gillbe Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 My rear lights look shyate and it is all internal crazing. Am I the only one? So what if the car has lived outside all it's life? Is it reasonable to have to replace them (at only £312 per side with discount!) after 12 years? The nearside one had also suffered historic water ingress due to the lens splitting away from the back along the base and being left untreated by previous owner - discolouring the bottom clear part and tarnishing the silvering to the extent that the indicator is hard to see clearly in daylight. Looking at plenty of older cars parked up on the streets and their plastic rear lenses look as clear and unmarked as the day they left the factory. Why are the Porsche units so poor? Sigh Anyone tried cutting open to try and clean / chrome spray and reseal with silicone? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daboy3000 Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Maybe the last owner used to put something on them and it's reacted in the sun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDonald Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 50 minutes ago, gillbe said: My rear lights look shyate and it is all internal crazing. Am I the only one? So what if the car has lived outside all it's life? Is it reasonable to have to replace them (at only £312 per side with discount!) after 12 years? The nearside one had also suffered historic water ingress due to the lens splitting away from the back along the base and being left untreated by previous owner - discolouring the bottom clear part and tarnishing the silvering to the extent that the indicator is hard to see clearly in daylight. Looking at plenty of older cars parked up on the streets and their plastic rear lenses look as clear and unmarked as the day they left the factory. Why are the Porsche units so poor? Sigh Anyone tried cutting open to try and clean / chrome spray and reseal with silicone? A breakers yard might be first call. They don't all deteriorate like this, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbe Posted April 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Drawn a blank so far at the breakers, but you are right, assuming they don't all do this, that is cheapest option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Have you tried all these Porsche breakers: Douglas Valley (Steve Strange on eBay), Status Porsche, 9apart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) Both previous and current 987.2 have got crazing in the rear lights. Previous was worse, seems like “they all do it to a greater or lesser extent” here’s a theory. May be nonsense because they are led and therefore shouldn’t get hot but does this happen to pdk cars more than manual. i sit at the lights with foot on the brake more in an auto than I would in a manual - is it related ? Edited April 12, 2022 by Paul P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Same crazing on mine, although only really visible in darkness , again PDK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 My 987.2 (2011 manual) are also crazed, but not as badly as some I've seen. The lights were like this when I purchased the car 3 years ago. Does not appear to have got worse, although its hard to say for sure as the crazing is not that noticeable on mine. No theories as to why this happens, but as the OP noted, this does not seem to happen to other cars. The rear lenses on my daughters 2010 Fiesta are as new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Agree. There is some Porsche suicide plastic in play here. My previous daily (2004 Toyota) and the “before boxster” Audi ( again 2004) had no such issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 A bargain at £380 a side new 😱 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey P Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 You could try having them tinted, to make the crazing less obvious...? Or maybe just see it as an opportunity to change the look of your car, and replace 'em with some after market lights? (Tip: I had an MX-5 years ago, and changed the rear lamps for clear ones - DEFINITELY DO NOT do that! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonewolfgjp Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Mine were exactly the same, it drove me mad! I even sorted a mint pair online only to find they were exactly the same. You could only really see it on mine when the brake lights were on, looks like scratches and crazing on the inside. I did buy some aftermarket jobs and they were nice but I always liked the oem look. Cheapest I ever found was about £700 for a new pair 😩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbe Posted April 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Opc Bristol £312.37 inc VAT per side. Or, aftermarket, £495 a pair, Black '718 Style' LED rear tail lights to fit the Porsche Boxster and Cayman (987 facelift) 09-13 are due back in stock soon, according to the vendor BM Town @jonttt has these I think Keep watching those breakers for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iborguk Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 1 minute ago, gillbe said: Opc Bristol £312.37 inc VAT per side. Or, aftermarket, £495 a pair, Black '718 Style' LED rear tail lights to fit the Porsche Boxster and Cayman (987 facelift) 09-13 are due back in stock soon, according to the vendor BM Town @jonttt has these I think Keep watching those breakers for now I suspect that unless they are new any replacement units will have the same issue, its ageing and use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonewolfgjp Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 I think it is heat damage over the years and the fact Porsche lights in general don’t seem to age very well. Ive got brand new GTS rears on mine and they still seem to randomly steam up. Those BM town lights were what I ended up using on my 987.2 and they fitted and worked great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbe Posted April 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 If I can get one with less cloudiness in the clear section, like my rear drivers side, that will do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonewolfgjp Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 You might be able to do that, my chrome bit hadn’t discoloured. I used to see a few single lights on ebay from time to time. I enjoyed the change of the aftermarket ones but I really like the oem red ones especially with dark paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmr2 Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 I think the problem with the rear lights is the heat generated in the rear boot area by the mid engine layout. After I have been for a spirited drive it is like an oven in there so plastic lights go through regular heat up cool down cycles which isn’t what happens in most other cars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer boy Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 7 hours ago, deanmr2 said: I think the problem with the rear lights is the heat generated in the rear boot area by the mid engine layout. After I have been for a spirited drive it is like an oven in there so plastic lights go through regular heat up cool down cycles which isn’t what happens in most other cars Ferraris don’t “ craze up “ . Just embrittlement from heat cycling . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDonald Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 My 987.1 doesn't seem to have suffered & the car is 17 yrs old. Maybe I'm less fussy but I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backinaporscheagain Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 My 2009 987.2 has same problem. Thought it might be surface scratches and tried various headlight reviving products, only for it to reappear :0 Anyone recommend aftermarket newer style replacements? Gonna have to bite the bullet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinewood Posted April 13, 2022 Report Share Posted April 13, 2022 3 hours ago, backinaporscheagain said: My 2009 987.2 has same problem. Thought it might be surface scratches and tried various headlight reviving products, only for it to reappear :0 Anyone recommend aftermarket newer style replacements? Gonna have to bite the bullet.. I'm in the same boat and looking for replacement led rear lights for the gen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted May 1, 2022 Report Share Posted May 1, 2022 I've had my 987.2 for about 2.5 years and it was one of the first issues I noticed. Apart from the crazing, the joint between the cover and the body is poor. Somewhere on the internet is a video of their manufacture, where the joint is made by hf welding. Given the convoluted shape it is no surprise they split and let water in, spoiling the silvering. I got a damaged unit for £10 off eBay to experiment splitting the cover and body like many other light units can be as shown on YT, but the welding makes it impossible, even with a Dremel. I gave up and managed after a lot of searching to get replacements from a breakers and a cheap special deal from an on line parts supplier. Before fitting I sealed all round the joint with clear silicone, and all OK after 18 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinewood Posted May 1, 2022 Report Share Posted May 1, 2022 anyone have a link to the BM town lights mentioned above? MY birthday is coming up and may treat the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon998 Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Mine are wild too, 2009 with 50k, I was hoping a buff and some UV sealant, akin to the process to restore headlights, would have solved my issue but according to this thread the issue is on the inside of the units. Nightmare. The seal around my rear window (cayman) has water ingress too and makes it look trashy. Mine's lived outdoors in Northern Ireland though, so spent about 90% of its life wet. Link to BM Town's lights - https://www.porschelights.com/boxstercayman-9872-09-13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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