981 Manual Transmission Hard to Shift
08-23-2018, 08:57 PM
#1
981 Manual Transmission Hard to Shift
MY PROBLEM SOLVED - I have a 2013 Boxster S 77K miles with a manual transmission. The car was always hard to shift especially into 2nd gear. The other day after a week of not driving, the car wouldn't shift at all. It was frozen in neutral. Yikes! I called the local $tealership and they wanted it towed in for service. They speculated about transmission problems, etc. All I could envision was an invoice made out in Roman Numerals. I searched the forums and You Tube... but nothing. I decided for a DIY exploratory fix. A couple of hours later, I found the problem. There is a black cast wheel that is attached to the drivers side of the transmission. This wheel is a pivot point for the shift linkage. There is a 4" plastic linkage arm attached to the wheel and the shift linkage. The wheel has a copper type bearing in the center and there is a 30mm bolt that attaches it to the side of the transmission. The wheel is supposed to spin freely. Mine was rusted solid and could barely be turned even with a wrench on it. I popped off the plastic linkage arm. Using a 30mm wrench, I unbolted the wheel from the side of the transmission. I put the wheel in a vice and pressed out the bolt. Rusted solid. No lubrication at all. I wire wheeled the bolt, washer, and cleaned out the bearing surface as much as possible. I reassembled the entire unit with anti-seize on all moving parts. I torqued the bolt to 40 lb.ft. but that torque setting was a guess on my part. Couldn't find that spec anywhere so I just picked a reasonable number and rolled with it. Hooked up the plastic linkage piece. Now it's shifting like we the people and the little hitch I had going into second gear is gone too. Smooth and easy. Problem Solved. I hope this information can help someone who has shifting problems with their manual transmission 981. An easy check is to crawl under the car, pop off the plastic linkage arm and see if you can spin that black wheel freely. If not, take it apart, clean it, and lube the hell out of it. See pics.
Last edited by MikeyP; 08-24-2018 at 07:55 AM.
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Jaret (02-02-2020)
08-23-2018, 11:10 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
Good catch: glad it was an easy fix!
That wheel is just there to add some heft/inertia to the feel of the fore/aft shifts. It literally does nothing else. I tried disconnecting mine and honestly couldn't tell much difference in the shift feel, myself.
That wheel is just there to add some heft/inertia to the feel of the fore/aft shifts. It literally does nothing else. I tried disconnecting mine and honestly couldn't tell much difference in the shift feel, myself.
08-24-2018, 09:21 AM
#3
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thanks for the tip! The 987 also uses a similar setup, I’ll have to make sure I get it lubricated next time it’s on a lift.
Did you spray lube underneath or do you have some oil weeping?
Did you spray lube underneath or do you have some oil weeping?
08-24-2018, 01:58 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
MY PROBLEM SOLVED - I have a 2013 Boxster S 77K miles with a manual transmission. The car was always hard to shift especially into 2nd gear. The other day after a week of not driving, the car wouldn't shift at all. It was frozen in neutral. Yikes! I called the local $tealership and they wanted it towed in for service. They speculated about transmission problems, etc. All I could envision was an invoice made out in Roman Numerals. I searched the forums and You Tube... but nothing. I decided for a DIY exploratory fix. A couple of hours later, I found the problem. There is a black cast wheel that is attached to the drivers side of the transmission. This wheel is a pivot point for the shift linkage. There is a 4" plastic linkage arm attached to the wheel and the shift linkage. The wheel has a copper type bearing in the center and there is a 30mm bolt that attaches it to the side of the transmission. The wheel is supposed to spin freely. Mine was rusted solid and could barely be turned even with a wrench on it. I popped off the plastic linkage arm. Using a 30mm wrench, I unbolted the wheel from the side of the transmission. I put the wheel in a vice and pressed out the bolt. Rusted solid. No lubrication at all. I wire wheeled the bolt, washer, and cleaned out the bearing surface as much as possible. I reassembled the entire unit with anti-seize on all moving parts. I torqued the bolt to 40 lb.ft. but that torque setting was a guess on my part. Couldn't find that spec anywhere so I just picked a reasonable number and rolled with it. Hooked up the plastic linkage piece. Now it's shifting like we the people and the little hitch I had going into second gear is gone too. Smooth and easy. Problem Solved. I hope this information can help someone who has shifting problems with their manual transmission 981. An easy check is to crawl under the car, pop off the plastic linkage arm and see if you can spin that black wheel freely. If not, take it apart, clean it, and lube the hell out of it. See pics.
08-25-2018, 08:57 PM
#7
Marine Blue - The transmission looks all leaky because I was spraying the crap out of the wheel with PB Blaster. It could not penetrate. The wheel has to be taken off with a 30mm wrench or socket. You will get the wheel, the bolt, and a washer. Clean everything up really nice... add some anti-seize to everything... and put it back together. It should spin freely like a roulette wheel.
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08-25-2018, 11:23 PM
#9
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Marine Blue - The transmission looks all leaky because I was spraying the crap out of the wheel with PB Blaster. It could not penetrate. The wheel has to be taken off with a 30mm wrench or socket. You will get the wheel, the bolt, and a washer. Clean everything up really nice... add some anti-seize to everything... and put it back together. It should spin freely like a roulette wheel.
02-02-2020, 08:18 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, with your help I finally solved my stiff shifter problem, I almost replaced my cables thinking they were the issue. I Think this will be an issue with 981’s as they start to get older. This should be a regular maintenance check. Again I can’t thank you enough it’s like driving a brand new car.