PLS HELP - 2007 987.1 (5spd manual) doesn’t move when in gear.

first off - i can’t thank everyone on this forum enough. i have done so much to this car that i never would’ve been able to if it wasn’t for these forums (******** & planet9). I really appreciate each and every one of you. I got this car over 5 years ago, and practically knew nothing about working on Porsches, or really cars in general. By reading posts on here, i’ve learned how to do so many things. THANK YOU ALL! So…. very weird issue i ran into. I installed a new exhaust and drove the car for a bit to see if I could hear any leaks etc. I heard a few leaks and decided to just take it to a nearby shop so they could either seal up the leaks, or use better gaskets if needed. I unfortunately didn’t have the time to take things off again if that was required. This is where it gets interesting… I drove the car to the shop, drove it onto the drive on lift they had, turned the car off, and left it there overnight so they could check the exhaust the next morning. I haven’t had any slipping with the clutch, and i never heard any sounds prior to this either. the next day, they told me they can’t get the car off the lift because it is not moving at all. I was confused, so i went there after i got off work. Exactly what they said - i got in the car, put it in reverse and pressed the gas. no movement but the car revs. same thing happens with all gears. I got the car towed to my house the same day and took a look at things myself. 1. i drained the trans fluid and there was literally less than 1 qt (praying this was the issue) and immediately filled up the proper amount. the weird thing is, i never had any transmission issues prior to that day where i took it to the shop. I also took out the fuel pump to get the car prepared for the new one i have coming, so i can’t turn it on at the moment to test if this was the issue. 2. I noticed this axle (driver side REAR) that was coming out of the transmission. Could this be the reason i’m not moving when in gear?? if so, would it require an entire new axle, or could i take this out and fix it?

Yeah, it looks like the axle stub has come out of the tranny. I think the CV joint bolts have either broken off or backed out. The car won't move because the diff is just spinning. This will take some inspection to see the extent of the problem. Hopefully it all just backed out and can be remedied by reinstalling the stub. If the splines on the stub have been damaged it may be necessary to replace the CV or complete axle. The splines in the transmission will need to be inspected for damage. Good luck!

Is this a 6 speed or Tiptronic? If it's a 6 speed, low fluid is unlikely to be the issue. I'm going to assume a 6-speed since you mentioned operating a clutch. If it was a Tiptronic - low fluid could be the issue if the control circuits of the transmission aren't functioning, or the transmission oil pump isn't working due to low fluid. Filling the Tiptronic isn't as simple as just filling it until some leaks out.. but - guessing it's a 6 speed, we can proceed. Vehicle jacked up so the rear wheels are off the ground: If you put the vehicle into gear, engine off, can you spin the drivers side wheel? When you spin the wheel, does the wheel on the opposite side turn? If you stop the rotation of the passengers side wheel - can you still turn the drivers side wheel? Analysis: If you can still spin the wheel on the drivers side when the input to the transmission is blocked (in-gear, engine not running) AND the passengers side wheel has been immobilized, chances are there is some sort of disconnect inside the transmission/differential. That is - unless the clutch is totally not-engaged. Does the clutch feel normal? Let us know the result of trying #1 and #2..

Hey man! thank you very much for your input. Sorry - i realized i put that it’s a 5sp in the tags and not the actual post. It’s a manual 5 speed. going to test out what you mentioned within the next hour and report back!

Was this by chance a drive on rack? I ask because the one that we had would sometimes be tight for small sports cars, perhaps this happened when it was put on the rack, just a thought.

yes!!!!! it was a drive on lift! i was thinking the exact same thing - i did hear a sound but i thought it was from the metal piece i was driving on to. Maybe it was that axle??

yes!!!!! it was a drive on lift! i was thinking the exact same thing - i did hear a sound but i thought it was from the metal piece i was driving on to. Maybe it was that axle??

Like I said, the alignment on ours was tight, it takes some practice to get perfect, sometimes even an extra man in front of the rack sighting it for extreme fits and other times it could not be used at all. Given the timing, damage and that post? You probably rubbed the rail on that side. PS It makes me question your mechanics a little because they should have knowledged that out before you towed it back.

ahh got it. odd thing is, this drive on lift was actually very wide. it wasn’t a tight fit, just had to go at an angle so the front bumper wouldn’t scrape. Also, i remember when i was fully on the lift still being able to move forward/backward before turning the car off. I just put the car in the air and while the car was off and in 1st gear, i spun the rear driver wheel and the passenger one also spun. wouldn’t this mean that although the axle does need to be replaced, it wouldn’t be causing this issue since there’s still a connection?

I agree with racergreg on this one

so - If you put the vehicle into gear, engine off, can you spin the drivers side wheel? When you spin the wheel, does the wheel on the opposite side turn? The car is on a lift with all 4 tires in the air. Car is off. I put it in 1st gear and got out to spin the driver rear wheel - both sides do spin. ​ Do you recall if they both spin in the same direction, or opposite directions? 2. If you stop the rotation of the passengers side wheel - can you still turn the drivers side wheel? The car is on a lift with all 4 tires in the air. Car is off. I put it in 1st gear and got out to spin the driver rear wheel while my wife held the passenger rear wheel in place. I cannot spin it. ​ There is one additional test - repeat #2 with the car out of gear. IF it remains true that you still can't spin the wheel - you probably have a limited slip differential. They were available as a factory option and also from the aftermarket. https://www.planet-9.com/threads/2010-limited-slip-differential.35350/ IN any case it doesn't sound like anything came loose inside the differential or gear box. That pretty much leaves the clutch, but what's happening there is real puzzle due to the response below: The clutch has always felt normal feels like it always has prior to this. when the car is off and in gear, you cannot move the car. when it is out of gear and off, you can move the vehicle (as you should be able to) If the clutch pressure plate was hanging up somehow - I'd expect a change in the feel of the clutch. That pretty much makes me think the splines on the clutch disk or the splines on the transmission input shaft, or BOTH have been stripped out. This is NOT a usual failure, but there were certain BMW motorcycles that loved to do this due to a very tiny misalignment of the transmission and engine (dry auto type clutch on those bikes, primarily early K100 and K75 engined bikes.) It was common enough that one enterprising dealership built a business where they welded up the input shaft and had new splines machined into it... That said - I've never heard of this on a Porsche. I don't think it's anything you can fix without disassembly. You need access to tihe input shaft of the transmission for a final diagnosis.

Thank you very very much. - they spin in the same direction. - Yes, it is the same thing when the car is out of gear. As I said, there was less than 1 QT of transmission fluid - probably half a QT IF that. With these cars requiring at 3 QTS, i still am curious if this plays a part in it. I get my new fuel pump tomorrow which I will be able to install and then I can actually turn the car on and test some more. If the added trans oil doesn’t fix the issue - i will be taking it to a local shop for further diagnosis and replacement of the clutch if needed. Quick question - I was going to purchase the Sachs clutch kit. Do you think my flywheel would still be fine? car has 100k on it and i don’t know of the last time the flywheel was changed. unfortunately at this time i don’t have the $ to do the flywheel too, cause i’m sure the shop would charge at least $1000+ to do the Sachs clutch kit.

Maybe I'm cross-eyed or being fooled by perspective but it appears the output flange isn't connected to the transaxle. If so it beats me why both wheels would turn. If the output shaft did break it might explain where the oil went. While it may be possible to repair in situ I'd suggest removing the transaxle and going through it. Low oil can be the gift that keeps on giving. Low oil won't stop a manual from working until something fails from lack of lubrication. Refilling it won't fix it.

I second what Greywolf had to say about the output flange. I will also ask that you double check the car is going into gear properly. Although it is much more common on the six speed boxes, the five speed boxes can have shift cable failure.

got it 👍🏽 going to remove the axle tmrw and see what everything looks like. Will keep everyone updated. i appreciate your help and suggestions very much.

thanks a lot man. i will be taking off the axle tmrw and will take a look at things. thank you very much for your input. i will keep everyone updated!

Sorry, jumping into conclussions before reading the entire post.. EDIT: After reading the comments from Don, since both wheels are connected with each other (when manually turned), the driveshafts should be ok.. And, I would side with the theory of the input shaft/clutch assembly being disconnected, hopefully it is a broken clutch disc flange as this would be the cheapest to replace. I believe that I still have a used Sachs pressure plate/clutch disc assembly that I can dig out of the garage (as well as an old flywheel that you can have for free (if you want them, and pay for the shipping charges), however they are off from a 6 speed gearbox (2007 CS) and not sure if these would work on a 5 speed. PS: IMHO, if both wheels spin when you turning one, there is No benefit of removing the driveshaft, just to confirm if this is not causing the problem. However, it looks like you will have to remove the gearbox (which actually fairly straight forward), once you remove both driveshafts, the slave cylinder and the shifting cable assembly BTW, where do you live?

Thank you so much for your response. I will update once I’ve found the resolution. I REALLY wish your sachs clutch assembly + flywheel would fit a 2007 987.1, but i am not entirely sure if it would either. If it did, i would purchase it from you in a heartbeat. I’ll have to read up more on it to see if it’s compatible. I’d assume it wouldn’t since my 987.1 is a 5 speed. I am in NC! Thanks again man!!

Folks - this thread is now a combination of two threads, due to the OP posting his issue twice, and the mods not spotting that (including me.. sorry), so one thread took off in one direction, one in another direction. If you read the entire thread you can pretty much tell which is which. If there is a lot of confusion, I'll color code the text for one thread. Let me know if you want that.

Sorry for the dumb question, but have you checked that the gearbox selector cables are properly connected?

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your input and thoughts. I have a fantastic update As I guessed - it was NOT the clutch. I never had any slipping prior to this incident and never heard any weird noises + I daily this car and the majority of my driving is on highways, so I thought my clutch was pretty healthy. Also, for the clutch to be working one day and randomly stop working the very next day without hearing any noises, etc, is what made me very positive it wasn’t the actual clutch. I drained what fluid was left in the trans, and as i mentioned, it was very very low. I suspect it may have been leaking from the output flange (the pic i shared). I inspected all cables from where the actual shifter is, all the way to the transmission. all were in tact. I flushed and filled the trans fluid, and then I hammered the output flange back into the transmission with a rubber mallet. I have heard and read several people who accidentally even pulled the flange out when removing a stubborn axle, and the solution to getting the flange back in? Use a rubber mallet. After I hammered it back in (carefully), i heard the sound of the UPS truck arriving. finally, i can install the fuel pump and test everything out. After installing the fuel pump , I filled the car up with about 5 gallons of gas, turned the ignition on and prayed to the porsche gods. Car turned over just fine. Next , i put it in first and felt the amazing sensation of the clutch engaging. IT WORKS!! long story short - i think it was a combination of low trans oil leaking from the output flange, and the clutch not being able to fully engage because of how far the flange & axle were out. Sorry for the long story, i am just super pumped.

Congratulations! IMHO you problem was caused by the transmission flange that backed up from the gearbox, this in turn allowed fluid to come out.. Now, the most possible reason for this is a weak circlip, this circlip keeps the flange 'locked' inside the gearbox, I would suggest you to pull the flange again from the gearbox, install a new circlip and push it back intothe gearbox, otherwise it could hapen again. PS: The circlip "A" on the drawing kindly supplied by deilenberger

Thank you!! that is exactly what I will be doing next !

Glad your ride is back to normal. Always like a story with a happy ending. Sounds like your summary diagnosis was exactly the cause of the original failure to have no drive output when in gear. I’ve learned in the past that when installing a shaft with a circlip, position the opening of the circlip either at 12 o’clock or 6 o’clock for the best outcome. Enjoy the ride, nice Cayman .

thanks for your tip! i’ll be sure to keep that in mind when i’m putting the clip on. I really appreciate that man!

And that folks is exactly why this is the best forum!!

Thanks. It's great to hear that's recognized. We've tried to grow a community that tries to help other owners of these fabulous cars, and I think we're well on the way.

The circlip is 'to lock' the flange on the differential assembly, the seal is to keep the oil inside the transmission, since you have a 987 (almost 20 years old), it may be a good idea to replace the flange seals (now is the time to do it), this way you can forget about any leaks from the transaxle for a while..

Especially since the seal has been disturbed by the axle moving out of position. Easy job since you'll be right there.

I would question that PN - it was originally used on a Cayenne (958, second Cayenne series) which uses larger axle hubs IIRC - just because it can have a lot of power (550HP on the Turbo/S..) - see the first 3 digits? I would suggest contacting FCPEuro and talking to them. They are very good at making sure you have the right parts.

so for those wondering: i spent today removing the output flange cause it started leaking again. I’ve ordered the parts since i was able to find the part numbers for the circlip & seal. I will update this post with the part numbers. The circlip still seems to be in good condition, so i’m hoping it’s just the seal that is causing the leaking.

after further review - it appears the actual flange might be bad. There’s a gap between the green part and the bearings, and when i google search an image of this part, apparently there is not supposed to be a gap. unless i’m wrong? could anyone chime in? hoping i can reuse this part!!

Was the seal that leaked the original? If so it may have been damaged by the shaft wobbling when the shaft backed out. The sealing surface on the shaft should also be examined in case it contacted the seal housing.

yes, that is the original seal. still waiting on the replacement seal. as i mentioned, i can’t seem to find this part anywhere. the images online look a tiny bit different, so i’m not sure if this is still okay to use more photos of the flange itself

update - pls ignore previous posts lol, i got analysis paralysis. I’m pretty sure this flange is still fine to use. will update after i get the old seal out and new seal in

I've never physically seen this part so take this FWIW. The end of the shaft by the splines looks damaged. I don't know if something sheared off there or if it spun against something. If you look at the image deilenberger posted it seems that the end of the shaft that makes the circlip groove is missing. Not what you want to hear but I suspect that you need at least a partial transaxle rebuild. Leaving missing bits in a gearbox is a recipe for unwanted excitement.

Hey man, Thank you very much for your input. The image he provided is not for the same model car, or at least not the driver rear. The circlip is still attached to this flange. This is for my car, 987.1 . Part 15 is the flange and the circlip is part 7. It’s hard to tell, but the circlip is still on the flange in the photos i posted.

Just replace the circlip and the oil seal and you should be good to go PS: the passenger side seal is just as old...

thank you! i get everything delivered tomorrow so I will fill everyone in! Yeah I know the other side needs to be done as well, but as I mentioned I am just trying to get things in line so I can at least drive to work & back. I’ve never seen a leak on the other side and don’t see any fluid near the axle, so until I do, i’m gonna wait it out

I wondered the same thing looking at your photos.. the axle is damaged. The end is broken off and rattling around inside the transaxle. I marked up your photo before seeing the last ones, here are my thoughts: We'll work our way down. The blue "Damage" - looks like sheer surface created when the rest of the splined area snapped off. As your photo shows - the snap ring goes into the grove shown in your photo, and no way the axle is staying in place with that damage. Green "groove" - is where the groove should be. Obvious once seeing your photo of an undamaged one (and they'd be identical side to side, possibly even the same PN..) And the red "circlip" looks more like a snap-ring retaining the device below it - and I'm not certain what that device is. Does it rotate with the shaft or can it be turned independently? If independently it's a bearing. It would be handy to have the parts guide with your parts diagram, that might make it a bit clearer.. Since both sides - the axle stubs have the same illustration number (15) that means the sides are identical. If you don't intend to R&R the transaxle - you might hope the broken off part comes out when you drain the fluid. If it doesn't - then a magnetic pickup would be the next thing I'd try, through the transaxle drain port.

You’re a godsend. I appreciate your input very very much. I’ve just gone ahead and ordered the entire flange replacement because I figured it’s probably best. I drained all fluid and no pieces came out 😩. i will try a magnetic tool next . Worse comes to worse, i will open the entire side of the diff and see if there’s anyway i can find the pieces. funny thing is - there’s no noise or anything, so i have no clue when it may have ripped off.