Cayenne 4.8 957

MarkGolf · 19 Feb 2019

Hi Guys,

I'm on the hunt for a Cayenne GTS but I have a bit of a deadline (baby on way) and I'm not finding one that ticks the boxes so I am considering an interim Cayenne S.

I just wanted to check, I understand that these don't have issues with the engine itself and coolant lines, what does go wrong on these? In S and GTS format?

From googling, the only item seems to be gearbox transfer case something or other, otherwise, dare I say, they seem bombproof!

We did briefly look in to 4.8 X5's, much more modern inside and maybe nicer overall but ever since then, I can't help but see them on the back of recovery trucks as if it's a sign. So I'm sticking to the Cayenne idea..

deMort · 19 Feb 2019

Cayenne S .. it depends on the year but you can still find good early cars .

There is no set problem with any Cayenne IMHO .. you can get unlucky .. there are issues but not main stream .. nothing like IMS , bore score .

Some early cars have bore score .. rare but it can happen .. early cars had the coolant pipes under the mainifold .. later diesels had a possible engine oil leak ..

later Cayennes S and there was a few problems and a recall on vario cam bolts shearing off ..

Any one of these can be bloody expensive .. especially the vario cam fault .. but are they common ? .. not in my garage .

Water leaks and electrical problems .. they can be common .. well ish .. a couple of bungs that need flicking out .. pretty much the same type as 996 / 997 ... did i say common .. hmm well possible and probably top of the rare list chart as above .

Flipp .. ing is a swear word ?

Cayenne74 · 20 Feb 2019

In my short experience th the Cayenne it's been mainly electrical niggles - headlights, drivers door lock, passengers door lock, boot lock and a window regulator failing. Some are intermittent faults which are more frustrating than an actual fault you can simply fix. None of these faults were apparent when I bought the car however, they've manifested over 2 or 3 months post purchase and that was me buying a full Porsche and Specialist history 2 owner car (private sale so no comeback). The car is now 13 years old so perhaps it's just coming to a time where things are requiring replacement. I also have an inoperable rear wash and my front headlight wash is leaking. Again, no showshoppers but just niggly.

I need to do more research on these bungs however and how to remove them, if I still have them.

deMort · 20 Feb 2019

Im not sure if your car still has them but look behind the rear arch liner with a mirror ..

So back part of the wheel , arch liner edge and with a mirror look for a 2 inch rubber bung sticking down .

On the early cars i use a screwdriver and flick them out .

They are there to stop rodent access .. pointless basically as the dam things will find another way in if they want to .

Electical faults .. yup .. its not a standard problem but it does happen ..

Window reg failure .. old age im afraid ... as is door locks .. luck of the draw to be honest ... but i dont see many ... well so far at least.

MarkGolf · 21 Feb 2019

Thanks guys!

I'm looking at 2007 - 2009 facelift cars, so will have the later 4.8, is this the engine that suffers from the variocam bolts shearing?

Odd electrical faults and things like that are no issue, I can deal with those, I just don't want a car where the engine is going eat itself or gearbox stops shifting because of a common fault.

Air suspension seems to be 50/50 but from googling, all faults are known with simple enough fixes so I won't rule it out on a car.

Carden shaft, seems easy enough to sort with ebay kits readily available.

Just need to go and drive one

Cayenne74 · 21 Feb 2019

The V8s are much more interesting to drive than the V6s in terms of performance but I was looking at the earlier 4.5s when I bought mine last year and they were all a bit ropey. 4.8 engine better apparently. I stayed away from air suspension to try and de-risk my purchase slightly but I do really like the car and wouldn't rule out myself looking for a 4.8 S or GTS later this year with air suspension.

One thing to keep in mind when buying are options on the car. The vary wildly from vehicle to vehicle with everything being a cost option when they were new, so just check the car you're looking at has the things you really want. I came from an Alfa 159 that had virtually everything as standard to a Cayenne which doesn't have cruise control, heated seats or a self-dimming rear view mirror. They're not necessarily things that bother me not having but some people might have an issue with that.

MarkGolf · 21 Feb 2019

I would consider a 3.6 V6, I do feel comfortable with those engines as I'm a bit of a VR6 geek and know many many many things and people around the VR6 based engine so if something were to fail on that, I wouldn't worry in the slightest.

I really need to try them out, it will be my wife using it 80% of the time. I understand your thinking on the air, I was originally looking to avoid the air, just to de-risk potential issues, I even came across a manual GTS which would de-risk the auto worries I have but I think a Cayenne needs to be auto, strangely the missus was more up for a manual.

Options wise, I want the leather dash, heated front and rear seats, air (maybe) and I think that's all really? Not sure if I am missing out on anything decent? I plan to fit an up to date headunit with nav, bluetooth.

Am I missing out on anything else? I like the GTS for the alcantara pillars/roof and bucketed seats. Sports exhaust (I have seen some S's equipped with that) that would be nice actually!

lol, the list keeps growing now I'm thinking about it! :grin:

Cayenne74 · 21 Feb 2019

Yep, I hear you. I had a VR6 Corrado back in the day and have fond memories of that car. To be honest the 3.2 with the auto box is fine as it just suits the car and the 3.6 is a bit more responsive so would still be a great car for you and your wife. I couldn't imagine owning any Cayenne with a manual box. When you are used to smaller performance cars and the acceleration/power they have, going to one of these is a shock but it's a completely different car and you do drive it differently. They do go around corners impressively given their heft however.

It's a shame it wasn't a couple of months ago you were looking for one. I received an email from a Porsche specialist in Edinburgh a month or so after I got mine offering me a 2007 4.8 with absolutely everything on it including 20" Turbo alloys for £10,500. 77k miles and FSH. Dark grey with black leather and absolutely cracking. Was kicking myself but felt it too soon after getting my one to change.

If you look at one of my recent threads you'll see I fitted a Kenwood aftermarket head unit with Bluetooth, android auto, etc. Very simple to do but you just need to be aware that the harness is a good deal more expensive if your car has the Bose amp. There's a great guide here: https://cai-store.com/pages/cayenne-radio-installation-instructions-for-2003-2010

I decided to use double sided Velcro on the black box for MOST adaptor so I could stick it up in the recess above the head unit. This helped with the ridiculously short cables on the harness for plugging it into the back of the new head unit (they advise to put it into the recess located to the right hand side of the head unit aperture). It's less of a problem if you fit a mechless unit as they are only around 75mm deep so plenty room behind. The hardest bit of the whole install was me trying to get the machine screw back into the hole under the ABS badge on the A pillar!

deMort · 21 Feb 2019

MarkGolf said:
Thanks guys!

I'm looking at 2007 - 2009 facelift cars, so will have the later 4.8, is this the engine that suffers from the variocam bolts shearing?

Yup .

To be honest , i would have thought any that have a problem will have already failed .. it was never a high number but i just answer a question with what i have seen .

Last one being about 2.5 years ago .

V6 petrol and the engine was under powered .. diesel and much better ..

Im not sure on the various engines and years but was there a V6 petrol on the face lift ?

If so its the VW unit and again .. a lack of power

Its not something i really need to know .. what engine in what spec car etc and what designation these engine are .. sigh .. i just fix whats in front of me ...

i dam near failed a test on engines as the questions all said engine numbers / desiganations and i didnt have a clue .. show me the engine or say its a v8 turbo and i know lol .

MarkGolf · 11 Mar 2019

Thanks for the great info guys.

That sounds like a great deal on the 4.8. I have forgotten the idea of a manual, after a weekend spent in traffic, I'm crying out for an auto now, especially in a big lump! If I get the early spec PCM unit, I will want to change that, hate the look of it and obviously you can't do much with them so a new double din like yours would be the way to go for me. I have seen on eBay that you can get android double dins that look factory, I like the idea of those.

Cheers Iain!

Looks like we found your weak spot! haha

I may have found the Cayenne for me, it's a 2008 GTS. Slightly more miles than I was looking for (90k) but it ticks all the boxes and isn't black! I'm into my detailing and as much as I like to look at black cars, to own one and keep one swirl mark free is my idea of hell, especially when said black car is the size of a house.

When I go and view it, are there any areas and things to check outside of the normal car checks?

Aside from the normal checks, does it start, windows work, lights, blah blah, are there areas to look for rust, listen out for knocks from certain areas? Do they rust underside and suffer with corrosion to pipe work like very other Porsche of it's generation?

This car has had the coilpacks replaced and carden shaft bearing replaced so that's 2 good things done.

Once and if I get it, the first jobs will be to clear the front drain holes and a full wheels off clean and inspection.

The seller says it has a soft close tailgate, is that actually soft close or would he mean the full electric closing?

Cheers

baldlemur · 12 Mar 2019

Hi
I've had a 957 for coming up to 2 years now. The major problem I had with mine was condensation in the headlights, which i didn't notice when i viewed the car. In the end I had to replace both litronic headlight units and the ignition units. Total cost just under £3000

almost 1/3 of the purchase price of the car!!...and not covered by warranty as due to water ingress. Worth checking them! Tailgate struts also fail, but looks like a reasonable DIY job (mine were done under warranty).
John

MarkGolf · 18 Mar 2019

Oh wow. Don't fancy that bill, Sealent gun would need to come out for that!

Cheers!

ragpicker · 18 Mar 2019

Sounds like you're on the hunt!

Things to check - the bottom of the rear doors where the trim attaches. Unless you look you won't see that there's a big trim piece covering the bottom 1/8th of the door. This corrodes behind it and pushes the trim at the bottom forward.

Moisture in the rear carpets. Moisture in the cabin in general.

Drain holes either side of the bulk head.

Make sure the engine doesn't sound like a tractor.

Rear doors again - where the door is shaped for the rear arch before going straight up next to the handle, these bits often bang on nearby cars when the doors open in Tescos. It fatigues the paint which gets corrosion behind it. That little bit of paint then comes away revealing a tiny triangle of rust. Easy to fix but every common.

Hesitency when pulling away cold, unsteady idles.

Difficulty starting when hot or when just filled up with petrol (evap valve fault)

That should do it for now, keep us posted :thumb:

deMort · 18 Mar 2019

ref front drains .. you can just about use a screwdriver and behind the rear arch liner .. just behind the shock ..use a mirror as well to see it .. you stab and flick out the drain bung ..do it each side .

lets just say .. cough * i do it * cough .. im sorry .. i have a cold .

MarkGolf · 19 Mar 2019

Cheeers guys!

I have found a GTS, I haven't seen it yet but the seller has been quite welcoming in all of my ***** requests and the car has had a fair bit of work. I also tracked the previous owner so it's quite nice to know all of this history.

I'll save it for my progress thread.

I wont be able to see the car cold as they owner will be collecting me from the station but I will ask the question and take his word, although sometimes people just don't notice these things!

Thank you for the check list, it's items like that which I need to know, I know the general bits to check for but Cayenne specific details seem scarce!
The bodywork bits are fine but it's the engine and gearbox that scare me a little.

Bulkhead drain holes, that'll be one of my first jobs once it's home!

Thanks again!

Cayenne 4.8 957

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

deMort

Monaco

Cayenne74

Trainee

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

Cayenne74

Trainee

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

Cayenne74

Trainee

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

baldlemur

Trainee

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

ragpicker

Portimao

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

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