996 Turbo - Rear Spoiler problem

For a couple of months now I've been having a problem with the lowering of the spoiler on my car. The near side of the spoiler stays raised when the speed of the car drops below the prescribed speed. I can normally lower the spoiler with the button on the dash but not always. I've done a lot of searching on the internet and I've seen a bit of talk about the microswitches. Could these be the problem and if so where are they? There is no evidence of any leaks on the rams by the way. Any pointers gratefully received otherwise I'll have to take it to a dealer.

Welcome Geraint! There is quite a lot of info here, which might help: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?act=Search&CODE=show&searchid=7f19a86213cbe9285f998a3e36e1a64a&search_in=posts&result_type=topics&highlite=%2B%2Bspoiler+%2Bhydraulic The microswitches are here:

Thanks for the lead. And thanks for the welcome - I hadn't realised I'd never posted before, very remiss of me!! Having trawled through a lot of the renntech search results I can't anyone with the problem I have. Most people report it going up wonky. Mine goes up fine, it just won't come down properly. Is the microswitch a potential red herring? The microswitch is fitted to the right hand ram and I'm having a problem with the left hand ram. Thanks once again.

I don't see how it could be anything to do with the microswitches, as they are only signalling if the spoiler is up or down, and take no account of left or right. It's much more likely to be a problem with the left hand hydraulic ram. If you haven't got any leaks, I think I'd be tempted to start by bleeding the pump unit. Drop me an email if you would like instructions.

Okay - a job for the weekend then. There is no sign of any leaks. I have located the instructions on the renntech site. Are these the instuctions you refer to? The frustrating part is the problem developed immediately after the car had been at an OPC for two weeks while the gearbox was rebuilt [the 2nd gear pop out issue]. Perhaps stupidly I didn't take it up with them. I noticed it when I got home from picking it up. They had to wait for parts and then the technician got ill so I wonder if they had the engine cover open the entire time they had the car which may have caused an airlock. I suppose I'll never know........

I was going to send you some info from the workshop manual. Email me if you want it.

Right, finally got around to having a look at this. Left ram is not working either way, in or out. No sign of leaks though. How do you separate the ram from the spoiler? I'm going to go through the bleeding/filing process.

YHM

[ ] Thanks to Richard's help with bits from the manual, I have successfully removed, tinkered with and re-installed my rear spoiler and now it is working fine. To recap, the left ram was being lazy on retraction. It was fine on extension but my car would have a wonky spoiler whenever I parked it up after the spoiler had been deployed. There was no sign of any hydraulic leaks. Now, before I removed my spoiler I tried to establish what was going on. I used a cable with the spade connectors attached to terminals of the pump and enrgised it by using the jump start terminal next to the oil filter. It just a case of revesing the polarity to switch between extesion and retraction. After messing around for half an hour I was none the wiser so I thought I'd go the whole hog and take it off so I could follow the filling and bleeding procedure. To remove the spoiler you need to remove the black cover from the underside of the engine cover. You have to remove the snorkel that fits onto the airbox when the engine cover is closed as it secures part of the black cover. Disconnect the wiring to the pump and remove the microswitch assembly from the right side ram. To remove the spoiler the rams must be extended. I remove the three allen bolts that secure the left ram to the engine cover. Visually locate the small hole in the top of the ram right under the spoiler. Now rotate the ram anticlockwise until this hole lines up with a deeper hole. At this stage the manual has a special tool - a c-spanner with a pin that would fit in the hole. You then rotate the whole lot 90degrees clockwise and the spoiler pops off. I substitue the spoiler for the plain end of a 3/16'' drill bit. It fitted in the hole well and I was then able to perform the 90degree turn by hand. Put a blanket on the back of the car just under the rear window and you can rest the spoiler down while you repeat on the other side. Once you got your spoiler off remove the four locking nuts that secure the motor/pump and remove. I then carried on my investigations in the kitchen! It seemed the left ram was working but was sticking. Although I didn't get to see one I think the retraction of the ram is done by a spring. I could hear what sounded like a spring catching as the ram extended and retracted. I did follow the procedure for filling the ram but it was full. Not surprised really as I hadn't seen any leaks. So I thought I'd do my best to get some lub on it. I removed the circlip from the top of the ram and removed the section that has the slot that secure to the spoiler. I lubbed the slider with some of the CHF I bought and now didn't need [£13litre!!!] and some good old WD40. I thought about removing the rubber dust seal but thought I would most likely do more damage to the seal. Anyway after lubbing it and working it in and out by using a motorcycle battery is seemed to be working as well as the right hand ram. Refiting the spoiler is just a reversal of the removal - trust me, if you've got it off you'll have no trouble putting it back together. Probaby only took 30mins to put it back on and if I had to remove another I reckon I could do it in 30mins too. Obviously I'm chuffed as nuts to have not had to fork out for any new bits. Once again, big thanks to Richard!!!!!

Hi Gezr, After a few weeks lay-up I took my 995TT out today and experienced the same as you: The rams both pushed the spoiler up OK but coming down the driver's side was slower and stopped just before the bottom (although I could get it down with the dash button). It appears that all the micro-switches are OK as when the spoiler reaches its start / end positions the pump motor stops and I have had no warning lights. I would be interested to hear if your fix above stayed fixed. IE the problem did not return leading to a pump / ram replacement. If so then I am going to follow your excellent instructions and sort this myself. Thanks, Ian

Hi Ian, Yes, my spoiler was fine from that day on until I smashed the car up at Spa earlier this year. If you are confident to follow the manual/instructions it has to be worth a shot. In fact, just try WD40 on the outside of the ram first. It might be all it needs.7 Good luck. Gez

Thanks Gez, Really sorry to hear about your car (you must have been gutted) but great to hear your fix continued working. I have just tried your suggestion, I lifted the spoiler with the dash button and cleaned both rams, covered the boot and spoiler with clean rags and sprayed the rams with WD. I worked the spoiler up and down a few times and all is well. The spoiler lifts and lowers completely with both rams working together so the spoiler is always parallel to the boot. Very glad to have found your post! Cheers...