Brainz006

More good advice from Lewis. For $10 and less than 30 mins, it might save you the pain of wrestling with unbolting the TC.

Ha, no kidding about the lift. Pulling heavy bits off your car while laying on your back is no fun. Good luck with the TC chain. I've heard they definitely stretch, and possibly more so sooner on the CTT given the torque.

Excellent advise. Agree that TC chain is a possibility once the driveshaft is ruled out.

It makes the noise/feeling when you engage low range? I'll defer to others, but that could be the transfer case motor. I know they can fail, but I'm not sure of the symptoms. I'd still check the driveshaft bearing first.

And make sure the MAFs are plugged in. A loose connection could also do it. Good luck.

How many miles are on the driveshaft? A failing center bearing /bushing would be the most likely suspect based on others' experience. The driveshaft center bearing has a reputation for failing in as few as 60k miles. While the rubber bushing part usually fails first (and causes a banging under the car as the drive shaft whips around), it's possible that the bearing in yours is failing, causing the clicking and accompanying grabbing/popping/thumping. Have you removed the driveshaft and spun the center bearing to check for condition?

Yes - It's technically a boost/vacuum leak issue so it can affect drive ability at all speeds depending on how bad the leak is. It's caused by unmetered air from a leak between the MAFs (mass air flow sensors, which are just below the air boxes) and the engine. And when the MAF readings don't match what's actually entering the engine, then the fuel mix will be off (causing the engine to run rough and throw codes). You need to check all the intake plumbing for leaks, cracks or things that came disconnected. From your description, it sounds like you have a big leak (because you have trouble at higher speeds too), so start with the throttle body and examine all the charge piping (Y-pipe, pipes to ICs, hoses from ICs to turbos, turbos to MAFs). Most of that piping is ~2.5" black plastic or rubber. Note also that there are some small hoses on the underside of the Y pipe that can come loose or get damaged by the water pump pulley that aren't obvious without pulling off the Y-pipe, and can cause issues. It's also possible you have a leak on one of the vacuum hoses or corrugated plastic tubes attached to the intake manifold. Inspect those too, but it can be harder to visually troubleshoot those hoses as they are smaller and many of them are obscured by other parts. That's why a pressure or smoke test would be most useful. Lots of videos on YouTube on how to do this (generically). Hope that helps. Good luck.

I suspect you have a boost leak - - that would trigger the MAF and misfire errors. I once did not fully insert the driver side turbo-to-intercooler hose into the intercooler flange. It blew out under boost and gave similar errors including the PRND error on the dash. Check your intake tract from the MAFs to the engine for leaks. Do a pressure or smoke test for best results. Good luck.

Assuming you pulled the cotter pin, then spray with penetrating oil (just on the pin, try not to get it on the brakes), and get a bigger hammer/hit it harder. As you suggest, you need to use a steel punch to get it started. After that, l usually switch to an old screwdriver that's long enough to go through both sides.

What you're describing sure sounds like an intermittent vacuum leak. And when unmetered air gets admitted, the ECU will add fuel to compensate (and the engine may rev). And the rev may cause the leak to go away, and then when then leak goes away and your exhaust smells rich (like fuel) because the fuel trims may have adjusted to add fuel all the time to compensate for the leak. You need to smoke test the car and also log your LT and ST fuel trims while you run the engine under the circumstances that cause the problem. You can do the latter yourself with a cheap bluetooth OBD scanner and the Torque App (Google OBD LT ST fuel trim - - there are some great vids on YouTube). Other ideas include failing primary O2 sensors (seems like that would throw a code though), but I'd absolutely rule out vacuum leaks and see what the fuel trims tell you before throwing more money at parts.

Congrats on the fix!

I do not advocate lifting the rear wheels off the ground, but you do want the trans to be as level a possible. As I dont have a lift, so I have done mine with the suspension locked in the highest position and then lifted a bit under the hitch receiver until the pan was level. There was enough suspension sag that the wheels remain firmly on the ground - - the body is lifted a few inches at the back, but it's less than half that in the center of the car. This offset the slope of the garage floor so the trans was level. Wheels were chocked and parking brake was set firmly. I suppose adding a couple jack stands might have made it marginally safer, but really there was nothing to fall. If that sounds too unsafe, I suppose one could put a 2x12 or two under the rear wheels. It's a moot point as OP has a lift in this case.

The key is that the oring needs to get seated properly. I'm doing this from memory, so I'm foggy on exact details. When I did it (correctly, on the 2nd try), I installed the oring on the filter neck in the recess - - use ATF to lube it up. Then push it straight into the valve body hole. I evenly finger-tightened the bolts to hold it into place and then used a wrench to slowly force it all the way home. The key was to tighten 1 turn at a time on each bolt to keep it even until it was fully torqued. There's an alternate method that I've heard of which involves seating the oring in fhe valve body hole first, and then inserting the filter. I've heard that may work better, but have not personally tried. In any case, make sure you tighten evenly. Once you do that you should be able to suck more fluid in. Yes, fill with the engine running in park. When it starts to dribble, you may want to have a helper shift into R and D a few times to prime the circuits - - be safe and keep the parking brake on, wheels chocked, and preferably no one under the car. One other thing that helps get full fluid in the trans: put a level under the pan on the trans - - most of the time they slope down toward the rear a bit which will reduce the amount of fluid the pan holds (b/c fill hole is at the back) . You may need to jack up the back of the car a bit as most home garages have a sloping floor which can exacerbate this. I used a single jack under the hitch receiver and lifted it up a bit there, but wheels were still on the ground. Your fault code was from revving the engine without enough fluid. Clear the code when you are done filling it and you should be fine. All the fluids you're using look fine. Good luck.

You definitely do not have enough fluid in there. You probably did not install the filter correctly. Drop the pan again and undo the filter and make sure you used the oring and that it's seated correctly. It may be easier to put the oring in the hole and push the filter up into the hole. It must be on straight. If you pinch oelr cut the the oring, the pump wont be able to suck upnthe fluid. Also, for avoidance of doubt, note that you have to fill the trans with the engine running. With the engine off, you'll only get 3-4 quarts in there, but running it will take 7 or more quarts. Good luck.

That's the emergency fuel door release. I think the skinny end tucks into a hole somewhere when not in use. Sorry I'm not more specific -- it's been a while since I messed around in there.

I preemptively did the coolant pipes and turbo tees this weekend. Royal PITA. Followed the ECS Tuning writeup for the pipes. Tees are what the are -- you see them once you get back there -- but space is limited. Cable operated hose clamps are the NVP for this job. I went slow and cleaned things up in the engine bay while I worked. Also did the plugs, changed the thermostat and torque arm, and cleaned up the starter. Car runs much better now -- I think I had some vacuum leaks that were giving me minor driveability issues. Happy to have that done, but still have the transmission seal leak. Need to have an independent change that out -- looks like another beast of a job that's best done with a lift. I'm done turning wrenches for a while. Punchline from my coolant tube replacement: I don't think it was coolant that killed the transmission seal. I think it just failed, or maybe it was from dirt/dust that got washed through the engine valley, but my pipes were not leaking. One of the tees was crusty, but I don't see how leaking tees would get coolant into the bellhousing. My car came from New Mexico and appears to have been driven on a lot of dusty/muddy roads. Despite only 27000 miles when I bought it, there was a lot of dust/dirt in the engine bay and on the chassis. The engine valley had caked dust build up, but no evidence of coolant. The starter cleaned right up and looked like new -- no corrosion; just dusty. It's weird how the engine design drains the valley through the bellhousing -- seems like the engineers could have routed that around the bellhousing with minimal effort. Oh well. In any case, looking forward to getting the transmission seal fixed and being done with car repairs for a while.

Thanks, Hahn. I checked and confirmed the following: 1) Picture at back of engine confirms I still have plastic pipes -- that's what I'd figured, but never confirmed as I've only owned it 10k miles and just assumed it was still plastic given the mileage. I thought maybe I'd get lucky. Oh well... 2) Coolant reservoir is below the low mark in the tank, but I'm not getting a warning light. Not confirmatory as most of my cars have always "consumed" a bit of coolant, but in this case it lends credibility to possible early failure of the pipes. I agree with your recommendations. Also, my experience with other vehicles and maintenance intervals suggests that my location (Houston - HOT!) and driving style tends to result in earlier than normal replacement cycles. Tires, brakes, and bushings seem to go quicker than most. Makes some sense the pipes could go early too. I'd planned on doing the pipes myself (someday) to save some money and have the satisfaction of knowing it's done right. But I may just throw cash at this one and be done with it. Too many projects right now. Thanks again. Other opinions welcome.

Situation: 2006 Cayenne Turbo with 37k miles is leaking ATF from the holes under the bellhousing. Dealer replaced transmission valve body 2-3k miles ago, and I assume fill level is/was correct, but have not checked -- I probably should do that, but based on my prior experience with a fluid change, overfilling the Cayenne trans seems unlikely/difficult -- underfilled seems much more likely. The transmission shifts fine now. To my knowledge, the coolant tubes/tees are still original/plastic. I have not smelled coolant or received a low coolant message. I'm debating whether I should bite the bullet and get the coolant tubes done at the same time. Based on reading other posts, it seems that when the coolant tubes go, I'll likely have to replace the transmission seal again. I only drive 7k miles/year, so I may be able to get away without this for another 3-5 years (possibly longer than I own the car). Questions for the brain trust: 1) Anyone had an issue with just the transmission seal that was NOT related to the coolant tubes? Anyone ever heard of an overfill situation blowing out the seal on a Cayenne? Or is it most likely a slow leak of coolant from the tubes? 2) If it was your car/money, would you do the coolant tubes/tees at the same time, or take the gamble on doing all this again? 3) What else would you do while the transmission is out? Any other seals, lines, bushings, etc? 4) Does the transmission need to be drained/opened for the seal repair? Given that the trans valve body was just replaced, filter is new, etc., I'm thinking I should ask the mechanic to leave the filter alone and just top off the fluid if possible. That said, I've got a case of 3309 ready to go, if needed. 5) Appears that others have spent anywhere from $1300-$2500 for the transmission seal alone. Tips or thoughts from those that have been down this road? Is there any potential time/labor savings by doing the trans seal and coolant pipes at the same time? Thanks for the responses!