[Panzer909]

Rob, I'd say even if you can somehow achieve 18 inches of clearance with the equipment at your disposal, that would be mighty uncomfortable to take the whole tranny out. If you're gonna go for it, be very careful.

Do you have a local Porsche dealer? If so, walk right in to their service dept. and ask them to pull a diagram and see what really lies up there. But the little black plastic dohickey with a wire coming out of it and a 10mm bolt holding it in does sound right.

Hmm. Sounds like a big challenge without proper (or even comfortable) clearance......