changing manual transmission fluid in 986

[heeltoer]

hey all,

before you slam me for not search or going to the DYI section, you should know im posting after having printed the 996 manual transmission change article and jacking up the car.

Right after i jacked up the car i found something weird, the diagram views the transmission from the right hand side of the car, with the fill plug on the right, well on our boxster its on the left!. Basically the 996 picture is for the RR configuration (duh), with the transmission pointing towards the front, this same transmission faces the rear in the 986 and the fill plug is on the left hand side.

Here is the problem, the drain plug looks easily accessible on the 996 but that is not the case on the 986. Directly underneath the transmission is this metal cover plate that is attached to the rear cross member -- this cross member starts at the rear jack points, and is an attatchment point for the suspension. This is hard to explain and i wish i had pictures but if you take a look at the rear jack point it should be pretty obvious.

anyways, this metal covering place needs to be removed to get to the drain plug.

does anyone know how? even after i removed the 6 nuts and 2 bolts, this plate did not come off, its sandwiched between crossmember and a suspension mount point.

is there a way around the drain plug? I.e. could you potentially suck the old fluid out?

another issue i faced was that the fill plug did not want to open. The 996 directions say to use a 17mm allen, but my 10mm allen fit perfectly fine, unfortunatly it wouldn't budge. anyideas?

thanks

-heeltoer

[Loren]

I need to covert these and add them to the DIY just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Edit - DIY is now updated with these pics. Many thanks to RennTech.org member scherb!

(Images courtesy of scherb)

Edited May 19, 2005 by Loren

[roadracer311]

I need to covert these and add them to the DIY just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Edit - DIY is now updated with these pics. Many thanks to RennTech.org member scherb!

Loren, did you have a hard time getting the plate and the braces back on? I changed my transmission oil today (2003 Boxster S) and was surprised how hard it was to get the holes to line up with the studs, for both the plate and the braces. I was worried that I had pulled it out of alignment by using ramps instead of jack stands. But looking at your photos, you used ramps too. Wondering if you had any alignment problems after doing this?

Thanks

[Loren]

I need to covert these and add them to the DIY just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Edit - DIY is now updated with these pics. Many thanks to RennTech.org member scherb!

Loren, did you have a hard time getting the plate and the braces back on? I changed my transmission oil today (2003 Boxster S) and was surprised how hard it was to get the holes to line up with the studs, for both the plate and the braces. I was worried that I had pulled it out of alignment by using ramps instead of jack stands. But looking at your photos, you used ramps too. Wondering if you had any alignment problems after doing this?

Thanks

I didn't do these - member schreb did.

As I recall it might take a little pushing to get them back in place.

[RFM]

Lift up the rear of the car, the rear sub frame is to much open when the rear wheels are on the floor.

[psng]

I need to covert these and add them to the DIY just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Edit - DIY is now updated with these pics. Many thanks to RennTech.org member scherb!

Loren, did you have a hard time getting the plate and the braces back on? I changed my transmission oil today (2003 Boxster S) and was surprised how hard it was to get the holes to line up with the studs, for both the plate and the braces. I was worried that I had pulled it out of alignment by using ramps instead of jack stands. But looking at your photos, you used ramps too. Wondering if you had any alignment problems after doing this?

Thanks

I used 4 jack stands and alignment was changed. When I did my 03 base transmission oil change last month, I had tough time getting the plate off. Rubber hammer, pry bar, and etc ... After it was down, I realized that two of the bolts, one on the east corner and one opposite on the west were not exactly straight. They pointed slightly outward. After I did the oil change, I just could not get it back on without enlarging the hole a little with a file. Afterwards, my PSM OFF and ABS lights would come on occasionally after 20 min or so driving. Restart the car could only reset the lights temporary. Also, the steering wheel was no longer straight. Took it to the stealership for a alignment and reset the steering angel sensor fixed the problem.

Peter

[roadracer311]

Thanks Peter. I feel better now. I thought I had violated my car somehow by using ramps instead of jack stands. Good to know, that jack stands aren't the cure-all. I'm having a set of Michelin PS2's put on the car Monday, so I'm having a four wheel alignment done at the same time. I think I got it fairly close, the car feels the same as it did prior to the transmission oil change.

-Paul

[Stefan]

I hate to rain on your parade but Porsche specifically says not to remove the cross braces unless the car is supported by all four jack points.

[roadracer311]

I hate to rain on your parade but Porsche specifically says not to remove the cross braces unless the car is supported by all four jack points.

Is that in the series of Porsche repair binders? The Bentley manual doesn't specifically say not to remove the cross braces unless it's on jack stands. It does say to put the car on jack stands, but doesn't say that it's the only way.

[psng]

I hate to rain on your parade but Porsche specifically says not to remove the cross braces unless the car is supported by all four jack points.

Mine was level on 4 jack stands so that I could check the oil level correctly after filling. I think some stored energy was released when I removed the bolts from the brace bars and the plate. According to the stealership, the right rear tire was way off.

I always prefer jack stands over ramps for it has more room to work (especially with the wheels off). When your back is against concrete, every inch counts. I use ramps primary for oil change when I am too lazy to move the other car out of my garage to use the floor jack.

Peter