schwank

Just scored a super cheap short shift kit on ebay... from LA Porsche dismantlers. There was no brand or anything on the listing but one glance at the picture and it is obviously a B&M. They go for anywhere from $225-300 for the shifter alone, but it only cost me $53 plus shipping. Better yet, it is already installed in a shifter surround so I don't have to destroy my factory unit installing it.

My car has about 66K on it and lately the shifting has gotten more difficult. I've had the trans fluid flushed but still on some shifts the car does not seem to want to go into gear, particularly when cold. So the SSK can't very well hurt the situation as I already don't like the shift action. Plus it is cheaper than the 997 unit which is $180 at Suncoast. AT worst I can resell it and pick up one of those.

So the question is, can I install this thing with only reattaching the shift cabling? Or are there some adjustments I should do since my existing factory shifter has less than desirable functionality? Most installs seem to be done on cars with the standard radio.. my car has PCM which puts the climate controls down below where other cars have a CD holder and cubby. Any caveats to that?

Now I just need to kick down for ROW M030 suspension...

Marc Gelefsky

Nice score!

I just put one in my 996, it was already in a 997 shifter so the install is the same as your, my climate controls are in the lower console as well, you do not have to remove the lower console so no worries there.
You can just pop the cables off the old one and on the new one, done! Very easy.
It's a great mod, I am really pleased with the feel of it. I didn't realize how truly terrible the shifter action was until I installed this. Got rid of that awful rubbery feel.

There are instructions on the B&M site, Enjoy!

http://www.bmracing.com/bmracing/ins...ruction/67.pdf

Silver Box

You'll love the new shifter. Get's rid of that ridiculous stretch to put it into 5th. You also mentioned some difficulty with getting into gears with your current shifter. There have been a number of people who experience that sysmpton as their motor mounts wear out. An '01 w/ 66K may be ripe for replacement. There's some good info on this at www.pedrosgarage.com. If that's the culprit, the new shifter alone won't fix the problem.

iJeremy

The new shift action is certainly nicer than stock and cleans up the throw quite a bit, however be careful - the new short shifter will cause the plastic linkage to wear even quicker than stock and it's already a common failure point. Once that pops you are dead on the side of the road, no way to repair this without replacing. I've gotten to the point that I won't install the SSK in a customer's car without also replacing the plastic linkage with a billet one like this:



Evolution makes them and they are certainly worth the swap while you're in there. If you do a quick search you'll find a number of people this has happened to. Good luck and cheers!

blinkwatt

Could be a eBay knock off you bought...they look the same as B & M,except for the bushings.

schwank

Thanks for the tips! I saw that piece you describe Jeremy... maybe I will order that as well. I can post some pics but as far as I can tell this thing seems to be the real deal.