Silent Sudden transmission Failure

[neumaiek]

Strange....

  Driving home when I started up from a sop, there was a sound like a bolt falling off and then zero engagement of transmission when clutch engaged.  The clutch still felt completely normal and there were zero noises from the transmission. I pushed the car to a safe parking and had a tow truck take it home.

  No leaks from any where.  In the quiet of the garage the only sound was when it was in third gear and as I let out the clutch I could hear a little indication of a turning sound but no engagement.

  Does anyone have any suggestions on what this could be?  It is a great help in my figuring out the best approach to fixing it by anticipating what I will need to repair it (parts, time, DYI or dealer).

 

FYI:  2002 Boxster S
        ~90,000 miles
        @70,000 flywheel and complete clutch replacement
        Never tracked

 

Thank you for any time and attention to this issue!!!!

 

[Ahsai]

How does the shifter feel? i.e., can you feel all the gears like normal? If not, your shifter cable might be knocked off their brackets.

If the shifter feels normal, it could be the slave/master clutch cylinder.

[JFP in PA]

Check that one or both half shafts have become disconnected.  We see the bolts falling out of these after a clutch job all the time; no one seems to understand what a torque wrench and Loctite are for.

[neumaiek]

Wife sat in drivers seat and went through all the gears as I observed the linkage on right side of transmission.  All was normal and solid.

[neumaiek]

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!

 

  I really thought that if a half shaft fell off it would make a noise.  NOPE!  I had been looking at the right side checking the linkage.  Came back in and looked at the next relpy here and thought hummmm.  I just had the left side wheel bearing replaced.  AND YEP, the half shaft was lying disconnected from the transmission.  Is this enough to cause the transmission to fail as it dis?  not nothing?  Guess so.

 

Off to have a talk with my mechanic........ ?

[JFP in PA]

46 minutes ago, neumaiek said:

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!

 

  I really thought that if a half shaft fell off it would make a noise.  NOPE!  I had been looking at the right side checking the linkage.  Came back in and looked at the next relpy here and thought hummmm.  I just had the left side wheel bearing replaced.  AND YEP, the half shaft was lying disconnected from the transmission.  Is this enough to cause the transmission to fail as it dis?  not nothing?  Guess so.

 

Off to have a talk with my mechanic........ ?

 

It should not have caused any damage to the gear box, just to your dignity and wallet for towing.  We see this more than I would care to admit.  Proper torque and some medium strength (blue) Loctite will prevent it from happening again.  I would suggest also replacing all the shaft bolts and running a thread chaser through the bolt holes while it is apart.  Should be a simple fix.

 

Glad you got it sorted.

[neumaiek]

Well it will be back at the mechanic at 0800 Monday!  No choice on the bolts as they are spread out in Coeur d'Alene roads. ? 

 

Again, Thank you!  I want to put at least 90k miles on this Boxster as it is a fun car.  Wife has a C4S Cab, which is really nice but there seems to be a fun factor in the Boxster.