Hi MC, You test drove my 2002 Carrera when I first bought it and I was concerned about the clutch. You mentioned that although the clutch felt fine and did not slip, you detected some oil seepage at the flange between the engine and transaxle. You cautioned me about the possibility of a seal failure and intermediate shaft concerns and I appreciated that info. Now after owning the car for a year or so, I am thinking about having the transmission removed and getting that oil issue looked into. I only have about 26,000 miles on the car. What is your opinion? Bill
A – Bill, first of all, thanks for allowing me the test drive. It’s the best part of my job! In this column, I have mentioned a concern about engines like yours for some time. When the cars were new or newer, Porsche took a very protective and supportive stance on the issue not even allowing independent technicians such as myself to gain an understanding of the failure by subsidizing replacement engines. If you wanted the old, broken engine, the core charge was almost as much as the replacement engine. A seasoned Porsche tech told me that it was an inside joke around the shop that part of the 30,000 mile service was an engine replacement!
So now the chickens have come home to roost. As these cars age, and as the problems have become apparent, the seal failures that have plagued them take on a new dimension now that Porsche is not helping out as they used to.
A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting a colleague’s shop for a tech session where the matter of intermediate shaft (IMS) failure was very well covered in a slide presentation. Kudu’s Howard! If you get the Porsche E-brake news, it discussed in exhaustive detail there as well. I have excerpted some of the highlights and added some of the questions frequently posed to me as an adviser.