Cayman 2009 6 speed manual with 65,000km and about 15 track weekends, otherwise gentle driving, but mostly city. Past year increasingly difficult to shift into 1st. Dealer found nothing. Finally, at stop light in neutral, could not find any gear. Had to flatbed back home. Joined the CAA just 6mths ago due to shifting worries - lucky. Clutch travel feels fine. Brake fluid full, bled annually, including at the slave cylinder. No leaks at slave cylinder. Replaced shifter cable with new Porsche part, since these apparently fail. But no, the old one looks fine; I just wasted $500. I think my shifting is clean, and only 65k odometer. Do I need to drop the transmission to look at the clutch and pressure plate? Being a novice but enjoy wrenching, I would gratefully receive any advice.
How does the clutch engagement feel when in gear? IOW, if you activate and release the clutch pedal with the engine running, does the car act normally; does the car want to keep moving even though the pedal is depressed?
If the above acts normally, I would drop the transmission oil and check for metal as a first step.
Thanks FFaust. The clutch does seem to work. I made many small adjustments to shifter cables at the shifter, a few threads forward, a few back, but still can't shift to reverse when running. I changed the transmission oil last year, thinking it might help smoother shift, but it did not. Used Castrol Syntec Gear Oil SAE 75W-90. I guess I will drain a bit to inspect for metal as next step.
Can you shift with the engine off? If not, you can try going under the transmission and moving the selectors on the transmission itself (vs. via the shift lever). First step in my mind is to determine whether the problem is on the shifter end or the transmission end.
When you try to shift with the engine running - does it grind? This would tell me the clutch isn't releasing. If you can move the shifter through all the positions (clutch in or out) I'd look at the shifter cables or linkage.
I ended up dropping the transmission and replacing the clutch, clutch pressure plate and slave cylinder. For a novice, it was a tough job, especially reinstalling the transmission. But dealing with the six rusted bolts in the exhaust flanges that I had broken when removing the nut was frustrating. That took many hours with a cobalt drill then carbide burr and Dremel tool. Man that was hard; but I was stupid to break the bolts. When it was all assembled, everything worked. It shifted smoothly again. The old clutch looked ok, and the clutch plate also seemed fine. Maybe I incorrectly bled the clutch hydraulics originally? Maybe it was the slave cylinder? Oh well. It took many hours and $1500 of parts. Now it shifts fine... but then the coolant sensor lamp just lighted and the passenger airbag warning light indicates an open circuit. After the oil change, I can't get the Autel OBD device to reset the service interval. Ugg. This is starting to get annoying.
You were NOT stupid to break the exhaust bolts. They always break. A pro tech did my clutch and 4 of them snapped. I soaked them for 2 days with PB Blaster before I took him the car and he soaked them all night before trying.
