Porsche unveiled the Cayman 987 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, allowing it to be purchased by consumers from 2005 until 2012. This Two-seat luxury sports car was based off of the 2nd and 3rd generation Boxster roadster, and was deemed to be nearly identical in performance capabilities to Porsche’s flagship, the 911 Carrera. Named after a small reptilian relative to the alligator (and not, as many people think, after the Cayman Islands), the Cayman 987 occasionally suffers from rear hatch/or trunk clunk noises.
The clunking problem seems endemic among 987s. Traditionally, owners say that it comes from the rear end of the car when the car is either making sharp turns or going over medium to large bumps. They say it sounds like it could be coming from the suspension, or that it could be a loose trunk or engine. While alarming, this problem most likely doesn’t relate to anything life threatening or dangerous. Regardless, it is tremendously annoying, and pinning down the source of the sound and solving it is definitely worth the time.
Due to the variety of parts moving around in the rear of the 987, it could be one of a number of things. On the more serious end, you might be dealing with a loose sway bar, or the trailing arm could contain a bad bushing. Moving to the less serious (and also more likely), you might be dealing with a loud resonant counter-weight in the rear hatch, or—and this seems the most probable—a loud rear window latch.
Again, most of these problems are hardly threatening to your car’s safety, but they are tremendously aggravating, especially if you live somewhere with bumpier roads. Our strong recommendation is that you bring your 987 to a local Porsche repair expert where the precise cause of the clunking can be found and the issue put to rest.
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