Transmission Bust...I think

[BoxsterTaff]

Hey guys, bad news for me, I think my transmission just went out. 1997 Boxster 2.5 Trip. Gears were slipping, turned around and went home (4-6mins), got there just in time to get no traction in gear, and dump a load of oil. Pic attched is of the belly, and the pink 'think' that was in the oil. Does anyone recognise this part, I haven't called the garage yet, but I am guessing this is a total transmissioon failure. Anyone have any advice?

[harryrcb]

Man that sucks, I don't think the orange thing came from your car. have you had oil leaks before or is this new? It could be you shift cables on the right side of the transmission may have come loose or off and that will prevent you from gettin completely in gear. At least for your sake I hope that's what it is. Otherwise you will have to get it rebuilt or buy a used one from ladismantlers or craigs list. good luck and let us know what you found. Good luck

oops .. missed the "trip" part - in my defense it was past my bedtime lol

Edited January 23, 2011 by harryrcb

[El Acura]

Hey guys, bad news for me, I think my transmission just went out. 1997 Boxster 2.5 Trip. Gears were slipping, turned around and went home (4-6mins), got there just in time to get no traction in gear, and dump a load of oil. Pic attched is of the belly, and the pink 'think' that was in the oil. Does anyone recognise this part, I haven't called the garage yet, but I am guessing this is a total transmissioon failure. Anyone have any advice?

Hello

To dump oil like this in the front of the tranny, the only possible cause might be the torque converter seal....

ZF 5hp19 Tiptronic transmission need 9 litres of oil to run. dump half of it, and you have a dead tranny.

Please provide more informations, like your mileage, or if the transmission was maintained recently ( fluid & filter change )

or if the dumped oil got a particular strong burn smell.

Good luck

[BoxsterTaff]

Thanks for your replies guys. here is the whole dirty story!

Yesterday was the first time in two weeks i managed to get to take her out, she is a weekend car. Two weeks ago, on the way back from the store in her, she started playing up - didn't want to engage 5th, 'rough'' shifting down, and up esp between 2nd and 3rd. So yesterday, i decided to take a small ride to see what was up, i made it a mile, and by this point i could hear a 'grinding' noise, i turned around, and made it on to the drie before it dumped fluid, hard so say how much but a good few quarts. It was a black/silver grey color, and yes had a burnt odor.

As for the history, I bought the car a year ago, and have done about 3k since, so i don't know the service history of the transmission, it has 85k on the clock. I've contacted a local indy to see what they think. Or i may look into buying a rebuilt trans and fitting myself. I suspect with the amount of oil that came out that it may beyond rebuilding......Well, I did say I wanted to keep it until she bacame a classic! So i'll need ot fix her either way!

P.S. the oil you see in the photo, is but a fraction of the wound! That was after the clean-up :-(

Edited January 23, 2011 by BoxsterTaff

[BoxsterTaff]

ok, here's a thought. Does anyone know if it is possible, advisable (based on cost etc) to convert a trip tronic to a manual? What's involved etc. I prefer manual tansmissions, and as I am looking at having to buy a reconditioned auto trans, I was thinking maybe I should just convert it?

[mikefocke]

Every time this question comes up those in the know say you'd be better off trading in your cars for the one you want. I don't know if that opinion changes if you have to buy a replacement transmission. Tips are usually pretty robust and I've not heard of many failing. Mine is 9 years old and zero issues so far. There is a list of wrecking yards on my web site under "sources". Dallas is a big place, there must be a transmission shop around that knows these transmissions as they aren't unique to Porsche. I know when the dealer told me to buy a new transmission for my son's Mazda it turned out to be a $30 speed sensor at a transmission shop. So don't assume the worst.

[BoxsterTaff]

Hey thanks Mike, I've contact a couple of indies, I have stayed away from the 'transmission shops' as I assumed that they would not work on a Boxster? Do you think they would? I am trying to find a garage that a) seems to know their way around a boxster, b gives a reasonable estimate for replacing the transmission. I plan to send it in once i know what I could be into, and if it turns out to be repairable failure then all the better......i am just skeptical having seen the amount of fluid that came out!

Edited January 24, 2011 by BoxsterTaff

[mikefocke]

ZF made it, ask if they have experience with Porsche Tiptronic ZF gearboxes. The engine and tip come out together and then are removed on a bench. Perfect time to redo your IMS and RMS. Not to mention the water pump, oil filler hookup, anti-freeze hookup and AOS, they are all plastic and prone to fail. Slippery slope.

Vertex says the rebuilt trans exchange costs $3k.

[BoxsterTaff]

Well - Its in the local Indy Garage, I'll let you guys know what he finds, along with my best attempt to descirbe anythink relevant that might have led to this so you can all avoid it!

[Dale_K]

Please continue posting updates as this repair proceeds. I have a 2000 S tiptronic, which is working perfectly at this time but I'd like to know your situtation turns out. Maybe if you're lucky a new seal and refill gets it working again.

[BoxsterTaff]

Quick update, i've been out of town for a few days but the Boxster has been with the indy. I spoke with him today, and the transmission will need to be refurbished, which luckily for me he can do homself. He said there was a lot of damage the torque converter, and gear damage (presumably from overheating when the fluid dumped) - he said the case looks good through. He's looking at $4,100.00 to rebuild it Other 'shinnier' Dallas garages were talking $6900 and had to send the trans to other firms), and take care of a couple of small other 'things' i've asked hom to look at.

I'll call in to the garage and get mor einfo from him, so I can do a better post for you guys. I want to be able to shed some light on the failure, rather than have a lot of people needlessly worry that their transmissoin may go out.

For now, it was preceeded with:

I bought the car at a good price, a year ago, with a view to keeping it and doing any repairs it needed for the 10-20 years! It was always a bit 'jumpy' going from 2-3rd. Also, and i don't know if this is a 'boxster thing' it would never start in 1st, always 2nd (though you could engage 1st with the tip). After a run, it had a 'hot' smell, and the engine would run slightly to the right of vertical on the temp gauge, I am assuming the two are related for now. Selecting reverse also resulted in a jolt. There was some oil residue at the rear of the car, i thnk i poseted a thread on this with pics a year ago. I am pretty sure that was transmission fluid.

Prior to the big failure, the first sign of trouble was that it would not select 5th, the mechanic told me that is the first gear to loose as the transmission loose pressure as 5th takes the most pressure to engage. This was rapidly (within 15 miles) followed by the melt-down detailled above.

More once I have spoken to the garage owner next week. He thinks I'll get it back towards the end of the week. Let me know if there is interest to continue guys.

[Dale_K]

My 2000 S always starts in second gear too, when in drive. I think that's normal. Mine will downshift to first if I floor the gas without going to manual mode.

Ask your tech how he thinks the failure began. I sure don't want to see an expensive repair such as yours. Did a leak eventually lead to operating with a low fluid level, then progressing to low pressures and slipping clutches?

I hope I never face this issue but if I did I might consider a used transmission without any rebuilding. Just slap it on and hope for the best. I see several Boxsters on the Coparts web site that have potential as donor cars.

Good luck with your car.

[BoxsterTaff]

Dale, I haven't spoken to him this week, we've had a little snow in Dallas (I blame the Steelers / Cheese Heads for bringing it with them) so the city has closed for business!

I suspect it was the slow drip - to low fluid etc. I'll besure to post his findings.

I looked at used Trans, but to b honest the Tips are running at $1500 - $2000 used with no inspection. So to me the additional $1k for a re-build made sense, I plan to keep the car so I don't want to be concerned that my bargain +60k miles transmission may have had a hard life pre 60k......

[BoxsterTaff]

Well its back, and shifting better than ever!

Basically it was the pump that went out which led to the dumping of the transmission fluid - the leaking seals were a sign for sure. I think if anyone has a Boxster that they feel might not be shifing smoothly then its probably worth getting it checked out, if it had been diagnosed as a failing pump I might not have been in for a re-build after the fluid dump! Tech rebuilt the transmission, changed the RMS and some other stuff (dip stick tube etc) and checke the IMS. He said the IMS bearing looked like new, no leak and the plastic on the bearing was intact and there was no play in the bearing at all - so we agreed to leave it alone.

Whilst at the garage he also diagnosed a bad O2 sensor on the left cat which was resulting in the left bank running hot (car has always run to the ight of vertical on the temp gauge so long as i have had it - he changed that out, put in new plugs to all 6 cyl and tuned the engine.

All told my Boxster's little adventure came in at $4400, but it runs great now!

Edited February 13, 2011 by BoxsterTaff

[Dale_K]

Glad everything's running and shifting well. That's a lot of money but worth it since you got a totally successful repair. Did your tech give you a reason why the tip went out? In other words what should I be mindfull of if I want to avoid the $4,400 bill?