Joe and Ben from Shifting Metal tackle a noisy front differential on an auction-bought 2016 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid in rare Purpurite paint.
Initial road testing revealed a heavy grinding noise on deceleration, which the team traced to a worn front differential. To access the unit, Ben disabled the air suspension via the cabin switch before dropping the front subframe and steering rack.
With the subframe bolts passing through the engine cradle, an engine brace was fitted overhead for added safety. The faulty differential was swapped with a donor unit sourced from a 2019 Volkswagen Amarok sharing the same gear ratio.
During reassembly, a sheared transfer case mounting bolt required drilling out and repairing with a Helicoil insert. The subframe was carefully realigned using original bolt witness marks before final torque-down to preserve wheel alignment settings.
The repair was completed by replacing a broken exhaust tip clamp listed on the auction report, refitting refurbished wheels, and re-attaching a detached hand on the dashboard Sports Chrono clock.
