PV997

Six liters on the transmission (clutch) fluid is for a dry fill. For a fluid change it will be much less than four even with a pan drop. Quite a bit of fluid stays in the hydraulic system and the transmission oil cooler.

Body In White

Good info, thanks for the tip!

Mitch911

I chickened out and paid all the money to have the dealer do it. The only consolation was that they had a brake fluid change special available for an additional $150.

Body In White

I had a bunch of deferred maintenance (Oil, all the filters, brake fluid, drive belt, spark plugs, and PDK pan replacement & PDK/gear oil change) to do over the past 2 days on my 997.2 GTS that just came out of long-term storage. The PDK pan, clutch oil and gear oil change went smoothly and was straight forward. The car only has 45K miles, so most items just "timed out" -- I didn't have to fight any stuck or stripped fasteners.

Some notes and pictures for those that are looking to take this on...





Gear Oil Change

• This is no different any other gear oil change, that said, I followed the service manual procedure "WM 399055 Changing oil for final drive (with transmission oil)" (attached)
• The old gear oil looked clean, but with only 45K miles I guess that is to be expected.
• I bought 2 cheap plastic transfer pumps from Harbor Freight for $7/ea. 1 for the gear oil and 1 for the PDK clutch fluid. They worked great; would recommend. I tossed them both when I was done.
• 9G1-321-805-00 is the right part number for the gear oil drain and fill plugs (also used for the PDK clutch fluid fill plug); they have a green rubber o-ring on them.
• I had a slight pucker moment, when the pump started to make the sucking sound as it reached the bottom of the 3rd liter and the fill hole hadn't start to overflow yet. Thankfully on the last pump it did start to overflow. It might be worthwhile to pick up 4 liters of gear oil "just in case"

PDK Pan Replacement & Clutch Fluid Change

• I followed the service manual procedure for "WM 370255 Changing ATF (clutch fluid)" & "WM 375519 Removing and installing ATF pan" (attached)
• My replacement pan kit (9G1-321-025-01) included the drain plug already assembled in the pan but they forgot the fasteners. I ended up purchasing the (13) M6 x 25 torx aluminum fasteners locally (9G1-321-801-00).
• There will be spills, put a big tarp down catch fluid. The pan will contain 0.25 - 0.5 liter of oil even after you drain it and the PDK pan internals will drip fluid until you get the new pan installed.
• My old PDK clutch fluid, pan and filter looked good also. But again... only 45K miles 🤷‍♂️
• With a PIWIS, the fill is straight-forward -- no surprises
• As @PV997 mentioned, you won't need 6 liters for this job. My initial fill was 4 liters, then I put the car into fill mode with the PIWIS (pictures below) and was able to add another 0.5 liters

Old pan and filter: 10 years old, 45K miles



New pan:






Screen shots from the PIWIS PDK Fill Procedure:

Wayne Smith

Nicely done. Thanks for the great write up.

9INE97

Thanks for taking the time to do that write up Ryan! I am sure it will help alot of people on the forum.

dgjks6

Well. Update on the PDK leak. Dealer found it. Was a non serviceable plug on the trans leaking. Fix?

You guessed it. New PDK to a tune of $18,000. I guess now is the time to see if the aftermarket warranty pays off.

dgjks6

Just filed the claim. The extended warranty I have on the Macan through car shield has a max payout of $15,000. The 911 has an endurance warranty. Max payout is wholesale value of car. Should her back in. Few days...

PV997

Good luck and hope the warranty covers it but can we all agree this is insane?

We've now had over two dozen people repair their PDK's after a dealer told them the only option was to replace the transmission. This includes far more significant issues such as failed temp sensors, pressure sensors, valve bodies, and thanks to T-design, distance sensors. This leak can be fixed (replacing a 50 cent O-ring) by opening the gearcase as Damien Law documented for us. I don't know how these Service Advisors sleep at night, how in good conscience can they tell someone a slow leak fluid will cost $18k to fix (and it's the only option)? Just because Porsche doesn't trust its dealers to open the gearbox doesn't mean it's impossible.

PSA: Your "trusted" Porsche service advisor is a commissioned salesman. The more crap he sells you the more money he makes.

PV997

Adding here that if this is the same plug @dgjks6 identified above there's another very cheap potential solution that doesn't require opening the gearcase. That plug pops through the gearcase from the inside and is held in place on the outside with a clip. The flange with the O-ring is on the inside and the clip pulls the flange against the case.

I'd drain the gear oil, remove the clip, clean around the plug, seal around the plug with a sealant that's resistant to oil, reinstall the clip, and then let the sealant cure. After cure, refill the gear oil and be on the way. Maybe even bend the clip a little if needed before installing to restore some spring. It's a 50 cent O-ring that is weeping and the gear oil is under no pressure, this fix is very likely to work and last. I realize it's not "Porsche approved" but the only alternative is an $18k full transmission replacement? Absurd.

Hopefully it's a moot point and the warranty covers it. If not I would never in a million years replace the PDK for this (frankly it would annoy me that the dealership would get paid to do this even if under warranty but I'd get over it). If out of pocket I'd try the sealant first and if that didn't work I'd split the case.

dgjks6

dgjks6

Pic above is the leak identified by the dealer. It's not the fill plug. Its not the harness connector. There is a small amount of clear fluid at the bottom of the plug. It's a plug for something else. Per Porsche it's not serviceable.

The only good think is at least the car is worth more than the repair. When my 996 engine needed rebuilt on the other hand.

dgjks6

Oh. And I trust this service advisor. He fixed my Macan's timing cover leak (a $7900 engine out repair and the only Porsche recommended fix) for $190. Swapped a few bolts and put sealer on it. If he or one of the techs could fix it cheaper I think they would.

Snakebit

That's a leak that I might be able to live with. Especially if it's a car I drive on sunny weekends, if you know what I mean.

Just crazy that repairing a transmission is so taboo.

dgjks6

It's a daily. Mostly. And if I didn't have the warranty I may try another option.