What the heck??!

[Matchbox01]

I have a 2001 Porsche Boxster with 80K miles on it. 3d owner. I've been having trouble with the manual transmission. End of October I started getting clutch slippage, or transmission slippage - high engine revs with poor acceleration after shifting, slow at slipping into gear. Finally, the whole program failed one night while driving on the highway. Smoke, no ability to get into any gear, lots of play in the gear shift lever. Clutch pedal responsive. I was stuck on the side of the road with no engagement with the transmission at all, like in neutral. Had it towed home. Smelled nasty for about a week. Small dark leak under the car - nothing massive. What happened? Is this the clutch? The transmission? Or the drive Train? Some combination? I'm trying to figure out what to do next, so a point in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

[Slate 01]

Sounds like a totally spent clutch to me, but someone else in here may know better.

[steved0x]

Most definitely sounds like the clutch is worn out and unable to maintain friction between the engine and the transmission. Thus the high revs and poor acceleration, and now the fact that it seems like it is in neutral all the time.

From your other thread it looks like you have had some work done, and the prices seemed kind of high, I would go to pcarshops.com and do a search for your area, and call some of those shops and see if you can find one that does a lot of work on water cooled Porsches. While you are in there doing the clutch, it is the perfect time to check the RMS and do an IMS bearing retrofit. When you call the shops ask for a quote on a clutch job and ask about doing the IMS retrofit at the same time. A good shop should charge around $1350 for the IMS alone, but since a lot of the labor is the same as clutch labor they will often charge much less if combining it with a clutch job. good luck!

Steve

Edit: I am not sure about the leak, possibly some oil leaked on the clutch and caused it to wear out/fail prematurely and that is the source of the small dark spot. However at 80K you could be at the normal wear out time for the clutch.

[Matchbox01]

Thanks for the direction. I was hoping it was the clutch. I'd do it myself, but I don't have a lift, and I'm not sure I want to drop the transmission from under the car. I'll call around today and start getting some ideas on pricing and work.

[kjc2050]

I haven't used them yet, but it seems as though Patterson Performance has a good reputation: http://pattersonperformanceeuro.com/

[clickman]

Originally Posted by Matchbox01

End of October I started getting clutch slippage, or transmission slippage - high engine revs with poor acceleration after shifting, slow at slipping into gear. Finally, the whole program failed one night while driving on the highway.

Sorry, I don't get this. You had obvious signs of a problem, yet you kept driving until you were stranded? And possibly created more problems?

[Matchbox01]

Checking around on rates for clutch and IMS replacement. Got a solid offer of about $2200 parts and labor. 24 month warantee and OEM parts.
Still waiting on the others, but that's going to be tough to beat.

And yes, I was driving it when the clutch failed completely, which possibly created more problems. 2 days from start to fail. It happens.

[kjc2050]

Originally Posted by Matchbox01

Checking around on rates for clutch and IMS replacement. Got a solid offer of about $2200 parts and labor. 24 month warantee and OEM parts.
Still waiting on the others, but that's going to be tough to beat.

Let me know how you make out on this. I'm in the area and may eventually get my IMSB replaced.

[mikefocke]

Clutch, RMS and IMS (RMS comes in the LN kit, BTW).

Porsche Repair Shops & Mechanics Near raleigh, nc | PCarShops.com for a list of Raleigh area P-car mechanics

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by Matchbox01

Checking around on rates for clutch and IMS replacement. Got a solid offer of about $2200 parts and labor. 24 month warantee and OEM parts.
Still waiting on the others, but that's going to be tough to beat.

And yes, I was driving it when the clutch failed completely, which possibly created more problems. 2 days from start to fail. It happens.

That sounds about right.

When I had my IMSB done, if I had known about it I would have had the GBOX 2bd gear detent installed while the trans was out. Also got a new cap put on the bleeder on the clutch slave cylinder. With the transmission out the labor is super easy on these. Down the road if you go to bleed your clutch having a nice new cap on there will make it much easier. Due to the heat they often get rock hard and very hard to remove when working in the tight confines of that area.

The GBox detent is around $200 but the clutch slave cylinder cap should be around $1.00 for 1, something like this:
New Rubber Grease Nipple Covers Dust Caps Bleed Screw Caps x 5 | eBay

Or this (without the retainer strap)
Motorcycle Bleed Nipple Dust Covers 4 Pcs Black Silicone Rubber Suzuki Etc | eBay

The ones I got were from Podium Racing but I can't seem to find them now, they were just like this without the strap.

That will be the best $1.00 you ever spent if you go under there in the future to try and bleed the clutch hydraulics

Good luck, once you get everything sorted you will be back on the road and loving it!

Steve

[JayG]

Hopefully you didn't fry the flywheel as well
If its gone, add $$$

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Matchbox01

And yes, I was driving it when the clutch failed completely, which possibly created more problems. 2 days from start to fail. It happens.

I think the RMS let go in a big way.

[thstone]

FYI - As Jay mentioned, be prepared to replace the dual mass flywheel. The expected life of a DMFW is 80-100K miles. At 80K miles and 14 years, there is a good chance that yours is ready for replacement.

Unfortunately, they are not repairable and must be replaced. Your mechanic can do a simple test which is described here: Boxster Clutch Replacement.

Also unfortunately, this part is relatively expensive ($600-$750).

[Heiko]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

Clutch, RMS and IMS (RMS comes in the LN kit, BTW).

Porsche Repair Shops & Mechanics Near raleigh, nc | PCarShops.com for a list of Raleigh area P-car mechanics

I've bought several LNE IMS kits but haven't seen the RMS included in the kits (unless Charles is doing something new now?) Anyhow, it's a $20 item and won't break the bank :-)

[mikefocke]

Heiko, how long ago were the purchases? Charles told me about at least a year ago he was including them.

I'm interested in what others' experiences re the RMS being included or not in recent LN kits.

[Heiko]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

Heiko, how long ago were the purchases? Charles told me about at least a year ago he was including them.

I'm interested in what others' experiences re the RMS being included or not in recent LN kits.

3 this fall.... 1 single row and 2 double row kit and none included the RMS.

H

[mikefocke]

Heiko, you are right. In 2011 Charles was planning to include the RMS but he later decided that people really wanted a lower price so he changed his mind. Thanks for the correction.

[Heiko]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

Heiko, you are right. In 2011 Charles was planning to include the RMS but he later decided that people really wanted a lower price so he changed his mind. Thanks for the correction.

No worries I make plenty of mistakes just ask my wife LOL
Cheers,
H

[Matchbox01]

Originally Posted by kjc2050

Let me know how you make out on this. I'm in the area and may eventually get my IMSB replaced.

Just wanted to close out on this thread. It's been awhile, but it's worth the effort...

After getting several quotes on fixing the clutch, I finally went to Weaver Auto Sports on Spring Forest in Raleigh. They were terrific! They replaced the clutch using all Porsche OEM parts, gave me a two year warranty on parts AND labor (transferrable, no less!), AND a 15% new customer discount (so about $2200 all in)!!!. The car has been running like a top ever since! Great service at Weaver! I don't take my car anywhere else.