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Before spending any money, try shortening the cable by one or two notches. When I first got mine, 3rd was a bit balky and would sometimes bump out when cold. Then I bought the shift centering tool and reattached the cables based on the center, which included attaching the cable further out(longer). Now the 3-4 line was centered, but the 2nd gear was behaving like the 3rd gear was. So I moved it back 2 steps and its been OK for 4 years.
I have a 2002 Turbo that I got about 9 months ago. Since then I put about 1,000 miles, well about 600 as first 400 miles were put on the first day driving back after picking up the car. Since then, I experienced maybe 2 or 3 times of second gear popping out. It usually happens when I down shift, particularly when I going downgrade slopes.
I just installed 997 SSK today. One thing I noticed was previous owner already installed 997 stock shifter. I heard that 997 shifters have shorter throw than the stock 996 shifter, and I thought 997 had a long throw. Anyway, I took it out for a short 15-minute test drive after installing the SSK. Within that short amount of time, I experienced three 2nd gear pop outs. All during downshifts into the 2nd gear. At least I took plenty of pictures before installing and marked the cables prior to installation. I haven't gone back to the stock shifter to test yet. I'll probably try it next weekend.
Before going back to the stock, I want to try one more thing. golock911's post intrigued me. I did take bunch of pictures prior to the SSK installation, but I didn't take one after. From what I remember, left side, blue (horizontal movement of the shifter) was in the exact same position as before, but I'm not sure about the right side, black (vertical movement of the shifter). The picture above shows moving left side, blue cable UP. Don't you have to move right side, black cable UP, instead? Won't that make engaging second gear even more?
^^ taken prior to installation (stock 997 shifter)
If this fails, I'll go back to the stock shifter and test again. However, I know that won't solve the problem 100%. Pop out will still happen, but much less frequent. There are a lot of talk about how to remedy this, including CMS Arrester, Gbox detent. All these seem like band aid solutions, I'm okay with that. One thing I heard that that concerned me is that detent puts excessive pressure and could lead into bigger issues. As always, there are many conflicting opinions out there. sigh..
The turbo is a different gear box and the cause of of the 2nd gear pop out has a different solution. Most install an 8mm ball bearing under the detent spring. Do a search for the fix in the turbo forum.
The detent can be used on the turbo. My 996TT had second gear pop out and I tried the detent first, which is cheap and pretty easy to install. Ultimately it didn’t fix the problem and I pulled the gearbox and sent it to Stan at GBox who fixed it better than new.
I have a 2002 Turbo ..
particularly when I going downgrade slopes.
The root cause of this is that the transmission of the 2001 & 2002 Turbos was not assembled correctly at the factory and it has inadequate engagement depth in 2nd gear. The 2003 & up cars don't have this problem.
The fix is to dismantle the transmission, replace the 2nd gear syncro, and reshim the box to 2003 specs.
Once it starts to pop out it only gets worse. If you can avoid lifted throttle decel in 2nd gear you can get by for a long time.
Be sitting down when you read the quote to rebuild the gearbox.
BTW gbox has a less than steller reputation with these G50 gearboxes. Pop on over to the Turbo forum and do a search.
The root cause of this is that the transmission of the 2001 & 2002 Turbos was not assembled correctly at the factory and it has inadequate engagement depth in 2nd gear. The 2003 & up cars don't have this problem.
The fix is to dismantle the transmission, replace the 2nd gear syncro, and reshim the box to 2003 specs.
Once it starts to pop out it only gets worse. If you can avoid lifted throttle decel in 2nd gear you can get by for a long time.
Be sitting down when you read the quote to rebuild the gearbox.
BTW gbox has a less than steller reputation with these G50 gearboxes. Pop on over to the Turbo forum and do a search.
Good info, thanks theprf.
Love to find a bum tranny TT... other than the expensive parts..? building a tight smooth G50 to current specs would be something a nice TT deserves.
As long as we're on the TT subject, whats the best years for a 996TT...?
Dont really know. Its just what i came accross when prepping my gt3 trans. Its the same case but its a little different internally and the gt3 stuff doesnt have the issue so i didnt research any more.
I wonder if it is preventative or protective in the long run. I drove a Fiat Spider in the 70s and it started to pop out. The more it popped out the more it wanted to pop out. It would be nice if it was protective/ preventative.
As long as we're on the TT subject, whats the best years for a 996TT...?
Well my G50 rebuild was north of 16k so something to avoid. I did change a lot of stuff including better (longer) ratios in 1/2/3 and install more durable syncros and install a pumped gearbox cooler like the GT2/3.
IMO the 2003 6TT is the best year. Transmission assembly was corrected and they still have German made engines (in '04 the engine castings were outsourced to Spain). But really they are all great. There's a really nice 2003 in the classifieds right now.
The root cause of this is that the transmission of the 2001 & 2002 Turbos was not assembled correctly at the factory and it has inadequate engagement depth in 2nd gear. The 2003 & up cars don't have this problem.
The fix is to dismantle the transmission, replace the 2nd gear syncro, and reshim the box to 2003 specs.
Once it starts to pop out it only gets worse. If you can avoid lifted throttle decel in 2nd gear you can get by for a long time.
Be sitting down when you read the quote to rebuild the gearbox.
BTW gbox has a less than steller reputation with these G50 gearboxes. Pop on over to the Turbo forum and do a search.
Oh boy, this is what I was afraid of. As much as I love this car, I feel like I'm going down the rabbit hole. Not to get off the topic, but I still need to weld the coolant line someday as well. All in all, it looks like I may be looking at $30K worth of work. Is it worth it at this price?
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. I already done some research on the turbo forum and those who had this issue, they all seemed to have difficult time getting it done right. I'll continue the conversation there. Thanks!
Oh boy, this is what I was afraid of. As much as I love this car, I feel like I'm going down the rabbit hole. Not to get off the topic, but I still need to weld the coolant line someday as well. All in all, it looks like I may be looking at $30K worth of work. Is it worth it at this price?
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. I already done some research on the turbo forum and those who had this issue, they all seemed to have difficult time getting it done right. I'll continue the conversation there. Thanks!
@Bender6502 Or I could give you $20k for it if you want to unload it, ....( $20k+$30k = $50k ?? ) .. Just a thought ..
05-28-2024, 03:20 AM
....( $20k+$30k = $50k ?? ) .. Just a thought ..