2011 (997.2) turbo pdk.

Found an oil leak underneath the driver's (left) engine mount. The mount itself looks dry. Not sure what this box (see pics) or inside of it contains that may be leaking. Any suggestions? Oil level always checks out full.

Also, have some 9 and 3 and 6 and 12 play in the drivers wheel. And only minimal 3 and 9 play in the passenger wheel. Guessing at least tie rods, I'm around 79k miles. Anything else to look for? How long have your tie rods, bj, etc lasted?

Now what kicked off this entire inspection was a shifter error message "Selector lever not engaged" in the dash. The car doesn't recognize it is in park. Came up about a week ago, drove home fine, as rest of gears have no issues. The problem still exists, won't recognize park, wont release key unless emergency process used or fiddle around and it releases. When in park the shifter lock button cannot be pressed in, it's like it hasn't popped back up. Sometimes hard to move lever out of park. Rest of gears the lock button can be pressed normally.

Today I went under the car and the cable from the pdk trans looks ok. The linkage that connects to the trans has some play (towards and away from trans/side of car), not sure if this is an issue as it should pivot towards front and back of car anyways. Next steps will be to remove inner console and take a look for blockages or broken cables to the shifter lever. Has anyone experienced this issue and what was your solution?

Here's what I found from other threads as possible issues, but not sure what applies to a 997.2 turbo pdk. Also not sure yet that these can be fixed individually, as I've seen the entire lever assembly sold as an unit.

- fuse (2 fuses checked out ok)
- interlock solenoid
- microswitch in selector lever
- ignition switch
- neutral/park safety switch
- shifter cable 9G142603300
- selector unit 9G1 426 011 05
- actuator

 

Quick update, the mysterious "oil" leak seems to be the high pressure "fuel" pump. Maybe a few new gaskets to solve this. Surprised it's so close to the exhaust!?

Will have to check if it's leaking fuel or from somewhere else above. Maybe hydraulic fluid from the mount?

 

Does the leak smell like oil or gasoline? That area is most definitely the high pressure fuel pump. If that goes it’s about $3k ish for the pump alone. I know as mine gave out, but my dash lit up with error messages and car would not move unless a few mph under “reduced power.” The pdk throwing codes would make me worry— there is a sticky thread here or in the 997 forum re fixing the pdk. Most likely some solenoid acting up. Good luck.

 

Yeah really hoping it's not actually the HPFP, ordered new o-rings just in case. Read up there was a service campaign due to issues with the HPFP, affecting mostly 2009s and 2010s, though some with 2011s did have it replaced under the campaign. Something to do with proximity close to exhaust and heat. Hence the addition of a small heat shield. Guess it doesnt hurt to call up the dealer and see for any goodwill with an old campaign.

I saw the PDK thread before and actually read through this time. Very informative! Hope I dont have to tear into the unit, as I had the fluid changed about 2 years ago. Guess it's cheaper than a new PDK unit, lol.

Still think it might be a cable issue, that needs adjustment for slack to allow the lever to reach lock position in park. But wont know until I open up the console.

 

Can you confirm what the fluid is there?

 

The PDK has OEM FFL3 fluid, which was changed back in 2018 as preventative maintenance by a Porsche Specialist.

I just changed the rear final drive/diff with 75W-90 fluid (Liqui Moly), car hasn't been driven since rear final drive fluid change, so unrelated.

 

I'm sorry my question was poorly worded. Can you determine what the fluid is around the HPFP? From the pictures I can't tell if that area is gunked from fluid and dirt build-up or if it's actually leaking fluid that is stuck there and you can tell WHICH fluid it is leaking there. Maybe I'm a nut but I'd strongly consider spraying it with brake cleaner and then watching carefully where the leak re-emerges if its not clear.

 

Will check in a few days when I can get back under the car. It looks wet, with black "soot" type of sediment in the fluid. No fluid pools on the ground, consistent with "sweating" or very small leak.

It doesnt look like caked on dried oil that you would typically find in an engine bay. I'm not sure what fuel leaks typically look like.

I plan on removing the heat shield and possibly the HPFP bracket and inspecting further. Still guessing it might be a leaking o-ring. After tracing as best as possible I'll clean the area with brake fluid and re-trace.

The DIY is pretty straightforward, if I have to go that far. The only thing that makes me kind of nervous is checking the fuel system after opening and ensuring no leaks beyond a visual inspection. The service manual calls for a leak test and proper tools.

First things first though. Need to get my shifter lever worked on.

Joe, where are you in PA. I'm Bucks county, Eastern PA.

 

I'm in West Chester - not far from you at all. Hope we get to meet up one day Literally just found out one of my colleagues did the same thing I did on lockdown and bought a 2008 997.1 turbo, his in Cab.

I'm not the expert on fuel leaks but from what I've seen they'll gather gunk when it's a slow leak but it won't have an underlying slipperiness like an oil leak will because the gas evaporates quickly.

 

Quick update on the gear lever issue.
- no issues were found at the trans side of the gear shift cable.
- removed the center console, was a little tricky but not hard to do. Just time consuming at a slow and steady pace.
- tried adjusting the cable forward and back to see if lever would click and lock into park. No dice.
- pulled the actual gear box and opened it up completely. In order to remove shifter part from gear housing, you have to put it into manual mode (one click left of D).
- although there was still grease around sliding parts, added more (used caliper slider grease)
- a little silver clip fell out of gear box, not sure it belonged there anyways.

Result:
So either opening up the unit, greasing it, removing potential clip blockage, and/or constantly moving it around ended up freeing the unit. Everything works as it should. Park locks into place, no error messages.

Once I finish the other jobs will have to take for test drive.

 

It's not often that happens, but i love when a "I took it apart and put it back together and now it works" story comes along Glad this didn't involve Porsche tax. Congrats!

 

Quick update on wheel play described in original post. Turns out it was a bad driver's front wheel bearing. There was a lot of play but no noise when previously driving. Just happened to catch it upon inspection for the pdk lever issue.

New wheel bearings in (replaced passenger side although not required) and new inner & outer tie rods. Alignment tomorrow morning.

The wheel bearing job was pretty easy with loaner tools from autozone (bearing puller set, 5 lb slide hammer, hub puller, tie rod press). While I was there removed the struts and replaced the disintegrating bump stops. Wanted to replace the rear bump stops and spring pads, but ran out of time. A job for another day.

Toughest part of this job was trying to torque things to spec. Not much room to do so on certain bolts. Torquing the axle nut to 340 ftlbs was a . Didn't think I would be able to, but eventually got it.

Car has been down for several weeks, taking my time with all these jobs. Painful watching my beauty on jack stands so long. Tomorrow we ride again!

Another quick update from original post, the mysterious leak is the HPFP leaking oil, not fuel. Wiped it down last month, and it's wet again. Seals are probably leaking, but not enough to drip/pool on floor. I did order seals, so will have to attend to this in future. Maybe an oil stop leak (blasphemy) will extend the life of the HPFP?