This JUST started tonight on the way home. I was downshifting from 5th to 4th( nice and easy) coming down an off ramp, and the shifter suddenly felt stiff - like the cable was binding. Before that it had felt perfectly normal. There was no big road pothole or bump I hit. Nothing in the road that I ran over or that flew up and hit the trans....it just all of the sudden felt stiff.

At first all forward/backward shifting felt like cables were binding. Side-to-side movement is fine. Then I tried getting the shifter in the neutral gate and moving it back and forth and checking all the gears. I realized that If I shift to 1st, or third, or 5th from the neutral gate it feels fine...normal even. But as soon as I try to shift into 2nd, 4th, or put it in Reverse, it feels like the cable is dragging badly.

This is a B&M short shifter that has been in the car for about 3 years now. It does not feel like a shifter issue, it feels like cable(s) or linkage binding, but it onset in a single easy downshift. Before I start tearing console apart or crawling underneath, has anyone experienced anything like this before, or heard of it ? Any wisdom anyone can share ?

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UPDATE:

Just had a look underneath. Didn't take the heat guard off, but checked out the cables an linkage with a light looking up through an opening by the heat plate. Everything looks pretty normal. Cables are in their supports and arms and brackets all look fine as far as I can tell. Nothing looks bent or broke and I don't see any indications of parts wearing against one another or any other surface.

With the car off, I can not engage 2,4 or reverse. 1,3,and 5 are normal as can be. There has been absolutely no indication of any type of trans issue whatsoever. No grinding, popping out of gear, rough feel, or any noise at all. Really hard to believe it would be internal. Next would be to pull the console and look upstairs I guess.

 

Wow....NOBODY ?

 

Could be shift linkage (we sell the EVO Shift Link to remedy the plastic one from Porsche).

Might want to have a pro check this out first. If you want to order one on our Order page - we can take it back if you don't need it - but it might be worth having when you have the tech explore what's going on. Or even if you do this yourself. You will know if you take the shift link off the pin of the shifter and examine it. Not 100% sure that's the issue, but just a possibility.

 

I'd pull the shifter boot off and see if something went south with the shifter itself. Since you have a B&M you don't have the plastic bushings that are prone to breaking but there could still be a problem on that end.

 

One more thing, are 1st, 3rd, and 5th actually engaging in the transmission, or do you just know that the shift goes into position? If the shifter cable that gets pulled when you move the shifter front to back snapped it would act sort of how you described.

 

I can engage 1st, 3rd, and 5th no problem. I drove the last 8 or 9 miles home that way. Even feels normal from neutral gate forward. Shifter only binds up when pulling it back.

 

Yes, I am aware of that product. In fact, I always intended to put one on but never got around to it. If that piece of linkage is the broken part I will most certainly be visiting your website.

 

I have a possible cause for your situation if you don't find any issues with the shifter itself after removing the shift boot cover and/or console.

A few disclaimers before I begin. First, my experience is limited to '97-'99 Boxsters with the 5-speed manual transmission. Second, I'm sure that some (if not all) of my terminology will not be technically correct. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in and correct my description where needed.

So, there are two pins that put tension on the shift rods inside the transmission. I believe that when one fails you lose 1, 3, & 5 and when the other fails you lose 2, 4, & R. One is located on the drivers side of the tranny, just to the rear of the slave cylinder and the other in on the passenger side behind the axle at about the 10 o'clock position. I don't recall which pin would affect your loss of 2, 4, & R but hopefully some else here does. These pins were typically aluminum (although a few were steel) and we have seen them both fail in Spec Boxsters. Steel replacements are available. Please note that the tranny must be in neutral before removing either pin!

It is unlikely that this is your issue but thought I'd throw it out there in case you don't find the cause at the shifter itself.

Anyone who has a better understanding and more accurate information please feel free to add it.

Good luck!

Brian

 

BigKraut...In my case I have not lost the gears, I can still engage them, the shifter just does not feel like it goes all the way in to those idents and there is a great deal of mechanical resistance to moving the shift lever far enough in that direction(rearward). That being the case, would this still apply? If these fail the gears do not engage at all, correct ?

So here is what I can see underneath. Not sure what is normal. I can tell you that there appears to be a bolt missing in one spot, and a shaft which appears to move in and out of the trans casing as you shift. This rod does not go all the way in. The lower end of that linkage tops out in the slot in the plate before that happens. Would appreciate it if someone could confirm this all looks normal or not.

 

Correct, if either of the pins break you won't be able to engage the corresponding gears at all.

Can you push or pull on the shaft in the pics you posted? It should slide in and out freely. I don't recall which direction is associated with which gears. Maybe sliding in is associated with 2, 4, & R? Also check that the set screw hasn't backed out some. Looks like it has Loctite on it so this shouldn't be the case. The shaft should also rotate in addition to sliding in and out.

You might try disconnecting the shift cables from the linkage on the tranny and attempt to engage all of the gears by rotating and sliding the shaft. This would at least tell you if the issue is the transmission or the shifter/shifter cables.

 

Yes, the shaft moves in and out freely. Not sure about rotating though. I will check this. I would imagine that the stop pin on the lower end of the intermediate lever should be centered in the slot when in neutral ? It also appears that the intermediate lever may be very slightly bowed.

I am starting to think that the shifter may have broken a bushing or something and shifted the neutral gate back toward the back if the car. It seems like the intermediate lever stop cap is toping out against the top of the slot in the relay plate before it is all the way in gear....I don't feel the "notch" at the shifter. However, when I let the clutch out it is in the correct gear.

 

Bigkraut, are you talking about the deals held in by the large allen screws in the side of the transmission? I had the one on the passenger side back out really far. Initially I noticed that shifting into third was difficult sometimes. Then it got to the point where in neutral the shifter was centered between 5th and reverse. May want to check and make sure those are screwed in the whole way.

 

Yes, I think we're talking about the same parts. The one on the passenger side failed on my car and I lost 3rd (in addition to 1st & 5th). I'll try to snap some pics of their location on the tranny and of the pins out of the tranny and post them.

It sounds like First986's problem is with the shifter itself. Time to remove the shift boot cover and have a look.

 

Yea, that's what I'm thinking too BigKraut. I have the console off and can't visually see anything wrong, but tonight after work I am going to take the shifter apart and see what I find. I am also going to disconnect the shift cables from the linkage on the tranny and see if I can engage all gears from the trans end.

The more I think about it, the more I think it has to be the shifter itself. I'm actually not sure at this point if I did buy a B&M, or if I bought a knock-off that was presented as a B&M. As I recall it DID have nylon or delrin bushings in it.

 

Mystery solved. The pivot pin in the shifter is either bent (doubtful) or has worn eccentric(more likely) and it has turned into a position where it is jammed up solid and will not allow the shifter handle to move rearward hardly at all. The pin will not come out, even with a hammer and center punch. I have to replace the shifter....and this is not a B&M, it is a knockoff. I was duped 4 years ago when I didn't know better,

So here are my options:

Porsche Factory Short Shift Kit $430 Suncoast
Porsche 997 Shift Console Upgrade $199 Suncoast
B&M Short Shifter $229 Bumper Plugs or $230 at Power Tech (local to me)
Agency Power Billet Short Shifter $250 (Agency Shifter)

Porsche SS kit is way too expensive. 997 update is genuine Porsche part but is only 15% shorter than stock. B&M seems the logical route as it is cheaper and 35% throw reduction (like I had) However the Agency shifter is interesting - it uses needle bearings instead of bushings.

Anyone know anything about this Agency shifter ?