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Old 11-17-2019, 07:16 PM   #1
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Join Date: Oct 2019
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1999 Porsche Boxster Spoiler height adjustment questions......

HI I have a boxster and the spoiler when raising it with the manual switch seems to go up only about 2" max. Ive seen some where it looks to go higher like 4" to 5"? I was checking the part#'s and they all seem to be the same through out the first generation boxsters. Is there a height adjustment on these cars for the spoilers?

Thanks in advance

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Old 11-19-2019, 11:33 AM   #2
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There is no height adjustment. It should be going up more than 2 inches. If it is consistently just going up this much and then down all the way, you may just need to disassemble the gear mechanism, clean the cables and the tubes they run through, re-lube the cables where they run through those tubes and reassemble it. Over 15-20 years those cables and guide tubes get dirt in them and the grease gets old and dried out so movement is limited. Make sure there is lube on the gears too. If you see that the gears are stripped you'll need to get a new unit. The mechanism is similar to rack and pinion steering - the motor turns some round gears which in turn move the "racks" for the cables and pillars on each side that raise and lower the spoiler. Sounds easy, right? Disassembling the mechanism is easy, but I can tell you that getting it back together is a real pain. The cable ends are spring loaded and snap into channels in the racks under compression of the springs. The only thing that holds them in place in these channels is the mechanism's cover panel when you put it back on. I found that laying the racks flat on my workbench, wearing heavy leather work gloves and pushing the cable end and spring into place while the rack was butted up against the base of my 5 inch bench vise bolted to the bench finally did the trick. After a couple of nasty cuts on my fingers I got the idea to wear the gloves. Even then the springs and cables popped apart a few times before I finally got it all together and got the cover back on. There are YouTube videos on removing the spoiler and lift mechanism, which is done through inside the trunk, but none that I could find on the procedures I just described. I had to do this because mine would go all the way up, but wouldn't retract the last 1/4 inch so it wasn't flush with the trunk and bumper when retracted.

If you need a new lift mechanism, a brand new one from Porsche is very expensive, so try to find a used one from someone who can vouch that it works.

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