Hi all,
This is my first post here. After dabbling in performance cars from all over (Japan, the US and of course Germany), I finally decided to scratch the Porsche itch. However, it has not been a happy introduction. Less than a month after buying a pristine 2012
Boxster S
PDK
with just 40k KM on it and a full Porsche service history, I found a nice puddle of transmission fluid under the car. I flat-bedded it to Porsche and so far, it's been a nightmare.
First they thought it was just a ill-fitted sump pan so on a new one went. Then they found fluid squirting out of a nubbin on the top of the box. Porsche didn't know what the nubbin is and said they couldn't find a reference to it on any drawings. It appears to be some kind of breather and features on every other Porsche
PDK
box I can find an image of. This is not the one nearer the bellhousing but another after the join on the rear half. It's a peg standing through the case with a tiny hole facing the rear of the car. Porsche's best solution was either a new box (costing almost the same as the car!) or to seal the nubbin with compound! Shocking! The box was operating perfectly until I found the puddle. What would be causing trans fluid to be squirting out like this? It has been a month now. Your help will be hugely appreciated and thank you in advance.
PS. I have told them to contact Porsche Germany if they don't know what it is as surely home base would know right?
Please see the following images. Sorry for the quality but I wasn't able to post the video so took still instead.
Here's the same nubbin on 981 and 997 boxes.
As you’ve discovered, Porsche dealerships tend to be pretty clueless with regard to
PDK
. They managed to botch the job of simply doing the fluid service on my 997. And any issue=replace. There are a handful of shops that are repairing them these days. I’d suggest you seek advice from member PV997 over on Renn list
Or, contact
@jjrichar
and search for him on this forum, as he has done a ton of work on the PDKs in general, and is working on an aftermarket position sensor for the PDK (common failure point on them, relatively speaking).
As mentioned, the dealer just says to replace the entire thing whenever ANYTHING happens. It's a poor response. You should find an indy who can handle these, as they aren't "magic".
My guess is that this is probably a simple freeze-plug that is leaking. But better to ask jjrichar as he probably knows EXACTLY what it is!
Thanks for the reply.
@jjrichar
, any advice you could offer would be appreciated. I'm posting here rather than trying to contact direct so that hopefully others may benefit also.
The box had a PDK fluid change just before buying and since dropping at Porsche, its had a sump change and fresh fluid so overfilling appears doubtful. I'm wondering if there an internal issue, maybe some pressure seal, that could be causing this excessive pressure and pushing of fluid. Thanks all.
Thanks all and sorry for the late reply as I've been away on business.
Honestly, the service given by Porsche has honestly been disgusting and almost enough to turn me off the brand completely. However, armed with the info given here and in other segments of the community, lets see what happens
next
.
Does anyone have any relevant email addresses for Porsche AG (Germany)? I'm intent on causing a storm about my car which Porsche Bahrain has had for going on seven weeks and haven't been in contact for almost three!!! I want to loop in lots of scary people in an effort to get results. Thanks in advance.
