Poorly cayman

[stephenbailey]

Hi Guys
Could maybe do with some guidance/suggestions !
Im running the 2006 Cayman S which has currently 48k miles on the clock
I got into the car on Sunday and started the engine (car on a level surface in the garage). On moving away I felt a slight clunk on the rear, as though the rear brakes were stuck on ( the car, as always is left in first gear with no handbrake on)
I set off as usual, letting the temp build up and after 5-10 mins got to a dual carriageway and started to accelerate. At about 50-60mph (approx) there was a fair bit of vibration on the steering wheel. This has never happened in 14 months of ownership
Immediately after this I heard a metal scraping/scratching noise, sounded a bit like the exhaust rubbing on something or trailing on the road
I pulled over and looked underneath but could not see anything obvious.
I turned around to head home and the noise became intermittent. The engine was running well, no mis-fires, no check engine lights on so I gradually accelerated to approx 50-60 again and listened for any sounds. It was very intermittent and definitely not consistent. It did not sound like it was engine related, it was more external.
I returned home and parked up. The car ticks over fine with no noise and I needed to be somewhere so I left and I am going to look at tomorrow when I get home (my journey was 150 miles so thought best not to risk it)
Ive heard about springs snapping, which would cause the steering wheel vibration (I presume)

A week ago I obtained a new exhaust tail pipe which I fitted. I raised the rear of the car onto axle stands to give more room. The retaining bolt & clamp had deteriorated so after using wd40 I gently edged the circular end piece away using a rubber hammer. I tapped gently around the pipe to release it rather than using brute force and it came away without problem. - By pushing the tail end of the pipe away from the rear of the vehicle is it possible to have damaged another section of the exhaust ?? ( But that would not account for the steering wheel vibration !) The tail pipe is secure & has not moved

I may find that when I raise the car tomorrow I see something straight away but has anyone any ideas on where to start looking, your assistance would be very helpful

Thanks
Steve




2006 Cayman S

 

[Geoff_Fields]

Broken front spring maybe? Compare ride height side to side. Jack up car, you'll soon see. Usually a small section at the bottom of the spring breaks off.

 

[Motorhead]

Yes Steve,

As Goeff says I'd look at all the springs for starters, as the bottom section is prone to breaking off and rattling around in the cup. If it's not that then maybe a top mount has failed - for the front, usually accompanied by graunching noises when applying lock.

While you've got the car raised you can also take a good look at the front and rear suspension, as well as the steering and exhaust systems, to ensure all's well.

Jeff

 

[Buddy]

Hi Steve, sorry to hear of your suspected problems, as both replies have said once you've managed to have a good look around ride height check by measuring on flat ground the height of the arches it should show up if one corner is significantly lower, breaking springs is quite common so look around where you were parked and where you first heard the clunk or thump that you mentioned, maybe the bit of spring or something else is there to be seen. Since you have a steering vibration best to check such as balance weights, they can come off and get thrown out of the wheel causing vibration and a knock on the underside, it may be wishful thinking but such things happen and cost little to fix.

My son recently had a broken spring on his Boxster S just a thump as he drove out of the garage and nothing noticeable in driving but later the end of a spring was found outside the garage, cost for the OPC to change the rear springs £600 which then rose to £1,200 for corroded vertical links! If not covered by warranty find a good suspension alignment specialist to get the job done for a lot less money!

 

[tscaptain]

You didn't put it away in the garage after washing it with wet discs? The "clunk" on moving away (pads stuck to discs), scraping/scratching noises (getting rid of the rust!) and vibration sounds like brake issues to me? Just a thought.

 

[dpoynton]

find a good suspension alignment specialist to get the job done for a lot less money!

EG; Centre Gravity in Atherstone. D

 

[stephenbailey]

Hi Guys

Many many thanks for all your very helpful assistance

" Looks like I've found the problem "

Top marks & gold star to Alan, you were the closest

All ride heights equal (to within quarter inch) and all springs in tact

Raised the rear on axle stands and had a good check around, all suspension & exhaust ok

When I came to manually turn the hub/disc the drivers side was really tight and the sound was of "tangled metal". On removing the disc I found the two small springs holding the handbrake shoes to the backplate were completely out and the shoes & springs were all over the place, just one big tangled mess, the springs bent and snapped, the shoes only held on with one spring and the piston

I now know this is the noise I heard and I am presuming this would cause steering wheel vibration ?

Bit confused as to why this happened as I replaced shoes, discs & pads about 2000 miles ago and everything has been perfect up until now

Going to Opc tomorrow to get 2 springs and hopefully this will sort the problem

Happy Days !

(I took some photos but I can't seem to download them, sorry)

Thanks again for your help, much appreciated

Steve

2006 Cayman S

 

[Buddy]

The Porsche handbrake design is basically unchanged from when god was a lad, improvement could have been made but they had no problem with it in the build line so....various problems are there during reassembly due to age of parts but the Porsche design while being similar to other drum brake assemblies is not as robust as it ought to be in my view and the springs, pins etc can be brittle or corroded and so problems will occur, I would suggest replacing the pins and the cups that they usually locate in at the 90 degree turn position unless the design has changed since the earlier models.

 

[Motorhead]

Steve,

Good to hear that you've found the source of the clunk from the rear. Not sure how that relates to your steering vibration, but weird things can and do happen..!

Best to fix the handbrake and then see if you're still getting the vibration and go from there.

Jeff

 

[tscaptain]

I accept your gold star.......[]

 

[stephenbailey]

Thanks Guys

I'm a bit confused Kevan.

I am going to replace the two springs holding the shoes to the back plate but when you mention the cup they sit into ????

I thought that was a fixed item attached to the backplate. Also you can only see one side when locating, the other is covered, if I remember correctly

thanks

Steve

2006 Cayman S

 

[Motorhead]

Steve,

Here's the PET for your car:

[link=http://www.porsche.com/all/media/pdf/originalparts/en/E_987C_KATALOG.pdf]http://www.porsche.com/al.../en/E_987C_KATALOG.pdf[/link]

Check out page 115 for an exploded view if the handbrake parts.

Jeff

 

[Motorhead]

I accept your gold star.......[]

I'm afraid the Cayman jury has relegated you to silver star only Alan since, although the problem was brake related, it was the handbrake and not the brake disc/pad....

Jeff

 

[stephenbailey]

Silver star it is then- because the car was also bone dry when put into the garage

Thanks for the link Jeff

Ive just returned from Opc (can't believe nearly £20 for one Spring)

The Opc printed that page 115 for me and there are no cups- the spring is inserted through the shoe and straight through the back plate. The back plate does not have any cups in it, this may have changed for future generation models

Thanks again for the info

Steve

2006 Cayman S

 

[Buddy]

I was thinking of a different application, having worked on lot's of different brake designs over the years including the Porsche handbrake, the springs you are replacing are quite easy to fit so should be no problem but I've known problems with the handbrake binding even after a careful reassembly, glad you've got the brake parts sorted and hope the vibration is gone when you get back on the road.

I'll move this thread to the general discussion area soon as it's not really a technical article.

PET Diagrams for the '08 Gen1 and the Gen2 Caymans are available through the Cayman FAQ section, I do have the early Cayman PET on file but it is too large to download to the forum if you want a copy then I can download it to a memory stick or SD card, unfortunately Porsche removed it from their site but the differences for '08 added and changed some minor items.

 

[Motorhead]

Kripes.! Twenty quid for a small spring is a ridiculous price Steve - even by Porsche's inflated prices - but unfortunately you had no choice but to pay up.

Hope it fixes your problem(s).

Jeff

 

[stephenbailey]

Hi Guys

" Job Done ".

New springs fitted and everything back together. (Crazzzzzy price Jeff)

Took the car out for a spin, getting up to a decent speed and everything is hunky dory. There is no noise (apart from that lovely flat six) and there was no steering wheel vibration at all.

I think the brake shoes are dragging ever so slightly but i will have a bit longer run and let everything bed in before i make any adjustments

Thanks for the offer of the download Kevan. If i come across another issue in the future i might take you up on the Pet File

Thanks again for everyones replies

Steve