groovzilla

^^^I'd bet the transmission fluid was never changed or poor clutch/pressure plate install or premature wear.
....Or a fluke and syncros went bad. Extremely uncommon but happens with anything mechanical.

nerdnic

I'd suggest doing a shifter alignment as a next step. I did this when I first got my 09 and it helped smooth shifting out while cold.

Might be unrelated to your issue, but after I changed my clutch, the longer shift cable got slightly twisted above the other. This caused a new grind in 4+ and wasn't resolved with a shifter alignment. I had to go under the car and reposition the cables so that the longer cable wasn't pinned above the shorter one anymore.

Wayne Smith

Very good points!!!

Wayne Smith

Look through the last six months on this Forum and you will see more complaints on MTs than the PDK. Also repair quotes get into the 5 digit range. A fix isn't cheap. Yep, these MTs are getting older and wearing out. And that means rebuild time. Bruce in Philly states the facts pretty clearly.

It wasn't until after the 997 models that Porsche used the PDK mechanicals for the MT transmissions. So for the 997 we have what we have.

sandwedge

I think you're right about this. Lots of posts about MT issues from the endless "notchy this to notchy that" and what sounds like bad transmissions with high miles and worn out synchros. Some say changing to a different transmission fluid will fix it while others say the change made no difference.

Just a wild guess but I wonder how many of the problem transmissions have spent much of their life in cold or at least cool climate with drivers not being mindful of allowing not just engine oil getting up to temperature but also transmission fluid before getting into spirited driving. My -06 C4S was a manual and it was hands down the best manual transmission I have ever driven. Even with the B&M short shift kit it was like a hot knife through butter. I could shift that one with two finger tips and not once heard a grind from it. Car had around 45K miles on it when I sold it as I recall it.

All this said, living in Florida obviously makes a difference if you subscribe to cold temperature playing a role here.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 191K miles

I posted this stuff before... I think Porsche planned on sunsetting this transmission many years before the 997 came out. Remember the GT3 where you could not get an MT??!! You don't just wake up one day and release a PDK... product planning has a long horizon. I suspect this fed into their decision to find a low-cost global supplier of these soon-to-be-dead machines... Aisin. Not that Aisin makes crap... we don't know what the specs were. Again, I just think they used some too soft materials. Anywho... 120K miles for fluid changes is just too long for any fluid and it sure appears I was able to arrest the wear by keeping the PTX fresh at around 30K replacements... although the last few months I had some delayed starts at red lights trying to get into 1st... had to go back to my old habits of a complex dance of dropping into 2nd, and then 3rd and then back to 1st. This jiggles the synchro teeth to more accurately align into their slots (so says my imagination). Sheesh.

Regarding PDK vs MT... no doubt there are way more complaints or questions about MT performance than PDK. However MT issues don't require complete replacement (per Porsche) as you can live with the quirks where the PDK shuts down. For all the inquirys I made to transmission shops and other Porsche indys, they all kinda seem puzzled by my complaints... really odd... I am not hearing of folks actually doing the repairs to a MT... only one for sure and a few others maybe. When I asked one known Porsche transmission specialist, they gave no information about my 1st gear jam as if I was unique, and then made a comment (via email), something like, "looks like your transmission gave you many years of service, time for a refresh".... huh?

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Prairiedawg

One thing to keep in mid is, there isn't a thread with hundreds of responses saying "my manual trans mission broke, left me stranded, and now Porsche wants $25k to fix". Yes there have been broken cables and that can strand you but overall is relatively minor when it comes to Porsche repairs. People have been complaining of notchy manual transmissions since the beginning of time. This isn't new and the PDk derived manual transmission had it's own share of problems including a reverse detent switch failure which, when failed, prevented the mirrors from dipping and the reverse lights from coming on. The fix from Porsche was.......$25k for a new transmission. Fortunately for owners, the NTSB got involved and Porsche is fixing gratis because it's a safety issue.

Another thing is while yes, a "new" manual transmission from Porsche is $10K, the cost to repair a distance sensor all in is approaching that figure. Much better than $25-30k but not "cheap" in my book. A third thing in my mind is while yes, there are lot's of threads about "my trans is notchy", there were 10's of thousands produced vs thousands of 1st gen PDK's made. Hopefully the price of PDK repairs can come down due volume and competition. Thing is though, the cost for a manual transmission repair is still very high despite the tens of thousands of them produced. All I can figure is the are very robust and don't break, otherwise we'd have a sticky on the home page.

Wayne Smith

Not to further derail here, but another current thread talks of PDK problems with the fix being new injectors. A lot of the PDK problems have been resolved with new coil packs as well. We live in a complex world!!!

groovzilla

And not to forget, RL 997 Forum attracts owners with mechanical issues.
Huge % probably 98% of PDK & MT owners driving around every day happy as a clam with no Transmission, Bore Scoring, IMS worries/etc.

We leave all of that to the 2% of the 997 owners on 997 RL Forum!!! .

****---->And Wayne, not to go OT here but I asked a question on the other 2010 purchase thread - Why is it necessary to remove the Rear bumper and muffler on 997.2 engine to do BSI?? I was hoping you could explain/respond
997.1 doesn't require this.

Wayne Smith

You asked that question this morning. I've been out and about today so my response wasn't immediate. There is an answer there now.

sandwedge

Well summed up Bruce. "Quirks" with a manual is something many people can live with while being annoyed. Worn out syncros are expensive to replace so many just live with it. PDK failures (regulars will know I had two of them) is a different story. It's not just an annoyance you learn to live with but something you need to have repaired or replaced if you want to continue driving the car.

I've read posts suggesting the cost of PDK failures is coming down due to innovative solutions of fixing the distance sensor which seems to be the most common cause of PDK failures. Was the cause of both my failures. A single electronic part rendering the PDK not completely useless at first although close but probably just a matter of a few more miles before goodnight.

carguy999

I would argue the majority of owners are out there driving happily but completely unaware that anything needs to be checked unless there is something catastrophic that leaves them stranded. The rest of the time it's smooth motorin' for them, while we are ninnies biting our fingernails.

Wayne Smith

Otherwise known as Forum Flu!!!

Prairiedawg

Cough!