I need help. I have a leak in one of my rear spoiler rams so the spoiler will not fully extend. A new system is on order. One problem is that there's no way to access the screws on the wing without it raised all the way. I assume I need to bleed the hydraulic system to raise it. I hear that it is a real PITA. Does anyone have instructions? What fluid is used? Also, where can I get the tool to remove the wing from the rams?

Thanks,
Chris

 

I'm having the exact same problem. My car is still under warranty. Is this a warranty type of issue? You said you have a new one on order?

thanks

 

His car is a 2001 meaning it is out of warranty, if you take yours to the dealer they should fix it for you free of charge

 

Take it in asap. Once out of warranty you've got an expensive bill, Will.

You can check to see if there is a leak by popping off the plastic tip from the bottom of each ram. If there is an oily residue, that may be the problem. Replacing the leaky ram with a good one won't guarantee the other one will not start having problems. They work in tandem, so if one is new and the other old they may not operate symmetrically, thus leading to another failure. Also, bleeding the hydraulic system is supposed to be a very involved process. As I understand it, replacing the hydraulic system entirely (the motor, rams and all lines) is straightforward and solves the problem. It's also $$$$.

 

Help! I still need instructions on bleeding the system. Anyone done this before?

 

I just want to know if I can refill the rams. My passenger side ram leaks slighty but wing functions perfectly.

 

We did the refill using Lucas power steering fluid with "leak sealer" and it works great now. Stopped the alarm/light and goes up almost completely. (The left side is up 90% so we'll do the process again just a little more). There's a bunch of threads on this with instructions on them. I'll post the instructions that we used in a minute when I can find it...

Here's one of many instructions found from one of our fellow members which helped us a bunch:

"If the motor is running and the wing does not go up and down symmetrically, then the probable culprit is uneven (or insufficient) hydraulic fluid servicing in the two cylinders in the pump / motor assembly. That was the problem I had. Each cylinder has it's own fluid - - - there is no sharing or ability to "equalize" fluid between the cylinders and rams. If one of your cylinders has developed a slight leak over the years and now has a slightly lower amount of fluid than the other cylinder, the result will probably be a spoiler malfunction light. Tell tell signs of a fluid leak is fluid leaking out of the bottom weep holes of the rounded black plastic caps that snap on the bottom of the rams.

Here's how I "refilled" both of my cylinders. My disclaimer is that your results may vary, but this is a pretty simple closed hydraulic system so in reality there's not too much that can be screwed up.

Take the entire motor and ram assemblies out of the car. Yes, you have to remove the wing and lots of stuff from the deck lid to get this stuff off the car. You will need a relatively strong battery charger or other 12 VDC source to run the pump electric motor. Jumper cables from a batter will work if you can manage not to short the cables together.

Once everything's off the car and on the workbench, connect your power source to the electric motor leads to check the polarity. Depending on which way you connect the power, the rams will either go up or down. You want to start with the rams all the way down. With the rams all the way down and with the pump assembly held in a vertical position, carefully disconnect both of the hydraulic lines (one for each ram) on the end of the pump assembly. Make sure the lines are at the TOP of the pump assembly, and also note the proper orientation of the lines. Once you have the lines off, keep the disconnected lines held high so as not to let any fluid spill from the lines or rams. Now, while still holding the pump assembly vertically, in each of the holes of the pump assembly where you removed the banjo bolts from each ram hydraulic line, carefully fill each "hole" with suitable hydraulic fluid. I say "suitable" because in reality I don't have any idea what the Porsche spec hydraulic fluid actually is. I used hydraulic jack oil which is available at most automotive parts stores. I'm sure it's not Porsche spec, but it has worked well over the past year with no problems what-so-ever. If your hydraulic cylinders are low, each one will probably take several ounces. Fill each hole until fluid spills out.

Now carefully reattach each ram hydraulic line banjo bolt. If you've got each cylinder full, some fluid should weep out as you tighten up the banjo bolts. You'll find you either need an extra set of hands, or some type of a vice or clamp to hold everything vertically if you're working alone. Again, you don't want to let any fluid spill from the removed ram hydraulic line.

Now with everything back together, use your electrical power source and run the rams up and down several times. At first, one ram will probably slightly lag the other. If after a dozen times or so of running the rams up and down they are still uneven in their travel, the ram that is lagging is probably not quite full. This is what happened to me. I had to undo the banjo bolt of the ram that started to move just slightly after the other ram had moved, and add just a tad more fluid to it's cylinder. After I did so, everything started moving symmetrically.

There is another DIY that talks about "bleeding" the system by slightly loosening each of the banjo bolts and then applying power to the motor. My guess is that if you have air in the system, and you keep everything in a vertical orientation such that the banjo bolts are the highest points in the system, and if you keep everything held in this position long enough so that any air in the system can rise to the top (where the banjo bolts are), that this method may in fact work. However, I didn't have to do it so can't comment on its validity. However, if you have trapped air in the system, you'll need to find a way to get it out as air will surly cause problems in a hydraulic system.

Once I was satisfied that everything was moving up and down properly & symmetrically , I cleaned everything up and bolted everything back in the deck lid. Since doing this, I have not had a single spoiler fail warning light. If you've got everything in had to do the job (including the ability to remove the rear wing), it's no more than a couple hour job".

Be aware that you must disconnect the 12 V power source when the "plungers" are at the bottom to keep the motor from running continuously

John

 

Patrnflyr, does it still work and not leak anymore?
thanks!

 

We don't know because we've replaced the rear with a Precision Porsche GT2 wing. It was working well when we took the deck lid off...
Sorry, John

 

Thanks John,
Has anyone else had a slight leak in the driver’s side hydraulic for the wing that they fixed this way and it was a permanent fix (at least so far)? Just want to see if it’s worth figuring this out or just letting it go till it won’t work anymore and then get a fixed wing...

 

I used the Lucas power steering stop leak at the beginning of the summer and so far it seems to have fixed the problem. I removed the whole deck lid and placed it upside down to work on the rams. I figured that this was easier than pulling the rams. I was able to hook up the harness and power the ram from the car while it was upside down. It took some playing with it to get it going up and down level. At first it would go up crooked but stop level. After several cycles it settled out and has been fine since.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

Thanks Mike,

Did you add the Lucas power steering stop leak just like the instructions Patrnflyr provided stated or did you find an easier way? Can you tell I’m a little nervous to start this project?!

 

I only added the stop leak to the side that was leaking. I didn't touch the side that didn't have any issues (yet).

Basically what you have is two separate hydraulic systems. The fluid from either side never touches the fluid from the other. I thought about adding a cross over so the wing would go up level but didn't feel like messing with it.

With the rear deck upside down you get pretty good access. I removed the banjo bolt from the ram to add the new fluid. I figured that I needed to overfill it a bit to start with so I raised the wing and put a pad under the low (leaking) side. then I lowered the wing. The creates more volumn of space for the fluid. then I could overfill it. After cycling the wing several times I cracked the banjo bolt loose to let some fluid leak out to level the wing. It is under some pressure and the first time I did it I let too much out as it will squirt out pretty good. I just had to repeat the process. Be ready to cleanup the leaky fluids. They might not be good for the paint. I suspect that there is some air in the system. Not like a brake system. But the motor seems to run until the micro switch activates on one of the rams to tell it to stop. They didn't really set it up like a brake system with a fill and a bleeder valve. Would have been a lot easier. I suspect that is why I had to cycle the wing several times to move the air bubble and get the wing to move level as well. (at first it would go up crooked but stop level.)

I figured that I didn't have anything to lose so I gave it a try.

 

Thanks Mike! Now I just need to get to my auto store to buy some Lucas power steering stop leak and plan for a working saturday!
Did you happen to use any directions/ pics to do a step-by-step tear down?

 

Easiest way to keep this system working and reducing stress on the rams is to lubricate the the struts with WD40. This is a preventive measure, not a fix when the hydraulics go bad.