Spoiler cap dislodged

[kindofblue59]

Anyone have this problem before? I have owned a very used 2002 Boxster S for the last six months. I have always thought that the spoiler sat proud of the rear bumper but it's perfectly horizontal and there's no play in the hydraulic struts:


Today I was doing some spring cleaning and found out that one of the four prior owners had put some stickers of race tracks (or cryptic language) on the spoiler which were subsequently removed before my ownership:



More importantly, the spoiler cap seems to have been popped up and off of the back of the square metal spoiler core. I'm not sure how it was dislodged; all of the pop rivets are in place. Unless it was removed then installed again by an idiot. You can see the ridge of the spoiler core under the cap in the above photo but it's more clear here:



Any ideas how to get that down? I tried pushing. Doesn't work--that ridge is fairly wide. I could always drill out the rivets but I'm not sure where to get them (except shipped from Pelican I'm sure). I thought maybe do it on a hot day and/or with a hairdryer/heat gun?

Just wondering if anyone else had run into this problem.

[thstone]

This might help: How do you remove our rear spoiler?

[NewArt]

The cap just snaps on but it is easier to clip the rear part into place before the front part is closed.

[BirdDog]

Just remove the spoiler cover and reinstall it.

It's held in place on the front by 3 (I think it's 3, might be 4) plastic rivets. You just press the center pin of the rivet in all the way (it will fall down below - be sure to find it - you'll need it to reinstall the rivet) and then pry the rivet out using your fingers.

Once the rivets are out, you should be able to easily remove the spoiler cover.

Then reinstall the cover, first hook the back of the cover over the back of the spoiler, then roll it forward and snap the front down. Then reinstall the plastic rivets by inserting the rivets, then inserting the center pins. Press the pins in until they are just flush with the top of the rivet.

[kindofblue59]

Thanks everybody great tips. You were right--push out the pins of the rivets. What a pain to track those down!

This handy tool in the toolkit fit over the 3/16 (IIRC) allen wrench end to give much-needed leverage to get the spoiler off.



Looking much better, thank you.

But if you'll indulge me one more question--since the repair my spoiler makes a clunk when it goes down and I have to push it down to completely seat it--about a quarter-inch.

I have video:


I, uh, can't remember if it made that "chunk" noise when it went down--and it definitely didn't need pushing down again.

This is refractory to silicone spray. I think it might have gotten misaligned when I took off the allen bolts? But I'd really rather not disassemble it again unless I have to.