Four Ring Circus

I got the dreaded PADM failure warning light this week. Some searching in both 991 and 981 forums shows this as an unfortunately common and expensive failure ($1300 part for one mount).
I am bringing up the issue again because I have not seen any responses nor have I found via googling anything about aftermarket options for this issue.
I have a ‘14 Cayman S, 25k miles, 5-7 track days per year. I still want some forgiveness and don’t want the NVH associated with solid mounts. Has anyone found a good in between aftermarket set up between solid mounts and the standard Porsche non- Sport Chrono passive mounts?
Thanks!

JCviggen

In case you need it, I have 2 low mileage used mounts that came off my '15 Cayman GTS when I turned it into a racecar. Only selling one of them though, the other I'll keep for when one inevitably fails on my Boxster GTS lol.

michaelscain

Yes I feel your pain. So far both have failed, the first one was fixed under warranty after 16k miles a few years ago. The second PADM failure on my 981BS happened only a few months ago (35k miles) and cost me 1,500 UK pounds to get a new one and have fitted. painful. I'm not sure of any aftermarket alternatives, I did notice that most Porsche parts are made by companies in German, but ironically the PADM transmission mounts are made in the UK. I just hope the replacements last a bit longer....

Four Ring Circus

Thank you for the offer- due to time constraints I ended up having to bite the bullet and order a new OEM mount. It was about $1300. I sure hope not to see this warning again. It was a “feature” of the Sport Chrono that I didn’t even know the car had. Fingers crossed the other one lasts longer.

ICNU

The standard, non Sport Chrono fixed mounts look just like the adaptive mounts but without the wiring plug. They are only about $250 each but there would need to be some sort of coding with a PIWIS otherwise there would be a dash warning at every startup. Im not sure if removing the adaptive mount ability in the programming also affects any other SC option features, but I will definitely check into it if either of mine fail again. My passenger side shorted out at about 19,000 miles and cost me $1,600 parts and labor at my Indy, and I would much rather spend $500 to remove them both forever if it happens again

ifoney

Wow, I didn't know PADM is known to fail. If you replace active vs passive mounts, how does that impact driving?

ICNU

It pretty much becomes exactly the same as a 981 without the SC option. There are many 981s out there like this and drivers have no idea they are missing anything, or at least no one seems to be complaining about it. On the other hand, some that have the SC option seem to have no clue that they even have adaptive transmission mounts as part of that option. The suspension itself is no different between the two, so what I notice the most is it gives redline shifts more of a kick on PDK cars since tranny mounts are stiffer when in the sport modes

sfrt

I’m curious, I’ve heard labour on this job estimated around 3-4 hours. Does anyone know what the procedure involves? Any removal of the engine?

ICNU

No, they have to remove the triangle shaped pan and then one of the brackets between the mount and transmission while supporting the tranny. The mount is sandwiched tightly between the floor pan of the car above and the suspension parts below and it and needs to be able to tilt a bit in order to get it out. It doesnt take near 3-4 hours labor to replace as my Indy did it in only 1.5 hours, however you may be being quoted "book hours" if from the dealer. Attached is a diagram of the mount (3) and how its situated between the mount bracket to the transmission