Hi everyone,

I'm currently driving my 993 through the beautiful S.W. WI country side and was taking off from my Motel this morning (spilling some coffee on myself - not the 993 ) and noticed while shifting (with one hand :S ) that the throws were a little loose. When leaving my breakfast destination, I had some trouble getting into reverse (the spring to push down is gone and I slid the shifter to the left and up and it finally engaged).

Any quick fixes / thoughts will be appreciated.

 

You may well have the dreaded disease: "disintegrating nylon insert in the shift rod". You need to get it up on all fours, remove the black metal center tray, then the dust boot to reveal the cause of the problem. There are two nylon inserts, one at each end of the long rod. It's usually the one closest to the shifter that goes first. To drive it much more in this condition may leave you shiftless! Once you determine what's going bad, you may be able to "jury rig" something with something like a nylon ty-wrap to hold it in place long enough to get you to where it can be fixed properly. Good Luck!

 

I spoke with my Porsche Mechanic who told me to bring it in ASAP. He said that the nylon parts are gone and I shouldn't be left shiftless since I had converted the OEM shifter to a 993 B. & M. short shifter and recently added a Golden Rod RS - like SS rod (which has been working flawlessly).

I will take it to the nearest Porsche dealership ( Madison, WI) though to have this checked it out.

 

If that's the problem be sure to have both the front and rear ***** replaced. If one goes, the other is going.

dave

 

My 993 has this disease right now as we speak. It's been sitting in the garage for two weeks. I'm waiting for my FD SSK & golden rod to arrive. I currently can only get into 3rd and 4th gear. I actually though of the tie wrap idea as a temporary fix myself so i could drive her. The way I see it one tie around the neck of the ball, one tie around the neck of the cup, one tie joining those two together and one tie around from the neck of the ball to the neck of the cup should be all it takes. Sure would probably be super sloppy to shift but drivable. I may have to do that...

Nick

 

When it gets loose like that, it will eventually drop off the ball joint and leave you stranded.
The plastic cups are cheap and Sunset has them. Takes about 2 hours to replace. You need to take the covers off the bottom of the car and get it up on a hoist.

 

I'll let you guys know what the Porsche tech finds tomorrow. Thanks again!