Capt. Obvious

I've noticed that there is a lot of slop in the shifter when I'm in second gear in my '02 C4S. By slop I mean that I am able to move the shifter around quite a bit when 2nd gear is engaged, but when in any other gear (or neutral) the shifter can only be wiggled around a little bit.

It never grinds or pops out of gear, nor is it difficult to shift, so I'm guessing it isn't a detent issue (maybe an early symptom of it though?).

Just wondering if this considered normal or not.

The car has a B&M short shifter with an Evolution billet shifter linkage.

swepersson

I had my gearbox repaired last winter. When i left it at the garage I explained that it was hard, or the feeling was that I couldn´t feel second gear falling in. He thought that the fork was worn down. When he opened it up the fork was fine but it probably had a major pop out.(before my ownership) Had to exange second gear, sync and so on. When I ride it now it´s ok ,but second is always a pain in the ... on these cars. I´m going for the pop-out kit and hope for the best!!

Ordered but not installed.

996 c4-99

Capt. Obvious

No one else has a similar issue with their car?

cuttinsod

Nope...stock shifter, 82k miles, no pop out, nice and tight

jackarelli

Hi

I have had my tranny rebuilt and even now I still think second gear is a pain, especially when cold.

It always feels like its not quite seated right, never had a pop out mind you but still I can feel a little cringe when I release the clutch pedal hoping the gear holds! Mad I know!

According to my indie, it's one of those well known things with the 996!

Jack

Invius

Sorry man, don't have that issue. I can relate to the people that say they feel "notchy" until they warm up, but not excessive movement in 2nd. Good luck with resolution.

Capt. Obvious

Really, it's not even a "problem" per se, it's just kind of odd. Everything is fine (shifting feels normal, no noise, doesn't pop out of gear, etc.), but I just found it odd that the shifter feels "loose" when 2nd gear in particular is engaged.

Capt. Obvious

My car is in the shop getting a new clutch right now and when they pulled the transmission they found the source of this strange shifting: both of the shifter cables had popped out of their brackets on the transmission.

Thought I'd update this thread in case anyone else has the same issue.

Grey Guy

Thanks for the follow-up. It's always nice to read about a repair that doesn't cost the price of a sub-compact.

Akshun

my shifter has some play, maybe even a little excessive.
I have a hard time getting into 2nd mostly when cold, and if my rpm's are too low, when i shift from 1st to second, i am in 4500 rpm or more,,, works every time.
i find the more you try to "baby" the car the worse it performs.
drive it hard and fast , it will perform beautifully like its meant to do.
as far as "popping out" wheile in 2nd, ive never had that happen.

996pp

2nd gear pop out was only an issue in the 996 turbo