manual transmission pan cover question? Help?
 

Hello all, I need some help with my O3 Boxster S. I have drained and changed the manual transmission fluid and now cannot get the transmission cover pan to line up with the bolts and go on. Seems to be about 1/4" off. Do I need to pry bar it back in somewhere?? Any experience with this? Thanks for the help!

Thanks!

Use a ratchet strap between the two supports towers to bring them closer together.
Very normal.

I had the same problem when I had to reinstall mine a month ago, if I put the pan over the bolts on one side, the other side was about a 1/4" off. I scratched my head looking at the problem, what I could loosen to get things to line up, etc.

Finally I decided to try brute force. I put nuts on the two bolts on one side very loosely. I also put a nut on the back side where it attaches to the aluminum channel next to the muffler.

Then I inserted a 2' crow bar through the slot in the middle that the sway bar protrudes through and placed the end against the side of the transmission.

With really very little effort, just a gentle push, the plate and suspension flexed enough and it popped over the other bolts. Now it was held in tension between the bolts and I put on all the nuts and tightened it up.

It was easy or I was lucky, don't know. But it worked.

Good luck

Thank you both! Wanted to ask first before I screwed anything up.....

I used a cable-type come-along to pull the two sides closer together so I could get the pan back on.

Also, you should probably have the rear alignment checked as there is a good chance that it is now out of alignment.

I agree with thstone, you should definitely check your alignment after removing that metal plate, especially if you used ramps instead of jack stands. When I changed my manual trans fluid I had one bolt that I spent 2-3 hours trying to get back in, it was off my less than 1/4". I hate to admit it, but I finally caved, and had the alignment shop reinstall it. It's a lot easier to deal with problems like this on a lift. If it's just one bolt, that is always an option.

Besides using the ratcheting straps to pull it back into position, another trick is to mark the pan when you remove it and cut a 2 1/4 diameter hole under the drain plug. Once back in place, you will never need to remove the pan again to drain the gearbox.

Thanks for that JFP! I have always wondered why this was never recommended. My question is why not just cut the hole and then drain? If removed and hole cut would it be advised to weld a reinforcement ring onto plate to prevent future stress cracking?

First of all, the plate is under tension, not compression, and is actually made out of relatively thin aluminum, so it is not under any great load to begin with, and no reinforcement is needed.

Only problems with your idea is that it is difficult to create the hole with a hole saw as the transmission case is fairly near the plate, and the transmission drain is actually off centerline slightly, so putting the hole in the correct spot is problematic.

Once the plate is out of the car and correctly marked, it is a 5 min. project to put the hole in the plate in the correct location. I also like to de-burr the opening, both to give it a more finished look and keep the plate from cutting your fingers the next time you service the trans.

I did this on my 03 S 6 speed manual with the piece in the place. I was within a 1/2 inch of dead centre of the drain plug with a pilot hole and then lined up more precisely to drill the larger hole. I de-burred the hole with a Dremel tool. I'm not sure why Porsche didn't have a hole incorporated into the piece in the first place.