Murphy's Law

Hi all,

My 996tt has a standard transmission. I've been having a hard time getting the car smoothly into 3rd, mostly just on the track. When I move from 2nd to 3rd, there is sometimes a slight grinding, which forces me to pause and slooowly move the car into gear. This the only gear that this happens in, all other gears are smooth and quick.

Questions. Is this a common problem or do I have something going on I need to have fixed? Any suggestions on what could be causing the problem?

Thanks in advance.

Dock

How fast are you attempting to make the 2-3 shift as compared to the 1-2 shift?

Are you making sure the shifter is in neutral directly under 3rd before going forward to the gate?

Murphy's Law

At the same speed as all my other shifts. In general, I'm trying to be smooth and easy on the transmission, so not slamming it in. I'll try making sure it's aligned under the gate to see if it helps.

Barn996

Hate to sound like a broken record, but unless you are hurrying your 2nd to 3rd shift...might be a synchro issue, more common with 1st to 2nd.

Murphy's Law

One more point to consider, I have a 997 SSK and I wonder if this might contribute to the issue?

Viperbob1

3rd is used heavily on a track car. Also third is the weakest gear in the box. I have open many a TT gearbox and found third gear GONE (drive and driven gears). Might be synchro, dog teeth, or worse. I would go get it checked out now before it gets worse.

Dock

In my opinion the 996 Turbo 2-3 shift needs to be the slowest of all the upshifts. It's also very important not to attempt to move the shifter in a straight line from 2-3 in a "cut the corners" fashion.

There is an assist spring in neutral that left to it's own should position the shifter right under 3rd gear. If you make the 2-3 shift with your palm, pushing the shifter forward until it reaches neutral, pausing ever so slightly to allow the spring to position the shifter under 3rd, you can then push (with your palm) the shifter straight forward into 3rd; a push-pause-push motion that when practiced can be accomplished pretty quickly.

Murphy's Law

Thanks guys. Before spending $ on diagnostics, I'll work on the technique and see if it helps. I was at the track yesterday and really had to concentrate on the upshift from 2nd to 3rd to get it in gear smoothly, so with improved technique I hope I can speed up the process. BTW, I was doing a search and saw a number of posts related to similar issues in the 996 GT3 section, all issues and concerns related to shifting to 3rd, either up or down while on the track.

Dock

It's also critical that the cables are properly adjusted. My suggested technique is good only with properly adjusted cables.

SSST

Since someone changed out the shifter, it is possible that they didn't get the cables exactly right when they reassembled it. I have the 997 SSK, and my 2nd to 3rd is like butter.

Start with simple and work your way from there.

Viperbob1

One other factor is movement of the motor/tranny unit. If this moves, then the cables can move causing difficulty sometimes shifting. Many times semi-solid motor mounts will help here too. Again, step one have a mechanic look at funtioning of cables, and see how tranny/motor mounts look. Then move on from there.

Murphy's Law

Thanks, I'm working my way through the process.

GTgears

When was the last time you changed your gear oil?

Murphy's Law

Good question, I've had the car since May and I haven't done it yet. What type of frequency is required / recommended?

Macster

The vital fluid replacement schedule is in the owners manual. I'd check mine but the Turbo's at home today.

(For my Boxster it is 90K miles but I have it done every 90K miles (first change) to maybe 50K miles this latest change. For the Turbo I elected to have the fluid changed at around 35K miles but the tech found the tranny leaking and a new tranny was installed under CPO warranty. This replacement tranny has around 40K miles on it. In a few weeks I'll have the car in for an oil/filter service and a tranny fluid/diff fluid change which will put the mileage around the 50K mile mark.)

Unless you have paperwork the fluid was recently changed and the right fluid was used having the fluid changed makes some sense, since in your car's case there's a shifting problem.

Sometimes a fluid change and using the right fluid can resurrect a transmission that is shifting poorly due to degraded fluid or being filled with the wrong fluid.

However, a fluid change will not help if the problem is due to a bad shifter, misadjusted linkage, or simply a worn/damaged transmission.

Sincerely,

Macster.