Sudden Shifting Problems

Today I made 4 seperate trips in my '08 Cayman S . The first three everything behaved just fine and noticed nothing out of the ordinary; however, when I went to drive home at the end of the day I found it very difficult to shift into 1st and 2nd gear. I managed to get the car home and discovered a few things over the 7 mile city drive: 1 - Reverse seems fine 2 - 1st and 2nd are very difficult to get into and don't seem to be in the right spot 3 - 3rd and 4th are a bit notchy but not too bad 4 - 5th and 6th were perfectly fine 5 - Coming out of gear seemed fine 6 - When I home I tried out all of the gears. They all shifted normally with the car off. Any thoughts? My first thought was the cables, but then I would think 5th and 6th would be giving me trouble as well. Same story with the clutch. That makes me think it may be something interl although I don't know why it would shift normaly with the car off. Needless to say I'm nervous to take it out again.

I would suspect the cables, or the cable ends. If you can, get under the car and check the connectors on either side of the tranny. The one on the left controls the forward-back motion on the shifter, the one on the right controls the left-right. If those look ok, you may need to pull the console and inspect the ends at the shifter. It is also possible (but unlikely IMO) that the shifter itself is damaged. If the cables are damaged, I highly recommend the Numeric cables as a replacement.

If u have between 40 and 60 k miles, I'd bet clutch. TONS of threads on here about this. Including mine.

Really, your clutch worn out a 40K miles? This could be the problem though...

So I went out after dinner to re-evaluate the situation. Jacked the car up and checked out the physical parts on the outside of the transmission. The cable ends looked fine and everything seemed solid and moved ok. I noticed no fluid leaks either. I dropped the car and got it. Before starting it I was able to put the car into any gear, but once started I could not get it into any of the gears. When attempting R there would be a slight sound and the car would slightly rock back, when attempting 1st a similar sound and a slight rock forward. It seems to me that something with the clutch is dead. I was eventually able to engage 1st but only after a number of attempts - I have not forced it as it were - just using a bit more pressure than usual, repeatedly. Since the clutch has behaved consistently and just failed do you think it is the clutch itself or a slave/master cylinder or something else? Any ideas to diagnose before handing it over to the shop?

I assume you started in neutral and then tried to put in gear. What happens if you try to start with the car in first or reverse and your foot off the brake? I think the nannies will still let you do this. Have a place to go if you try this and be ready with brake and ignition of course. If the car tries to move you've confirmed the clutch not releasing. Don't know of a good way right off to differentiate between a bad pressure plate or slave/master cylinder. The older cars had an inspection port. I don't believe it's there anymore but don't know for sure.

It is the clutch. Not the slave or master. Mine crapped out at 62k miles, which seemed early to me also, as I've driven 100s of thousands of miles w manual transmissions.. Common complaint w the 987s. Apparently aftermarket clutches last longer the second time.

Hate to say it, but I agree, most likely the clutch. I bought a clutch kit from an aftermarket supplier (one that advertises in Wall St. Journal among other places), after shopping all over. It was a Sachs , just like OEM, but several hundred cheaper than the dealer's price. I did the job myself, but if you don't want to tackle it I advise shopping several places, there will be a variety of estimates.

Did a little more checking on the car tonight: - Fluid level was at max - Clutch pedal is firm and the pressure does not decrease when held - Pumping the clutch does not change performance (or lack thereof in my case) - I started the car, with the it in reverse and the clutch depressed. Car behaved normally and started backing up as I released the clutch. I was then able to shift into 1st without too much difficulty but the shifting deteriorated quickly and it was back to not shifting. To me this seems to indicate that it is the clutch/pressure plate and likely not the master or slave cylinder. I know some of you guys have changed your own clutch - do you have any tips? I have done a fair amount of work on other cars: brakes/calipers, shafts, engine mounts, timing belt, etc but never a clutch. It sounds a bit daunting but I'm sure it's doable. If I had a lift I wouldn't think twice about it but my current garage can be a bit cramped. I'm getting a couple of quotes from a local shops as well in case I decide it's not worth the effort.

Sounds like a pressure plate. I've had them go before where they'd not slip under load but wouldn't quite release. Usually would go into a synchro gear but not reverse. I've not done a clutch in a Cayman but have other cars. Someone to help lower/raise the tranny is the biggest bit. Make sure to have the alignment tool. Think there's a DIY in the articles here or the Cayman Register. Can't remember. Give you an idea as to whether to tackle or not.

There is a great writeup in the Register, lots of tips and comments. I do have a MaxJax lift and it made all the difference, but there are several who have done it with just jack stands, one on this forum actually put the car up on timbers several feet in the air. There are some tools that help it considerably. Main ones are the Porsche engine support, since once the trans is removed there is nothing to hold up the back of the engine. I borrowed one (they cost $400), but a support from somewhere like HF will work, just not quite as convenient. A flywheel lock is helpful, but one can easily be made from steel strap. One bolt holding the transmission to the engine is really hard to get to, not much room, but a cutdown triple square drive will fit. I did everything by myself except actually pulling the trans out and pushing it back in, those two jobs almost had to have a helper just to get it aligned. I bought a alignment tool from Pelican, just a few $ and its plastic. I have a few seals and other parts I bought and ended up not needing that I will sell below cost if you are interested, they're listed in the classifieds f they haven't dropped off. I didn't have to pull the flywheel, nor replace the pilot bearing or an of the seals, just the pp and disc plus the TO bearing and related parts.

Well after checking with a few shops I decided to save myself quite a bit of money and get to know my Cayman a bit better by changing out the clutch myself. The articles on the Register were very helpful and aside from getting the exhaust off (breaking a bolt and having to grind that bolt out) it went pretty well. In the end the clutch was in good shape but the throw-out bearing was worn and damaged. I checked the flywheel and replaced the clutch, PP, and bearing. Overall it was a fun project, the car is running well, and the clutch feels great. I'm glad I took on the project. Also, I did it with ramps and jack stands in my little garage. It wasn't too bad but I did get sick of spending so much time on my back on the hard floor.

Awesome that it turned out well, excellent DIY effort! So did you have any trouble dropping the transmission out to get to the clutch assembly?

Yeah, those Mercedes wheel hangers were really worth much more than their cost. By being able to hang the transmission on them it took a lot of weight off whoever has to hold the unit up and line it up to shove it in. I found mine on Ebay for something like $8 total.

Are these the same hangers we use for our wheel lugs? I think 14mm 1.5 pitch.