jyoon

Hello, i'm considering purchasing a 928 in the near future. On one vehicle, i'm considering, the owner says the transmission is skipping 2nd gear and going from 1st to 3rd. Could this be some minor problem, or does it sound like the tranny needs to be taken apart/rebuilt? I appreciate any ideas. Thanks.

perrys4

Have you run it through the gears yourself or are you taking his word for it? I would always assume the worst so there are no surprises. I would think it would be slipping bad enough to not be driveable if it is skipping a gear entirely. There are others more knowledgeable that can give better insight than me. Mine just started shifting erratically and one time slipped bad enough to burn the fluid. It eventually went away and costs 3800.00 to have done.

Randy V

Model year of the car in question?

Rich9928p

My '93 GTS at 12,700 miles suffered the same type of problem after the first transmission service. The dealer service manager took over my case. The dealer disassembled the A/T apart and couldn't find any apparent problem. The dealer convinced Porsche to replace my transaxle even though I was out of warranty. I only paid dealer labor.

So, I would not suggest that you purchase the car unless someone else pays for the fix.

jyoon

it's an 87 926 US model. the person selling it said he drove it no problem, it just skips 2nd. i'm aware of the prices of trannys at 928 international, so i guess i can factor that into the price. but was hoping, maybe it's an easier fix. at the price now, i dont think it's worth purchasing if i gotta buy a new tranny. was hoping it could just be a valve body or some adjustment. i haven't drove it, that's just what the owner told me. thanks for the advice.

Steve Cattaneo

Power flow in 2nd is thru the B1 and B2 bands, both bands have to be applied and holding for 2nd gear.
Since the car moves we know the B2 band is working .A 1st to 3rd shift or a slipping 2nd gear can be caused by a stuck valve in the valve body; a burnt B1 band; a leaking B1 piston seal or broken B1 piston. You can remove the piston with the transmission in the car; it’s on passenger side front of the transmission; the cover has to be compressed then remove the ring, the apply pin is part of the piston it will not fall out. On some models the B1 have heavy springs; you will need a lot of force to compress the cover.
If you buy the car, I would look into the B1 servo first before you condemn the transmission. Also check the condition of the fluid, if it smells burnt the band is bad.
This information only applies under the presumption that the car starts in 1st gear not 2nd giving the owner the impression the transmission is missing a gear.

Rich9928p

Lets hope that Steve's analysis is correct. However, in my case, a new valve body didn't fix it and there wasn't a sticky valve. How do I know, I purchased a Porsche rebuilt valve body (that I still have sitting on my shelf). Be careful, most rebuilders require a "rebuildable core" ... if your transaxle cannot be rebuilt (as mine was) you could be responsable for the core charge even if you sent them your old transaxle!

I would not suggest that a novice exchange the transaxle, it is a lot of work and is much easier done with a hoist and transmission jack. The labor involved in changing out a transaxle is considerable (5 or more hours). So the price of a rebuilt unit plus labor would be in the equation.

perrys4

I was wondering the same thing Steve said. What if this guy doesnt realize the car is starting in second and is assuming it is skipping a gear. I think you need to drive it before you make a decison either way.

borland

"Do you feel lucky?" I remember years ago, a friend that bought a car for $500 that was running badly. When he removed one of the valve covers, he found the rocker assembly mounting bolts were loose. That car ran great for many years following this very simple fix, for a symptom that made the seller conclude the car needed a new engine.

This is a good example of the lack of automatic transmission skills that most transmission shops have(and Porsche Dealers too). Very few have the type of experience that Steve Cattaneo has, so most are not able to troubleshoot problems properly. So they typically are limited to replacing transmission fluids or installing rebuilt transmissions.

perrys4

My buddy bought a big dual engine boat from a traveling boat show. They were tired of hauling it around and he got it for like 7500.00 and bought another trailer for 1500.00 more. He tore the motor apart that was giving them trouble and found two shop rags twisted into the drive. He did a cleaning of both motors and they fired right up. Used the boat for a couple years and sold it for close to 20k. Never know what you might get.

Rich9928p

Generalization is dangerous. In my case, Scottsdale Porsche did a very thourough job.

- the shop manager took over the case
- drawings of the valve body were provided by Porsche Germany
- the shop manager did the tear down and consulted with specialists from PCNA and Germany
- the Porsche shop asked the transmission specialist from the Mercedes shop to get involved, which they did
- it was ONLY after all the experts and the factory agreed that new hard parts in my GTS would result in a good transmission that PCNA agreed to give me a no charge replacement transaxle.

Yes, there are Porsche dealers that deserve a bad rap. But I can say that this Porsche dealer did a great job for me.

borland

Rich,

Aside from the cost you incurred, the fact is, they replaced more parts than were necessary. Proper troubleshooting gets to the root cause. That's my point.