Great video on the Shifter adjustment thanks! That guy does a very nice job explaining. I may ask the dealer to adjust mine under warranty at my next oil service. Did you find the adjustment helped? Interestingly, I took a 45 minute drive last night and didn’t have any sticking Into 1st. It just seems to happen randomly. So strange.

 

Interesting how many different workarounds folks have to this problem- change the fluid, put it in a different gear first and then to 1st, double clutch, move lever towards 1st and then push in clutch, let clutch out a little and then push into 1st, move the car a little and then get it into 1st. LOL! I’ll add one more then- give the engine a rev, put it in 2nd and then slide it into 1st. Seems to work for me all the time whenever it happens.

 

I don't understand the resistance to changing the oil? The dealer is hopefully smart enough to try that first anyhow. PTX is a fantastic fluid and has solved this problem for most people. It's 150 bucks. Just change oil!

If then it's still sluggish, and you're not willing to go back to second with a small rev before going into first, then MAYBE the dealer will check into it. But I would imagine a tech will drive the car, and intuitively double clutch or do the 2nd -> 1st move. I find this completely normal for a manual transmission. Even in arguably the best transmissions ever made, the NA Miata transmission and the S2000 transmission, you'd still have to do this occasionally. I think it's part of the active engagement of a manual.

Cw

 

I don’t have a resistance to change to PTX and will do it eventually. My resistance is to spend money if the CPO can address it. I disagree that it should be regarded as normal to not be able to shift into 1st after coming to a full stop. Even my crappy 02 WRX tranny could shift into 1st at a full stop (I did have to double clutch if I was slightly rolling). Sounds like it’s a Porsche quirk, but it’s not normal to the many manuals I’ve driven over the years.

 

2009 C2S 159K miles

Jamming going into first gear is not normal and is a result of premature wear. Exactly what is wearing, well I just don't know but I suspect it is a synchro... the dog teeth are the issue.... maybe.... maybe a fork bends ever so slightly from aggressive use.... I just don't know.

I have owned my car for a long time now, and put 197K on my 2000 Boxster S. The Boxster S never had a 1st gear jam (it shared the same 911 transmission).... it had some quirks when cold, but not a 1st gear jam... ever. I witnessed my C2S going from no jam, to a rare occurrence to a consistent jam.... a classic wear scenario. Replacing the oil with PTX, what is denoted specifically in my owners manual, reversed the issue. However the jam comes back, sooner now. I have refilled with PTX now I think I am on the third fill and am getting the jam again, albeit rarely.

So.... IMO, this is not normal and something is wearing prematurely in our transmissions. IMO, you should change the PTX oil out every 30K miles from new to prevent this issue instead of the 120K miles (?) as noted in the manuals or change it out when the jam starts.... get in front of it and get over it.... there is something wrong, either with design or components, with our transmissions. Our beautiful baby has an ugly wart on its nose... stop ignoring it.

Also, IMO, adjusting the cables/shifter, changing the shifter et al does nothing (I did install the Numeric shifter so I have this experience). If anything, these changes may change your shifting behavior and that may account for a difference, but it will all come back as the novelty of your change wears off. Everyone has a technique (a behavior) for lessening the jam and I have a few... one is to make a more pronounced "L" when shifting instead of shifing at an angle.... and on and on... but these are temporary as the wear will continue and the frequency will rise. The cable ends are bolted to the transmission so they move with the system... new mounts will do nothing. The cables are not cables, but are flexible rods so they are not susceptible to subtle changes in length etc. Again, IMO.

I just don't understand the resistance to changing a simple fluid.... odd to me. To be fair, changing the fluid (must be PTX) does not appear to work for all but it is cheap and easy and you can have your neighborhood service station do it if you supply the product.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

I did the fluid change and adjustment at the same time so not sure exactly which helped, but haven't had a first gear lock out since.

 

Changed my fluid to PTX about a year ago, only seemed to help a little and still get the random notchiness into first. Guess I am just used to it at this point but would love to not have it ever happen.
IMO, PTX fluid change is 50/50 based on what I have experienced and read of other's experiences. All this is assuming my e-Indy actually changed the fluid.

 

Great insights as always, thanks Bruce. I'll make a dealer appointment to get it addressed under CPO now, rather than waiting until the next oil change. As a side issue, do you know anything about what may be causing a thump in the rear when I engage the clutch, usually on a 2-3 shift? I've read that this is normal, but don't see the cause. I'm going to ask the dealer to look at that too.

 

Thank you! Glad you have enjoyed it

 

I have no idea.

BTW, there are many that will vehemently disagree with me... fine...I am just posting my experiences and opinion... But... until one of us tear apart our transmissions and actually look inside, no one is right.

Regarding your dealer (or indy for that matter) for fluid change. Back when I was doing my fluid research, neither local Porsche dealers filled with PTX and neither dealer knew what I was talking about despite it being printed in my manual. They both used Delvac. One poster challenged his dealer (not one of these), presented his manual and dealer got angry with him. Beware.... these fluids are different (GL rating). So, what I do, is buy official PTX from an online PTX seller (a dealer), and have a local service station do the fill. I bring my torque wrench with me and two new sealing washers (drain and fill). On a .2 you must use the lower fill hole. Last fill, I had him screw in a magnetic LN plug... next fill will be interesting.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

I get that thump too. Assumed my clutch was on its way out. Or a bad mount. But maybe it's just a 997 thing.

 

I'm planning to replace my engine mounts, any idea if this would help? I've done the shifter alignment but didn't really do much. Shifts felt smoother but still clunks into 1st every so often.

 

Hey guys so of course I had the typical issues with selecting 1st and 2nd. Changed the oil and there was a slight improvement and just realigned the cables but now the selector is hanging a little to the right (no pun intended). The shifts are a lot smoother and I feel a huge improvement but is the off the centre shifter normal ? It's a stock SSK 997.1 C2S. Don't mind ripping it apart and doing it again, maybe I used the alignment tool incorrectly.

 

I replaced engine mounts with oem on my 997.2 4S and all notchy gear shifting went away. Mainly I had grinding on 2nd gear, and it totally went away. It's so nice to shift now. My tranny has PTX fluid for years and that removed 1st gear difficulty before. So, it's good idea to use PTX tranny fluid and replace engine mounts for the trouble getting in 1st and 2nd.

 

Hey everyone, a newly acquired to me an 06 997.1 base - driven it about 1000kms and I am also having issues with selecting first gear, it’s really annoying at stop lights!

I have an OEM short shift kit from my old 997.2 that I am planning to install - think that will fix it?