Loose driver door?

iamtheari · 03-05-2014, 08:39 AM

I got my 2004 Cayenne Turbo with about 126,000 miles on it. I now have another 9,000 of my own miles on the car. The winter months have obviously used the heater blower more than the first few months I had the car, when the temperature was mild or even hot. When driving the car at highway speeds with the heater blower on high, with the right crosswind, the driver door seals whistle a little bit. I haven't localized the noise more than just to the door. I can't feel air leaking around the edges with my fingers, at least the edges I can reach while driving.

Yesterday, I kept an eye on it when driving on a rough road and noticed some vibration / movement between the upper edge of the door and the upper edge of the door frame. As if the latch were either allowing outward-inward movement of the door or rotation around the latch (I can't see the bottom of the door while driving to determine which type of motion is occurring). It's just a small vibration but it is noticeable. So perhaps that's related to the whistle.

The door seems to shut just fine, solid and smooth as you would expect with a Porsche. But I am curious if there is any adjustment that can be made to the door to try to dial out this whistling sound.

We have long winters and the Cayenne has been a total trooper through the winter, other than a couple of minor things that I can sort out when the weather improves a bit (re-sealing the air suspension compressor pump and locating a vacuum leak that is causing a brake booster warning). So I want it to ride as quietly with the heater on full blast as it does when the HVAC is shut off. Thanks again for any advice!

914-6Porsche · 914-6Porsche's Garage

The vacuum leak warning could possibly be a cracked hose from the vacuum assist pump. It's located kind of below the washer fluid reservoir and is about a $500 repair at the dealer because it snakes around under the reservoir and is damn hard to get to. A quick fix is to get some glue lined shrink tube around the joint and heat shrink in down. Have your power brakes been kind of weak? Mine were but I really hadn't noticed it until after they replaced the hose. I have a 2004 T.

iamtheari · 03-05-2014, 07:05 PM

The warning is "BRAKE BOOSTER FAULTY" and comes back on not long after starting the engine if I reset it. I didn't post separately about that one because all the information I've found agrees: It's a cracked vacuum line, most likely the one you mentioned. I haven't noticed any brake performance degradation but my driving style this winter has been tame enough that I might not have noticed even if that did occur.

I replaced the coolant reservoir in the fall, as it had cracked and would leak while the engine was at temperature. So I understand the fun times that can be had trying to work in that area. Maybe if I replace that vacuum line, I will also be able to find some of the things I dropped into the abyss last fall.

Travis84 · 03-07-2014, 07:43 PM

You very well could have cracked that vac line while working in the area on the tank. It's not that hard to replace and doesn't go under the washer reservoir. Take about 30-90 mind depending on your tools and experience. As far as the door, you can move the chrome striker plate that the door latch grabs when it's closed. Slightly loosen the 2 triple-square screws, and tap it inward with a small hammer or the head of your ratchet. I put tape on the bottom and outward edges so I can track how far it moves and make sure it doesn't go up or down unwanted. Don't fully loosen them. You want a little tension so it stays where you put it. Then alternate back and forth as you tighten the screws back up so it doesn't move as you tighten.

Tepco · 03-07-2014, 11:26 PM

I haven't noticed any brake performance degradation but my driving style this winter has been tame enough that I might not have noticed even if that did occur.

iamtheari · 03-08-2014, 07:27 AM

Can you clarify if it goes under the coolant reservoir? That was a real bear to get out. Any special tools I should try to have on hand for the job? Or tips on verifying the crack is in that line?

Big thanks for the door information. I've never adjusted a door before but have often wanted to on other vehicles.

Travis84 · 03-08-2014, 08:33 AM

If it is cracked, you can get the fault like iamtheari is getting or the pedal is hard. It just doesnt have as much power assist, depending on how bad the leak is. The most common place they crack is the "T" fitting that is under the torque support bracket / vacuum pump. With the engine running, (so the vacuum pump will run as needed), you can wiggle the vacuum line and usually hear the leak and find it that way and either a. attempt to repair it with epoxy or something like that or b. replace it. The line comes as one big assembly and I would recommend swapping in a new one to prevent future breaks in other places.
As Im sure you remember, the most difficult thing about doing the coolant reservoir is pulling the steel support bracket that the vac pump mounts to and the aluminum torque support bolts to. You will need to pull this again, but if you pull out the passenger side headlight, the rear bolt is very easy to get to and makes life easy. So, pull off the enigne trim plastics, alum torque support, vac pump, steel torque support bracket and change the vac line assembly. No real special tools needed other than basic sockets, extensions and some pliers to release the spring clamps on the vac hoses. Good luck.

Travis84 · 03-08-2014, 08:34 AM

** Disclaimer... The fault you are getting could be coming from another issue like a faulty booster but the vac leak is very common and since you were messing around in the area...

iamtheari · 03-23-2014, 09:04 PM

On the vacuum leak, I had a thought. Last summer, when I first got the car, I got the CEL when filling the gas tank on a couple of occasions. It was the code (forgot the number) that indicates vacuum problems. I have the common culprit hose replacement on my shelf waiting for warmer weather so I can take care of that on the driveway. What's the chance this is related to the brake booster fault?

I haven't had a chance to look for cracked vacuum lines yet, unfortunately. It is a daunting task with all the vacuum lines running everywhere under the hood and my lack of experience diagnosing vacuum leaks.