I have an 07 Guards Red base model that I am absolutely in love with. I have wanted a Porsche since I was a little kid. Imagine my surprise and disgust when I found a pool of oil on my garage about 12"x5" or so, with less than 1400 miles on it. I had an appointment already scheduled to address a squeak on the drivers side, near the window (probably the loose bolt on the B pillar) and the infamous trunk clunk. So needless to say I got my appointment bumped up immediately from late next week to this past Monday.

They told me the RMS was on slightly crooked and will replace it and the tech ordered new bumpers for the hatch. Seems odd to me that if it was on crooked that it would wait 1400 miles to present a problem. He said he anticipates it will be ready this Friday.

Anyone ever heard of a crroked seal waiting that long to pose a problem?

It's the same basic design that has been used since the new water-cooled motors were introduced in the 1997 Boxsters. The 996s had this problem - my 1999 996 also had an RMS problem... actually, as many as three different ailments have been lumped under the RMS problem "umbrella." There has to be some stress on the motor for it to fail, hence the time it took. Some cars didn't have the problem show up for 15-20k miles. It really depends on a whole bunch of things. In your case the seal was crooked, so it was bound to fail. Usually, it's the cradle holding the crankshaft that's off-center, and that causes the seal to fail. They should have it fixed quickly and the seals they use now, when installed properly should be a good, permanent fix in almost all cases. Mine was fixed with the old style seal and is still fine - I know the people who bought the car.

I had an oil leak on the driver's side cam tower that was found when I took the car in for the 20k service a few months ago. They fixed it, no problem. Rather than be disappointed, I just chalk it up to sometimes mechanical things fail, it happens, and the warranty gets it fixed.

brad

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21-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

Thanks for the info Brad. The dealer says they have replaced the seal and the leak has stopped. The bolt by the B pillar has been tightened and the squeak is supposed to be gone, however after installing the replacement bumpers in the rear hatch, the clunk is still there. They can't figure out what the problem is and they have called Porsche to see what they suggest at this point. The service tech also said that there is no campaign for the 2007 models for the bumpers, only the '06 models. We'll see what Porsche has to say.

Also, it might be worth mentioning that I am driving a base model loaner with standard 17" wheels (mine has 19") and there is no clunk whatsoever. I am wondering if this issue is just due to a rougher ride with the 19" wheels??

I too have an 07 Base Model that had front and rear "clunks" when I went over slight speed bumps. I tightened all 4 rubber pads on both the front and back hatches and I have been "clunk free" since. Give them a check. When I say tightened I mean make more pressure on the hatch (actually loosen it).

John Phx Az 07 Atlas Grey 5 Speed.

Got the car back today and the clunk is completely gone. The tech I spoke to said that Porsche had them order a lighter weight for the hatch but the work order says that they removed the damper assembly and insulated it. Either way, whatever they did solved it.

I plan on taking off the weight on my trunk since I have the TechArt weight now

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Cayman GT
369BHP 325LBSTQ
313WHP 276WTRQ
some people like the regular stock factory look, cool people modify the car.

Could someone explain hat RMS is and stands for?

Rear Main Seal (engine)

Hello porsches4ed,
The intent of the damper is to counter (at 180 degrees out of phase) the inertia generated by the heavy trunk lid. In theory, a heavier lid will need a increased damper weight! Regards, Joe