet that squeaks as the body flexes. To access it, it's a simple job to use a trim tool to carefully upwardly pry off the seatbelt tower cover. This will reveal a 15mm bolt that secures the seatbelt guide & perpendicular to it, a 13mm top hat bolt through which the blind rivet runs.

I am told that simply tightening the 13mm bolt will snap the rivet & you will end up with a £££ opc bill to remove the window & refit it with a new rivet. However, the rivet has a hex head & you may use an Allen key to hold it still whilst tightening the 13mm bolt in very small increments. I've done this, gone for a test drive over the roughest road I can find & I'm saying the car is fixed, It's item 10 in the diagram below & another view of the site I pinched from Planet 9.

The whole thing took ten minutes to sort in the end, I hope it helps if you get the same problem.

[Edwin Strohacker]

I'd go along with that, it certainly looks like it close up & one of those components you'd guess Porsche wouldn't go to great lengths to change from one iteration to another, so I was relaying feedback from guys in Planet 8 who warned about the rivet, must admit I've never heard of a blind rivet with a hex head either.

Proof though of the absolute pain of hunting down a rattle, when I think of the extent to which I've stripped that car down looking for this & moreover the hours I've put in, hence a brief write up to point anyone else in the right direction.

By the way, the guy I pinched that picture off was apologising for it's quality.

Edited by Edwin Strohacker on Monday 20th March 18:52