PDK Repair (not replacement): Who does it? - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

As title. Who in the UK can repair PDK transmissions, as opposed to ripping out the existing unit and replacing it with another unit. With the vast majority of Porsche sports cars going PDK (and all Macans, Panameras, and many Cayennes), someone has to be repairing them. Just looking to know who. Thanks.

Just a shot but a good place to start asking would be Mike at classic and sports car, a member on here, he definitely repairs regular boxes

Didn't think they ever went wrong.

av185 said: Didn't think they ever went wrong. Very usefull

TOV!E said: av185 said: Didn't think they ever went wrong. Very usefull Cheers. Useful btw. Do you know of any that have gone wrong? Do enlighten us.

A quick Google found these people who claim to repair PDK and other ZF boxes. http://austrin-engineering.co.uk

Magic919 said: A quick Google found these people who claim to repair PDK and other ZF boxes. http://austrin-engineering.co.uk I'm aware of these folks, but trying to find as many specialists as I can that repair them. The reason is some other Porsche forums occasionally work themselves into a tizzy about what to do when their PDK transmission needs a repair or replacement. I'm trying to compile a list of all the places that actually do it (even better if backed by folks who have used them!) to quell the naysayers (and to inform people of their options for repair) -- especially when every Turbo sold (which is ~1/2 of all 911s) all current GT3s sold, etc. are PDK, and will never be destined for a junkyard.

Good luck. All of the cases I've seen had a replacement box by Porsche. Would be great to see some actual repairs.

I bet someone called Baz is on the case!

I bet someone called Baz is on the case!

how much for a new gearbox?

As someone who may be facing a potential replacement, I would be grateful to know if you made any progress identifying repairers. I had heard it was difficult to get Porsche to supply parts.

I can't see Porsche supplying parts as they buy them complete. You'd expect ZF to do that.

sounds expensive!

Ken at 9E is looking into it. He told me he had to cut open the casing, but then it was achievable.

Seen quite a few automatic transmission specialists offering ZF services, the PDK transmissions are part of the ZF product range.

ScienceTeacher said: Ken at 9E is looking into it. He told me he had to cut open the casing, but then it was achievable. Blimey!

Has anyone done a PDK to manual conversion (on a car only available with PDK)?

av185 said: Cheers. Useful btw. Do you know of any that have gone wrong? Do enlighten us. I do. I had a 991 PDK box, a brand new one, go bang quite dramatically.

g7jhp said: Has anyone done a PDK to manual conversion (on a car only available with PDK)? Yes a Rennlist member has converted an 991.1 RS to Manual....there's a very long thread about it on there. Incredibly detailed job! Christ knows what it cost with the labour. I think the electrics/engine management systems were the hardest part. If PDK boxes really are only possible to fix by replacement the premium for manual gearbox cars is only going one way.

g7jhp said: Has anyone done a PDK to manual conversion (on a car only available with PDK)? Why of course ... https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-gt3rs-and-911r...

From bitter experience I can conclude that: - no one in uk works on PDK gearboxes, largely because parts are not available. - OPC’s are not allowed to strip gearboxes or attempt diagnostics outside the standard technical procedures - there are various levels of synchronisation that can be undertaken and there are numerous software upgrades. The valve chest can also be replaced but that is about it - Other than the above, if there are no fault codes and the car moves then the gearbox is fine. If not, replace it. The majority are replaced under warranty and only those few who are unlucky enough to have not got an extended warranty are invited to pay a substantial sum.

As PDK equiped 911's etc age and fall into the hands of 3rd 4th owners surely there's got to be a market/cottage industry for this in the future. So are Porsche being difficult with spares then? I wonder if long term this will impact the second hand market? With no specialists covering this yet I wouldn't want to be hovering over a massive bill for a straight replacement.

After reading this up on various forums, read on one where someone had there PDK gearbox successfully opened up, checked/repaired in London, he was also advised that many the parts in a PDK are exactly the same as a VW DSG gearbox & that most the special tools to rebuild them are the same too. I would like to think at this time and age of the PDK we are getting closer to repair/servicing options rather then a whole gearbox replacement.

Johnd52 said: From bitter experience I can conclude that: - no one in uk works on PDK gearboxes, largely because parts are not available. - OPC’s are not allowed to strip gearboxes or attempt diagnostics outside the standard technical procedures - there are various levels of synchronisation that can be undertaken and there are numerous software upgrades. The valve chest can also be replaced but that is about it - Other than the above, if there are no fault codes and the car moves then the gearbox is fine. If not, replace it. The majority are replaced under warranty and only those few who are unlucky enough to have not got an extended warranty are invited to pay a substantial sum. Given it’s in Porsche’s interests to minimise the size of warranty claims I wonder why they are so limiting on what can be done before replacement is signed off.

Cheib said: Johnd52 said: From bitter experience I can conclude that: - no one in uk works on PDK gearboxes, largely because parts are not available. - OPC’s are not allowed to strip gearboxes or attempt diagnostics outside the standard technical procedures - there are various levels of synchronisation that can be undertaken and there are numerous software upgrades. The valve chest can also be replaced but that is about it - Other than the above, if there are no fault codes and the car moves then the gearbox is fine. If not, replace it. The majority are replaced under warranty and only those few who are unlucky enough to have not got an extended warranty are invited to pay a substantial sum. Given it’s in Porsche’s interests to minimise the size of warranty claims I wonder why they are so limiting on what can be done before replacement is signed off. Probably labour cost and speed of turn around. Added to which, I doubt most OPCs have more than one tech capable of repairing PDK box, if they have any at all. Far easier to replace the box and ship the old one to ZF for repair / refurb.

Johnd52 said: From bitter experience I can conclude that: - Other than the above, if there are no fault codes and the car moves then the gearbox is fine. If not, replace it. The majority are replaced under warranty and only those few who are unlucky enough to have not got an extended warranty are invited to pay a substantial sum. I have had a PDK box replaced with no fault codes and it being able to drive. Porsche technical tried to claim there was no problem but I demonstrated it to three technicians and an instructor at PEC. Too much relying on fault codes nowadays. Regards Fred

So said: Probably labour cost and speed of turn around. Added to which, I doubt most OPCs have more than one tech capable of repairing PDK box, if they have any at all. Far easier to replace the box and ship the old one to ZF for repair / refurb. Absolutely, this is why it's going to be down to a specialist to corner the market

What sort of failures are people experiencing with PDK boxes?

Giving this a kick to see if anything has changed over the past 4 years or if anyone would like to share their recent experiences.

For 997 991 987 981 718 Porsche models with PDK, T-Design in the States do a replacement PDK Distance sensor and speed sensor parts for PDK failures with specific fault codes If these are the faults one is experiencing PDK Distance sensor https://t-design9.com/porsche_PDK_displacement_dis... addresses Diagnosis: - Car is undrivable or in limp mode - Dash message "Gearbox fault..." - OBD codes 1731,1732,1733,1734,1735. Often other secondary errors present - OBD errors "Shift rod N displacement sensor" - Dealer/Shop diagnosed "distance (or position) sensor failure" PDK Speed sensor https://t-design9.com/porsche_PDK_speed_sensor.htm... addresses Diagnosis: - Car is undrivable or in limp mode - Dash message "Gearbox fault..." - OBD codes 173E,17??. "Transmission input shaft speed sensor 1/2 limit value exceeded" - Sometimes temperature warnings will be present too - Often other secondary errors present - Dealer/Shop diagnosed "speed sensor failure"

What about Iain at Litchfields ? He cracked the Nissan GTR gearbox that was supposedly a sealed unit and unrepairable and I know he is into the Porsche marque now with tuning and suspension.

Also repairs McLaren Graziano boxes ...

Slippydiff said: Spevs said: Giving this a kick to see if anything has changed over the past 4 years or if anyone would like to share their recent experiences. As I understand it, ATM on here had his fixed successfully. It would be interesting if he could chime in. If the PDK can be repaired, it offsets some of the risk of a potential a £15/£20k bill for a whole new PDK, which is one of the big drivers of people running older Porsches still taking out an extended OPC warranty.

Wasn't it Austin Gearbox Specialist, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Sorry, that should be Austrin.

R E Performance rebuild R8 dual clutch gearboxes, his video on a well known site showing what is involved is very interesting. Not a PDK but the level of precision and complexity is comparable I'd guess.

Paul at South Coast Performance Isle of Man is rebuilding my sister's PDK Cayman right now using a new billet bell housing after a gear pre-selection electrical loom fault. OPC want to change to entirely new gearbox at 12k minus a couple of grand goodwill...then add VAT! New bell housing fixes a relatively simple weakness in the OEM design.

rawenghey said: Slippydiff said: Spevs said: Giving this a kick to see if anything has changed over the past 4 years or if anyone would like to share their recent experiences. As I understand it, ATM on here had his fixed successfully. It would be interesting if he could chime in. If the PDK can be repaired, it offsets some of the risk of a potential a £15/£20k bill for a whole new PDK, which is one of the big drivers of people running older Porsches still taking out an extended OPC warranty. Chiming in Mine wasn't broken. It sprung a leak due to a minor incident involving a trip over the grass verge you might find besides a motorway. Anyway... It was working fine when it had enough clutch fluid in. How do I know this. Because if it stated playing up I would top off the clutch fluid and all errors on dash would just dissappear magically and it would work perfectly again. I had yellow [common] and some red [very rare] errors. I asked at OPC.and was told I could only get an exchange gearbox from them. This was 6250 plus Vodka from memory, it was over 5 years ago. The return box needed to just pass a visual inspection, so could be properly F'ed inside and they wouldn't care. So I'm not sure why everyone keeps quoting 15 to 20k because i don't see anyone paying that unless they're old box is visibly cracked or damaged. Or Porsche stop doing exchange. I called some gearbox specialists in and around the area where I live. None were even interested at looking at the car. I also called some Porsche specialists near where I live - same result. Then Slippy - thanks again - recommended Austrin Gearbox Specialist. I called them and they were happy to take a look at the car. So I had to drive over 200 miles not knowing if the car would make it there without dropping enough clutch fluid to give me errors and refuse to shift gears which on a motorway is problematic. I took the jack and tools and gloves and some fresh clutch fluid and set off very early. I stopped a third of the way at a services and jacked up the car in their car park in the dark - it was January - and measured only about 600ml of fluid before it was full. This gave me the confidence to carry on all the way there without another top up - it usually swallowed over a litre when it started giving me errors. So I had originally planned to do 2 stops for top ups. Trying to keep this short..... Anyway I got a call the next day to tell me they could fix the car. They just needed to remove the box, replace all seals and refit. Box has been fine since although I do plan to replace the clutch fluid as part of my routine maintenance. Because with fresh clutch fluid the shifts, especially the very first one on a cold morning, just feel a lot better. Could all be in my head obviously.

For those up north, Revolution Porsche have demonstrated they can repair them HERE