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After about 78,000 miles, my 993 left me stranded today, for the very first time. Easy steady drive of 40mph on the way to the store today and suddenly transmission is not engaged and shifter is in neutral. No gears to be found, just a very loose shifter in place. There was no noise when it happened.
I drifted to the side of the road and parked. Waited 3 hours for the tow truck and towed the car back to the house on a Sunday afternoon. The very first time using the tow hook in my 25 years of ownership. Waiting in 98 degree heat was not the best way to spend the afternoon, plus I ran out the battery with my phone needed for the tow truck communication on ETA, etc....Quickly remedied when I got home with a battery jump.
The clutch pedal is normal and seems to be fine in its feel, free play and operation. It appears to me to be a complete linkage disconnection issue.
I remember reading that there is a bushing? or rubber washer ? in the linkage mechanism connection to the transmission that may completely break or wear down over time that causes the shifter mechanism to be disconnected from the transmission, etc.
I will check Andrew Hess's indispensable and excellent "Andy's repair manual" for some information on the shifter linkage.
Has anyone else had this issue and suggestions on what may have occurred and potential solution. Thanks for any ideas as to what happened or advice in advance.
Could be a few things but most likely the plastic cups in the forward rod disintegrated. Should be obvious after you drop the center tunnel. This is an easy DIY.
Hopefully just a bushing issue as others have shared.
But a clutch fork and or fork pivot mount on bell housing case could have broke (ugh).
Have seen a few failures, a shop in CA has a weld fix for the failed pivot mount (where #8/9/12 sits). Also had a clutch fork(#2) break, but most of these seem to happen on LWF / track 993s.
If so most likely the Angular Joint 928 424 005 01 Links Guide tube to Bearing Plate
or the Cup Bushing 911 424 139 01 Links Guide Tube to Shift Lever need to be replaced.
While you have it open it may be worth replacing the other plastic parts.
Should be an inexpensive fix and easy to do once the car is lifted off the ground.
Andy
Thanks for the commentary and advice. Will be on the lift Tuesday tomorrow and will update. Have to decide whether I stay stock or go with the FD short shift kit and golden rod, which is about $600 altogether.
I'm not a huge fan of short shifters but the FD setup is really, really nice. It adds precision to part of the driving experience that is lacking from stock and that you touch all the time when you drive.
On my 5-speed 928 S4, last year I replaced the front shifter-cup, and the rear shifter coupler-bushings, and the shifter felt literally brand new - it never felt better. I should have changed them out years ago (..I've owned it for 22+ years). Several years ago I bought a super-trick shifter for it, but I have no intentions of installing it now.
So I'm suspecting once you replace all your shifter bushings, your shifter will feel like brand new with no need for aftermarket - unless you really want to go that way.
The "all of a sudden" is the key to this puzzle. As noted, the angular joint has a plastic cup bushing that over time literally rots away. There is another one of these same plastic cups at the other of the rod. Since these cups are facing up, they fall off the ball joint when they fail. The result is sudden loss of all shifting. The cups (there are two) can be replaced by a 928 clutch pivot part. The cup at the front end can be sourced complete with the metal cup and threaded fitting but Porsche wants $80 to $100 for this. Buy the two plastic cups form Porsche ,about $14 each and replace both of them. The other parts in the shift linkage are probably OK. A friend of mine had this happen and he got towed to a dealer where they hit him for over $1000! I looked at the car later and found they only replaced the forward piece. the rear one was also rotted but had not fallen off yet. Frightening. The old cup just crumbled. Everyone should replace these two items as they have aged out and you will be stranded. Pull off the center tunnel under tray and you will see these. No need for short shifter or aftermarket stuff. Just replace the plastic cups.I I have pics if I can locate them.
I had to do all the bushing and cups in my 70K mile 1995 Carrera as shifting a month after I got it last year was, at best, challenging, at worst dangerous.
It was not hard, I took my time, added a goldenrod, and this was one of the more rewarding jobs I’ve done.
After that - I was still having some trouble getting it into 1st - so I replaced the (slightly) worn out motor mounts (didn’t do trans mount) and found that improved the shifting as well.
On my 5-speed 928 S4, last year I replaced the front shifter-cup, and the rear shifter coupler-bushings, and the shifter felt literally brand new - it never felt better. I should have changed them out years ago (..I've owned it for 22+ years). Several years ago I bought a super-trick shifter for it, but I have no intentions of installing it now.
So I'm suspecting once you replace all your shifter bushings, your shifter will feel like brand new with no need for aftermarket - unless you really want to go that way.
Hi SwayBar,
Yes, I am sure refreshing the joints up front on a 993 will help a good bit but not to the extent of the refresh on a 928 where the rear coupling breaks down and becomes very sloppy.
The rear coupling in the 993 doesn't use a metal coupling with Graphite impregnated nylon bushings, it is a simple rubber flex joint.
Andy
I found some pics of the shift rod cups and sockets. Pic 1 is the cup that connects to the shift stick. This one had not failed yet but as you can see it was just waiting to go. When I pried it off this is what it looks like.
Pic 2 shows the cup on the front end of the shift rod. This is the one that the dealer replaced on my friend's car for over $1,000. they did not even look at the one on the rear end of the rod.
Pic 3 shows the remnants of the old cup and the new replacement plastic cup. The plastic bushing presses into the metal cup. You have to be sure you get it in correctly. There are posts here on RL on doing this. After inspecting the rest of the shift mechanism including the rubber joint going to the trans shift rod, everything else looked perfect and needed nothing. This is a gently driven 993 owned from day one here in southern Cal. No bad weather or Ricky racer abuse, just time.
Report back on what you guys find. The pieces from the shift rod. 30 years old and rotten. the new replacement part and part number is shown. Porsche does not actually list this part for 993.
No lift required. Your floor jack and jackstands are your friends. I don't have a lift either but I am old.
This is an easy repair for DIY. I am still saying that all of these old original bushings have failed or are on the verge of catastrophic failure.
Any and all reports would be helpful.
07-14-2024, 11:00 PM
Got stranded today - first time in 25 years
