Stuck PSE valve - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Cayman in for a service 4 year/40K and they've noticed the drivers side PSE valve is sticking/stuck, I didn't ask how much it is to replace, not sure if it is replaceable. Anyone have any experience of this, can you buy the actuator (any idea on cost?) and replace yourself, get an indy to do it???

Mine done under warranty about 12 months ago would have been £1500 ish per side according to OPC Common failing apparently See “pop and crackle” thread recently

Mine was also in recently for a service and I was told the PSE valve was stuck closed on one side, always thought the car was mental loud with PSE on before but after they changed out the section under warranty it became bats t crazy lol

My 981 had a stuck near side valve when I bought the car, shortly after an OPC major service which didn't pick it up. The valve spindle was seized but I managed to free it off with Plus Gas, WD40 and lots of patient effort gently pushing and pulling on the actuation crank after disconnecting the actuator until it eventually freed up. Probably took an hour. That was at 26k miles, now 33k and 18 months later and it's still fine. I regularly manually check both valves are free by reaching under the rear bumper before start up. Takes a few seconds.

Please could you elaborate ( in very simple steps and terms please , for a non mechanically minded person here ) , where the pse is , and exactly what you do to check that the valve is not stuck. Thank you

DRH986 said: My 981 had a stuck near side valve when I bought the car, shortly after an OPC major service which didn't pick it up. The valve spindle was seized but I managed to free it off with Plus Gas, WD40 and lots of patient effort gently pushing and pulling on the actuation crank after disconnecting the actuator until it eventually freed up. Probably took an hour. That was at 26k miles, now 33k and 18 months later and it's still fine. I regularly manually check both valves are free by reaching under the rear bumper before start up. Takes a few seconds. Can you do this without having to remove the rear bumper? Did you jack the car up for better access?? I'm tempted to give this a shot or failing that take it to a Porsche indy for them to have a look.

No ramps or jack required just position your head under the bumper and all will be clear.

The actuators are easily accessible just under the corners of the rear bumper. When the car is stationary (engine off) the actuator shafts are extended, you can reach under the bumper and easily press them in, they should move relatively easily (against some spring tension) then spring out again when you release.

Green1man said: The actuators are easily accessible just under the corners of the rear bumper. When the car is stationary (engine off) the actuator shafts are extended, you can reach under the bumper and easily press them in, they should move relatively easily (against some spring tension) then spring out again when you release. Yes, exactly. To free mine off, I jacked my car up to give better access. I'd definitely give it a go before dishing out for a new one. Nothing to lose. You do need to be patient. I used slip joint pliers on the spindle crank after disconnecting the actuator push rod, applying torque in both directions and lots of Plus Gas and WD40 sprayed onto the spindle.

Zagamuffin1 said: Mine was also in recently for a service and I was told the PSE valve was stuck closed on one side, always thought the car was mental loud with PSE on before but after they changed out the section under warranty it became bats t crazy lol Seems to be a fairly common fault. Probably wouldn't cause any significant damage but I'm not too keen on the idea of one bank of cylinders running on normal exhaust and the others on partial bypass. Would be grateful for an indication of how long it took for the spare box cum actuator valve to come into stock after the fault was diagnosed. Many thanks.

I'm sure mine were stuck closed as couldn't detect any increased exhaust noise even when giving it beans. Took it back to Reading under warranty, they said it's fine, nothing wrong, showed me the actuators operating and patronisingly explained to me like a child how it could only be heard under hard acceleration etc. I did notice one of the valves had what looked like a lubricant around it so suspect they freed it then denied anything wrong. I'm waiting for it to fail now I'm out of warranty.

BarrySt said: I'm sure mine were stuck closed as couldn't detect any increased exhaust noise even when giving it beans. Took it back to Reading under warranty, they said it's fine, nothing wrong, showed me the actuators operating and patronisingly explained to me like a child how it could only be heard under hard acceleration etc. I did notice one of the valves had what looked like a lubricant around it so suspect they freed it then denied anything wrong. I'm waiting for it to fail now I'm out of warranty. You think you're going mad with these sorts of faults. Sounds like exactly what you suspect is the case TBH Have you used Northway nearby, they are very good. I actually had this problem twice on a 997 I bought from them and both times they fixed it FOC, once was very close to when I bought it, the other was under their warranty, I had no idea it was that expensive though.

Thanks for Northway suggestion Barry

Had the same on my 997 recently. The WD 40 and elbow grease solution worked fine. Took about 15-20 mins to free the actuators up, with the help of a friend. I did in fact speak to Reading about it. They said they would happily look at it (under warranty) but suggested that I could try to grease it and free it myself if I could as that would be the first thing they try (if I did not want the hassle of taking it in).

WD40 isn't actually a brilliant lubricant either so there may be somethign better to put on it once youve freed it up

jakesmith said: WD40 isn't actually a brilliant lubricant either so there may be somethign better to put on it once youve freed it up This ^ It’s largely solvent, ok for freeing stuff off, but once that’s dine you’ll need to use a product, be it oil or grease that will actually lubricants and protect the actuator mechanism.

I smeared a bit of grease on the actuator shafts soon after I bought the car, I’ve had no issues but then I drive the car regularly, I suspect these issues are far more common on seldom driven cars.

On the subject of PSE - anyone notice that the 997.2 PSE is not quite as amazing at it used to be let's say on 996 generation?? (Or is it just me and a false memory of those pops and crackles being better than they were?)

When I bought my 997 I wanted PSE, a couple of places said not to bother as it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the 996 I’ve often wondered why as you wouldn’t think Porsche would change it that much. I got a 997 in the end with PSE and the difference with it on or off was quite significant although no real pops or bangs as such The 2nd gen car does not sound anywhere near as good. Don’t know why

surtees said: Seems to be a fairly common fault. Probably wouldn't cause any significant damage but I'm not too keen on the idea of one bank of cylinders running on normal exhaust and the others on partial bypass. Would be grateful for an indication of how long it took for the spare box cum actuator valve to come into stock after the fault was diagnosed. Many thanks. They tried to order one side but it wasn’t available so had to order a full system.while they were waiting a half system came available so they ordered that then.car was in for a fulll service and another warranty job so have a new cayenne for @ a week

Have been on a few recent blasts...it certainly isn't bad at all. Anybody unplugged the wire in the engine bay?

Porkupine said: Have been on a few recent blasts...it certainly isn't bad at all. Anybody unplugged the wire in the engine bay? I think that will leave them in quiet mode, if it was an easy fix you wouldn't need the Carnewal remote switch for £150. Shame as on the Vantage you just remove a fuse & you're good to go

Got a stuck valve on my driver side UK RHD car. If its stuck in the car turned off position it will be PSE On right?

The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery.

ATM said: Got a stuck valve on my driver side UK RHD car. If its stuck in the car turned off position it will be PSE On right? One of mine was stuck when I bought my car. The valve spindle was seized in the position with the actuator extended, which is the engine-off position with the valve open as I understand it. If you can't move the valve operating arm easily by hand with the engine off, it's likely the valve spindle is seized. See my post earlier in this thread for how I fixed it.

One of mine squeaks when you press the buttom, might WD40 them both.

DRH986 said: My 981 had a stuck near side valve when I bought the car, shortly after an OPC major service which didn't pick it up. The valve spindle was seized but I managed to free it off with Plus Gas, WD40 and lots of patient effort gently pushing and pulling on the actuation crank after disconnecting the actuator until it eventually freed up. Probably took an hour. That was at 26k miles, now 33k and 18 months later and it's still fine. I regularly manually check both valves are free by reaching under the rear bumper before start up. Takes a few seconds. Got it thanks So you just disconnected the little ball joint end off the actuator and then tried to get it rotating? What did you use to get the ball joint end off? What sort of lubricant do I need to get in there to keep it working for many many more years?

I can't remember exactly how to disconnect the actuator rod from the ball joint on the arm but I'm sure it's straightforward. Just be patient trying to free it and don't be tempted to use too much force. Apart from WD40 and PlusGas to help free it off, I didn't try to lubricate it for normal use. Just regular checks with engine off and it's been fine since.

You don't even need to disconnect the ball joint. You can push the valves back and forth with it all connected. They are just spring loaded pneumatic actuators, which can be overpowered easily enough. To disconnect the ball joint, they have a tiny 'wire' which locks the ball in the socket. It can be popped off and hinges out of the way. Then just pull the socket off the ball.

EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Its the actuator rod that seizes on the actual exhaust?

tedblog said: EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Its the actuator rod that seizes on the actual exhaust? There are various causes for PSE failure; some cheap fixes, some not. The PSE uses vacuum to operate the butterfly valves in the exhaust - vacuum is piped to the actuators via an electrically operated solenoid valve which, dependant on the design, model year or model type, is either controlled by road-speed, throttle position or simply by the driver's will by the switch in the car. - The solenoid can fail - electrically or pneumatically - The actuators can fail - mechanically - either by failed diaphragm or corrosion as discussed above - The butterfly valves can fail - corrosion due to lack of use usually (or our damp/cold/salty environment) I have had a few with multiple issues - the vac piping on a 997 was all over the place - someone had been pulling and refitting vac lines to diagnose it; once that was sorted the solenoid was found to be split and leaking between the holding bracket and the solenoid body; got that sorted and only one would switch properly - seized butterfly. Freed off the butterfly and it would then only partially close - actuator diaphragm leaking....... Replaced the diaphragm and retested it; it pulled up then wouldn't release - turned out the final issue was dirt in the connecting line; presumably from the deteriorated diaphragm! It's a simple system but can have various causes when it's not working.

witko999 said: You don't even need to disconnect the ball joint. You can push the valves back and forth with it all connected. They are just spring loaded pneumatic actuators, which can be overpowered easily enough. To disconnect the ball joint, they have a tiny 'wire' which locks the ball in the socket. It can be popped off and hinges out of the way. Then just pull the socket off the ball. I've tried wiggling it by hand and it wont budge. I cant decide if its the butterfly or the actuator as everything is just stuck. I'll get some different chemicals on there and report back.

Consider yourself lucky, I've had a valve fail twice now in my aftermarket R8 system & the bumper has to be removed & then refitted to address which is 3-4 hours labor alone

jakesmith said: Consider yourself lucky, I've had a valve fail twice now in my aftermarket R8 system & the bumper has to be removed & then refitted to address which is 3-4 hours labor alone I'm very lucky yes. I'm tremendously good looking and just a great person too.

EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Just been quoted £3480

Swine Enthusiast said: EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Just been quoted £3480 Brilliant I would ask for a printed quote to frame and put up on the wall in my downstairs loo

Swine Enthusiast said: EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Just been quoted £3480 I would have thought the first thing to ask is what they have quoted you £3480 for, it certainly isn't for replacing a £40 vacuum valve.

981Boxess said: Swine Enthusiast said: EGTE said: The reason these stick on is due to a small plastic diverter valve failing in the engine bay. You can get replacement valves for about £40 each and the valve is peanuts even from stealers. £150 job at most. OPC quotes of £1500 are daylight robbery. Just been quoted £3480 I would have thought the first thing to ask is what they have quoted you £3480 for, it certainly isn't for replacing a £40 vacuum valve. Sounds like full exhaust

ATM said: Brilliant I would ask for a printed quote to frame and put up on the wall in my downstairs loo Hahahaha!

981Boxess said: I would have thought the first thing to ask is what they have quoted you £3480 for, it certainly isn't for replacing a £40 vacuum valve. Well apparently the actuators and vacuum valves are inside the exhaust (are they?) so you cannot replace the actuators but have to replace both back boxes of the exhaust lolz The parts are so cheap, seems like a swindle. Spoke to an indy and they sort of said the same thing. Worse part is, the car is under Porsche warranty but the service tech said they usually won't cover exhaust items as these are deemed consumable/corrosion elements. The PSE is technically a feature of the car that is meant to last the life of the car (terms from the warranty). The same way the spoiler button controls the spoiler, I'd expect the valves controlling that to be replaced should they fail, then the PSE function, should in my opinion (obviously) be covered by my £1k yearly warranty.

Swine Enthusiast said: 981Boxess said: I would have thought the first thing to ask is what they have quoted you £3480 for, it certainly isn't for replacing a £40 vacuum valve. Well apparently the actuators and vacuum valves are inside the exhaust (are they?) so you cannot replace the actuators but have to replace both back boxes of the exhaust lolz The parts are so cheap, seems like a swindle. Spoke to an indy and they sort of said the same thing. Worse part is, the car is under Porsche warranty but the service tech said they usually won't cover exhaust items as these are deemed consumable/corrosion elements. The PSE is technically a feature of the car that is meant to last the life of the car (terms from the warranty). The same way the spoiler button controls the spoiler, I'd expect the valves controlling that to be replaced should they fail, then the PSE function, should in my opinion (obviously) be covered by my £1k yearly warranty. The only thing you cannnot access are the flaps inside the exhaust boxes. If the flap spindles are not seized solid they can generally be freed off to work again. The actuators are outside the exhaust and the vacuum valve is on top of the engine. An OPC will generally cover them under the warranty.

981Boxess said: The only thing you cannnot access are the flaps inside the exhaust boxes. If the flap spindles are not seized solid they can generally be freed off to work again. The actuators are outside the exhaust and the vacuum valve is on top of the engine. An OPC will generally cover them under the warranty. Thank you, I will speak to the OPC and check the warranty - as I am loathed to pay for an entirely new exhaust due to what seems likely a component failure/seized part. I'll report back!

My 991.1 has been doing this recently. It had actually managed to snap the rod on one of the vacuum actuators as the valve was stuck. Bought new vacuum bits and dropped the exhaust and replaced them. Freed off the valves a bit with plus gas and manipulation but one is still sticking so I'm going to get under it again and do some more waggling.

I wonder if the mod some of us have been doing to add a collar on the push rods to the flap (to hold them open a bit to give more background rumble) will help this. I guess the flaps could be getting stuck fully closed as they are in contact with the walls of the pipe. Holding them a little open may prevent them binding??? Just a thought.

I think these are open when the car is off right? One of mine is jammed but I immediately hit the button on start up so the other working valve is also opened and then both are open. So I am assuming it is jammed in the open position.

surtees said: Seems to be a fairly common fault. Probably wouldn't cause any significant damage but I'm not too keen on the idea of one bank of cylinders running on normal exhaust and the others on partial bypass. Would be grateful for an indication of how long it took for the spare box cum actuator valve to come into stock after the fault was diagnosed. Many thanks. The exhausts silencers are linked up to balance.

I noticed that the tab on my actuator had sheared off, even though the exhaust flap was totally free. Porsche are trying to tell me its not covered as it's down to corrosion after I showed them the photos. I'm half way through an argument with them as this broke 2 days before I went on holiday and have only got back on weds. I did however get it welded up at my indie. The service manager admitted if the flap is seized internally, it's down to corrosion and they routinely replace under warranty. Not sure what the difference is TBH, but my fracture is deffo not down to corrosion. Its a 29,000 mile old 2016 GTS Cayman BTW. It's almost a moot point as I beleive Porsche have changed supplier six months ago and the new supplier is still not producing exhausts. I want it sorted though as I want to extend the warranty next year and it wont pass muster as is I guess...

ATM said: I think these are open when the car is off right? One of mine is jammed but I immediately hit the button on start up so the other working valve is also opened and then both are open. So I am assuming it is jammed in the open position. Ah, yes you are right come to think of it. But I guess with PSE off (shut) whilst driving, they are at least held away from the walls with the colars fitted.