Shown on 5 speed 987.1. I cut a 1 3/4 inch access hole in the plate under the trans axle to easily get to the drain plug. The other thing to note is the 6 speed trans axle gets filled to the bottom of the fill port while the 5 speed transmission requires the level to be diabolically set lower than the fill port by 11 mm. The five speed drain plug requires a special 16 mm triple square anti tamper socket I got from Pelican Parts. The six speed drain plugs are more rational, using 10 mm hex...
11 Comments

At some point during your development as a track driver you will want to find a way to measure your progress and collect data to analyze your driving. Early lap timers sensed a beacon placed along trackside to measure lap time. Sophisticated data systems used a variety of sensors placed on the engine and chassis to gather data. Today there is a large selection of devices using only GPS to gather lap times and, knowing speed and location, calculate lateral and longitudinal G-Force. ...
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The IMS seems to be a real pain in the neck for us Porsche owners. Fortunately us Cayman owners are not very likely to experience an IMS bearing failure, but I have seen a number of members (including myself) develop a leak around the IMS cover. The seal is inexpensive, but the labor to reach it is significant and many specialty tools are required. I suspect that there are only a handful of members here who might attempt this repair themselves, but I thought it would be good to document...
58 Comments

The rear suspension support plate isn't something that will go bad or need to be replaced. But, that darn thing is right smack in the way of many components in the back of our Caymans. If you want to change your transmission oil, it's is going to need to come out. Luckily it's pretty easy to remove it, but there are specific warnings that you'll want to be aware of. This article will guide you through a safe removal and reinstallation. 1!WARNING!: Removal of these parts can affect your...
26 Comments

If you had told me back in 2007, when I took delivery of my Cayman S, that I'd some day be taking the transmission out of it I'd probably think you were crazy. I broke a lot of transmissions when I was a kid, but I've learned to respect my transmissions since then. As fate would have it, my car developed an oil leak that necessitated the removal of mine. Removing the transmission from one of these cars isn't as hard as you'd expect by I wouldn't call it easy either. There are a couple of...
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One issue with the Cayman is the reflection of the upper dash in the windshield. If you haven’t noticed, stop reading now and don’t think about it again. It is naturally more pronounced with the lighter, sand beige, interior than darker colors. I found that swapping the forward most sand beige parts of the upper dash, called defroster trim, for black doesn’t completely eliminate reflections but does reduce them considerably. Parts are: left defroster trim 997 552 175 01 ...
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It seems one of the more common failures we see in our Cayman cars are the horns. I know I've had one horn failure in my 2007 and recently Retired Teach had his third horn failure in his 2008. Changing the horns is a relatively easy job, but it does require the removal of the front bumper cover, which makes it a lot less easy and means that you can count on a pretty expensive repair bill if you take your car to the dealership. Gonzo and I offered to help Retired Teach swap out his horns,...
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This article and accompanying pictures describe the procedure for removing the 981 Cayman upper engine cover. Tools required are: Plastic trim removal pry tools-available at most auto parts stores for under $20. Torx T30 driver-although a standard screwdriver handle type will work for most of the bolts, the two center front bolts on the engine cover provide very little working clearance, thus a short stubby T30 which can fit in a small 1/4 inch drive ratchet will eliminate much swearing....
22 Comments

This article describes the installation of the Tarett Engineering rear strut mounts ( no affiliation ) shown below. Because this install was part of a suspension upgrade I had the struts already out of the car. There are many articles out there describing the strut removal process in a Cayman or Boxster if your struts are in place. Access to the top of the rear struts require a fair amount of interior trim removal. You will need an impact driver with 13/16 socket and a spring compressor for...
2 Comments

This article is a quick look at how to remove the accessory drive belt on a 987.2 or 981 Cayman, 9A1 DFI, since it is slightly different from the earlier M97 engine configuration. Please see: Cayman Register Forums > Articles > Maintenance & Repair > Accessory Drive Belt Remove/Install ...for a full description of the procedure on a 987.1 (MY 2006-2008). Theory, warnings, etc. carry over to the later models. 4WARNING: Mark the direction the belt travels if you plan on reinstalling...
1 Comments