Hi -

Just bought the car yesterday. This morning, I can't put it into gear with the motor running. I was able to shift it into reverse with the engine off, then start it and move it that way.

Can't hit any gears...small puddle of grey fluid beneath the front portion of where the car was sitting.

Shifting was sticking yesterday with the clutch engaging at a very low point. Today, unable to engage it at all.

Any quick fix, or am I looking at towing it 100 miles to the mechanic who did the clutch?

 

I would have it towed to the mechanic who did the clutch.

 

Sounds like it could be a clutch slave failure. Not an overly expensive repair and certainly a DIY for some.

 

Thank you both for the quick response.

I spoke with the mechanic who did the work. He said it is likely the Master Cylinder, which he did not work on.

Does this sound right, and if so is it an easy fix? I searched the forum and all the DIY stuff seemed to be pointed toward the Slave cylinder.

 

The master cylinder is moderately priced, but it should be a fairly easy repair for a mechanic. If the part is in stock, you could be out within a matter of an hour or two, I would think.

 

Thanks! If I put some DoT4 fluid into the resevoir, could I drive it in? I hate to have it towned...they always mess something up.

 

By all means top up the brake reservoir. Pump the pedal while keeping the reservoir full to get as much air out as you can. The slave cylinder is a high point, so if air got there you could be stuck. There are good odds you can get enough fluid working to disengage the clutch and CAREFULLY shift gears until you can get to a lift and change out the bad part.

If you can get a only one gear, you can start in second if you are careful not to smoke the clutch. Good luck.

 

Replacing the master is really not all that hard to do at all, just a bit fiddly to get at, and a bit messy. If it was the slave there should be fluid back a little forward of the rear wheels. I'm guessing that if you pull the floor mat up from under the pedals, that is where most of the fluid is. Try and get it cleaned up as soon as possibe if it is there, as brake fluid does nasty things to paint. Where are you located?

 

Don't know if you want to chance it but there are ways to shift without a clutch once you get past first and into the gears with syncros. If it's mostly highway where you can stay in the hi gears with minimal shifting it can be done - city stop and go is a bit tricky but I've done it using neutral and rolling thru stop lights in 2nd /neutral to keep the car rolling, worse case is you have to push it to get it rolling and finessing it into 2nd by feathering the throttle while putting pressure on the shifter to get it into 2nd gear. If you're not familiar with the technique I wouldn't chance the grinding gears especially in a Porsche - I've had a lot of experience with my first car a Toyota Celica!

 

Thank you guys. Great info, I will go check under the floor mat as soon as I get home.

I bought a big bottle of DoT4, so if I can find a local guy here in San Francisco to install a MC, then I will nurse it over to him rather than drive to Sacramento.

 

Odd, it looks like my floor mats are dry, and I seem to have stopped leaking fluid. The resevoir appears full as well. I didn't want to fill it past the Max line though without checking here first.

Could it still be my Master Cylinder, or am I looking at something else now? I am going to order on from Penguin first thing in the morning upon confirmation.

Thanks again in a huge way.

 

is it a c2 or c4? find out where the grey fluid came from? I've never seen grey brake fluid before!

 

It is a C4. It might be blue, but I am going to check to see if it matches the stuff in the resevoir. Good point...didn't think of that

 

The fluid could look grey, depending on how long its been since the clutch has been bled. If you are ordering a clutch master cylinder, don't forget you will need a pressure bleeder. I use the Motiv Black Label (no affiliations).

 

Now I am truly baffled. Here is a picture of drippings from my garage floor. The gold fluid matches the stuff in the brake resevoir, I dipped a corner of the paper towel to match. These two puddles were right next to eachother in exactly the position as they are on the towel.

I have no idea what the blue-ish fluid is, and that scares me a lot. Transmission maybe?