THX 138
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2016
- Threads
- 18
- Messages
- 582
- Reaction score
- 611
- Location
- Brownsburg, IN
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 GT350 Track Pack, 2002 Porsche Boxster S 3.8L
- Thread starter
- #1
Back story: I experienced a failed clutch slave cylinder on track back in early September. Clutch pedal went to the floor just before a turn and didn't return. I limped the car back to the pits and managed to drive it to the dealer the same day, pulling up the clutch pedal manually each time I had to stop or shift gears. The dealership replaced the slave cylinder at my expense (since that wasn't covered under the ESP I bought), and I had them replace the clutch while they had the car torn down for that.
Most recent issue: A week after I got the car back, I noticed that the transmission was grinding going into 5th gear, whether upshifting or downshifting into 5th. No other symptoms. I took the car back to the dealer in early November for further diagnosis and repair. They agreed with my assessment that something was wrong. I just got the car back on Tuesday (yes, more than 3 months later, but hey, it's winter in Indiana, so the car would have been in storage anyway). The dealership's "transmission guy" did a complete disassembly and rebuild of the trans, as well as replacement of the bellhousing, and this time the repair was covered under ESP, so that purchase just paid for itself.
Of note on the repair order is the transmission guy's diagnosis, which includes the following:
FOUND THE INPUT SHAFT THRUST BEARING EXPLODED AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO INPUT SHAFT AND BEARING RACE. ALSO FOUND DAMAGE TO 5TH GEAR, 6TH GEAR, 1ST GEAR, AND 2ND GEAR SYNCHRONIZER ASSEMBLIES. FOUND THE FLUID PUMP DAMAGED AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO BELL HOUSING AS WELL.
I'm a little shocked at the extent of the damage, because although I have over 20 track days on the car, (1) I drive manual transmission cars exclusively--my other 2 daily drivers are a Porsche Boxster and a BMW 328i, both of which have well over 100k miles on them with no transmission issues ever, and both of which have been tracked too; (2) I baby the transmission on track... No speed shifts, no power shifts, nothing that doesn't involve a full press of the clutch and a rev-match if it's a downshift; (3) I follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual, more or less, changing the transmission fluid at least once per track season (yeah, I know, the manual says to change it before and after every event, but that really seems like overkill to me); and (4) the car has just over 18,000 miles on it, and I'm the only owner. Aside from dealership service (which I keep to a minimum), no one but me has ever driven this car since I bought it new in 2016.
Anyway, I'm just glad to have the car back at this point, and I'm glad I didn't have to pay for the trans rebuild out of pocket. (The clutch and slave cylinder replacement were expensive enough by themselves.)
Most recent issue: A week after I got the car back, I noticed that the transmission was grinding going into 5th gear, whether upshifting or downshifting into 5th. No other symptoms. I took the car back to the dealer in early November for further diagnosis and repair. They agreed with my assessment that something was wrong. I just got the car back on Tuesday (yes, more than 3 months later, but hey, it's winter in Indiana, so the car would have been in storage anyway). The dealership's "transmission guy" did a complete disassembly and rebuild of the trans, as well as replacement of the bellhousing, and this time the repair was covered under ESP, so that purchase just paid for itself.
Of note on the repair order is the transmission guy's diagnosis, which includes the following:
FOUND THE INPUT SHAFT THRUST BEARING EXPLODED AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO INPUT SHAFT AND BEARING RACE. ALSO FOUND DAMAGE TO 5TH GEAR, 6TH GEAR, 1ST GEAR, AND 2ND GEAR SYNCHRONIZER ASSEMBLIES. FOUND THE FLUID PUMP DAMAGED AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO BELL HOUSING AS WELL.
I'm a little shocked at the extent of the damage, because although I have over 20 track days on the car, (1) I drive manual transmission cars exclusively--my other 2 daily drivers are a Porsche Boxster and a BMW 328i, both of which have well over 100k miles on them with no transmission issues ever, and both of which have been tracked too; (2) I baby the transmission on track... No speed shifts, no power shifts, nothing that doesn't involve a full press of the clutch and a rev-match if it's a downshift; (3) I follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual, more or less, changing the transmission fluid at least once per track season (yeah, I know, the manual says to change it before and after every event, but that really seems like overkill to me); and (4) the car has just over 18,000 miles on it, and I'm the only owner. Aside from dealership service (which I keep to a minimum), no one but me has ever driven this car since I bought it new in 2016.
Anyway, I'm just glad to have the car back at this point, and I'm glad I didn't have to pay for the trans rebuild out of pocket. (The clutch and slave cylinder replacement were expensive enough by themselves.)
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