[911Fiddler]

Inside, a clutch pack...

 

[RBHJr]

I have a 2017 base I purchased 3 months ago (44,000mi). PDK oil was changed at 38,000. I noticed an occassional hesitation/stutter when accelerating at lower speeds. 3rd or above not noticeable. Reading these forums I thought that maybe there is some transfer case issue starting to develop. I replaced the fluid this past weekend with Porsche fluid. When I removed the fill plug no fluid came out. I got around 300ml from the bottom drain plug. I suctioned out from the fill port but unfortunately did not clean out all the fluid from my extractor from when I did BMW differential change so I am not 100% sure exactly how much additional fluid was removed in total but I was sucking air. There was a little over 1l of fluid in the extractor, and the BMW diff holds a bit over 800ml , so I think around 200 was extracted..but I can't be 100% sure of the amount. The fluid was quite dark (pretty much black) and seemed a little thinner than the fresh oil. When filling I was able to get around 250ml of fresh oil in from fill hole until it started to spill out (which seems consistent with what others have noted). I then removed the vent cap and pumped in another 300ml (since some spilled out and gets stuck in pump tube I felt that would compensate). Over the past few days (16 miles round trip commute with several stops) I noticed it seems to have the same 'slipping' feeling and hesitations but maybe a bit more noticeable with the new fluid. I have seen different info on the volume of fluid, some say 500ml and others say 600ml. If it is truly 500 then maybe I have a little too much fluid (if I didn't get out as much of old as I thought) but if 600 maybe I have a slightly too little. Would those small over/under numbers cause this issue?

I am thinking of pulling the fill plug and seeing what happens, if I pull the fill plug and nothing drains out should I just squirt some in from that fill port until it starts to come out like when filling a differential?

I understand TC is covered on my car until Nov 2023 but I fear it will only really fail in Jan 2024 and I will be stuck. Hoping to keep it functioning OK until closer to warranty expires for replacement so it lasts past coverage expiration.

Thanks for being a great resource to a new-to-Porsche owner. There is great info here - and I read a lot of these forums before I bought my Macan.

 

[wwahl]

I have a 2017 base I purchased 3 months ago (44,000mi). I noticed an occassional hesitation/stutter when accelerating at lower speeds. 3rd or above not noticeable. Reading these forums I thought that maybe there is some transfer case issue starting to develop. I replaced the fluid this past weekend with Porsche fluid. When I removed the fill plug no fluid came out. I got around 300ml from the bottom drain plug. I suctioned out from the fill port and unfortunately did not clean out the fluid from my BMW differential change so I am not 100% sure exactly how much additional fluid was removed in total but I was sucking air. The fluid was quite dark (pretty much black) and seemed a little thinner than the fresh oil. When filling I was able to get around 250ml of fresh oil in from fill hole until it started to spill out. I then removed the vent cap and pumped in another 300ml (since some spilled out and gets stuck in pump tube I felt that would compensate). Over the past few days (16 miles round trip commute with several stops) I noticed it seems to have those hesitations more frequently than before I changed the fluid and maybe a bit more noticeable. I have seen different info on the volume of fluid, some say 500ml and others say 600ml. If it is truly 500 then maybe I have a little too much fluid (if I didn't get out as much of old as I thought) but if 600 maybe I have a slightly too little. Would those small over/under numbers cause this issue?

I am thinking of pulling the fill and seeing what happens, if I pull the plug and nothing drains out should I just squirt some in from that fill port until it starts to come out like a differential? On Youtube a Cayenne guy swears by the Ravenol fluid but he said you need to do it multiple times to cure the issue.
I understand TC is covered on my car until Nov 2023 but I fear it will only really fail in Jan 2024 and I will be stuck,

I also notice something a little odd. When accelerating from a stop and shifting from 1st to 2nd it makes a little 'click/knock' noise from the rear. I thought that was related. However, when I went in Sport mode I heard the same click at that 1800/1900rpm range, but the shift 1-2 did not happen until 2100/2200. It is fairly subtle but don't hear it when changing any other gears.

Thanks for being a great resource to a new-to-Porsche owner. There is great info here - and I read a lot of these forums before I bought my Macan.

I kind of cringe when I read these things.

 

[RBHJr]

I kind of cringe when I read these things.

Glad I could help with your daily cringe quota.
I was hoping someone would respond with something like;;;
1) "If the fluid was black, it's probably toast so +/- 75ml isn't going to make a difference"
2) "Level is very important, remove the fill plug then reinstall when dripping stops"
3) "If you remove plug and nothing drips out, and you are sure you got at least 500ml in, you're OK"

 

[Jim Clement - Calgary]

you should watch P-Tech do the service,

you may have to cut paste..

 

[RBHJr]

you should watch P-Tech do the service,

you may have to cut paste..

Thanks, I have seen these - but have not found any videos that cover the transfer case itself on Macan (many out there on Cayennes but that looks like a different unit)...have seen a few pages from shop manual in this thread which are helpful but leave a few unanswered questions on whether the proper level is at the bottom of the fill plug hole or a specific volume.

 

[jzwu]

I read quite a bit in this thread and bought the TC fluid, but haven’t changed it yet. If some say the fluid should be 500ml and others say 600ml, then the average might be a good value to use.

 

[wwahl]

I read quite a bit in this thread and bought the TC fluid, but haven’t changed it yet. If some say the fluid should be 500ml and others say 600ml, then the average might be a good value to use.

From what I have read here temperature is important. Another is the amount of fluid it takes to renew varies, which tells me the amount must be to the lower of the hole you are putting it in.

 

[ttmacan]

 

[ttmacan]

Amount needed to refill depends on if you are using this extractor to get all the oil out. I removed tc so I got all the oil out. The instructions clearly state to add only 500ml.

 

[jzwu]

From what I have read here temperature is important. Another is the amount of fluid it takes to renew varies, which tells me the amount must be to the lower of the hole you are putting it in.

I agree about the importance of temperature. One can always replace the fluid when it’s cold and add in the same amount of cold fresh fluid.

At least that’s my plan: let the car sit overnight; next morning jack it up and drain the fluid however you like, then measure the old fluid and add back in the same amount of new fluid. Easy and simple enough.

 

[ttmacan]

You could also fill to bottom of hole and go for a drive to warm up the oil temp and then pull the plug to allow the excess to drain.

 

[ttmacan]

I agree about the importance of temperature. One can always replace the fluid when it’s cold and add in the same amount of cold fresh fluid.

At least that’s my plan: let the car sit overnight; next morning jack it up and drain the fluid however you like, then measure the old fluid and add back in the same amount of new fluid. Easy and simple enough.

By doing this your assuming not one drop of oil got by the seals on the in/out shafts. Is your tc completely dry ? No black sludge or anything like the previous pics in the thread?

 

[jzwu]

That’s a good point. I do assume the TC operation is quite normal in this regard, i.e., no significant loss of fluid, etc.

Perhaps it’s advisable to add a bit more fresh fluid to account for the minor loss of old fluid during its service life.

 

[ttmacan]

Mine took .58l from bone dry to bottom of inspection hole. I took it for a drive and then pulled the plug and some came out. After that checked when cold and it was a bit below the bottom of inspection hole. I would say as a guess as long as your close to the bottom of the inspection hole it should be ok.

 

[ttmacan]

Either way I would say if your changing the fluid your already ahead of the game and as long as it’s close to the bottom of inspection plug you should be good.[emoji3]

 

[RBHJr]

Either way I would say if your changing the fluid your already ahead of the game and as long as it’s close to the bottom of inspection plug you should be good.[emoji3]

Thanks ttmacan,wwhal and jzwu. I will pull fill plug and use my borescope this time to see what is going on in there for level. Temps here have dropped quite a bit in the last week, mid 60's when I did fill, now in 40's, so I will take that in consideration. I am 100% confident at least 500-525ml got filled in. I had a pump on the oil bottle which had 850ml, level on bottle is now a little over 300ml and I know I spilled a few tablespoons when filling from bottom hole before filling from top vent. If I ever do this again I will be more careful on being able to accurately measure the volume extracted and alleviate the uncertainty.

 

[jzwu]

I think you’re good. If you really want to make sure you can do what @ttmacan said below - go for a drive and check again.

“You could also fill to bottom of hole and go for a drive to warm up the oil temp and then pull the plug to allow the excess to drain.”

 

[ISST]

Anyone have an experience with the addition of Ford friction modifier to the oil when you change the Transfer Case Fluid? I’ve heard that some dealerships are doing this.

 

[Santirx]

Another DIY here… figure I include this here in this thread, and leave to moderators the decision to move to a dedicated thread if they feel that’s more appropriate…


Transfer Case Oil Change DIY - Porsche Macan S 2015