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Owner of '03 Boxster S with a manual six-speed tranny. Will not stay in second gear; jumps out under acceleration and decal, as well. Have replaced linkage; didn't help. 77k miles. Given the age and miles (no other issues), what's to do? Love the car, but!!!!
you need to replace the 2nd gear detent. i believe GBox sells one that works for the 996/986S. it is fairly easy to do if you are remotely handy with tools. no need to remove the tranny or open it; you just remove a plug cover, extract the old one & install the new one.
I've had two shops tell me that I need a new transmission without mentioning this; will try and many thanks for the help. also found on the site instructions for install.
The detent fix isn't a proper fix. Your synchros are worn out. You need to rebuild 2nd gear. Right now you may be able to do it without a new 2nd gear. Put in the Gbox thing and you will surely need a 2nd gear because you will bash up the dog teeth.
Where are you? I can help you find a builder who can do the job. The guys telling you to buy a new gearbox don't know how to rebuild it. It can be rebuilt, it's just a little tricky.
Read the thread I linked. If you didn't have the issue when the car was near new it's not the warranty pop out issue. It's wear. The detent is smoke and mirrors.
I read parts of the thread. So I canceled the order on the detent. Shops I've talked to want to exchange trans. This is a nice car, no issues, other than it still needs to have the engine bearing (preventative) addressed. Problem is that it is an older car and I'm looking at a substantial cost compared to value. But then, with those issues addressed it ought to be good for many miles. Please advise of someone who can replace the synchros or do whatever needs to be done. I live on the Northshore, in Hammond, near New Orleans. Thanks for all the input
The folks locally there I do business with are Nola Sport. If they aren't doing them in house consider shipping it to Bill Rader in Las Vegas or California Motorsports in Arizona.
It occurred to me that I hadn't explained why many shops won't build these gearboxes. It requires a 50 ton press to get apart. It's not like anything else Porsche has ever done except the mirror image box in the 996 Carrera. A fairly small handful of builders have taken it upon themselves to learn how to do these boxes. Porsche never published a manual on it even though they sell the service parts at the dealerships.
It isn't just the synchro hub that wears. The bearings(sealed!) also deteriorate when the seals fail. Search "sticky finger" test via drain hole.
Parts are difficult/expensive for this Getrag gearbox.
Try Erik Johnson @ Raceline in Colorado? He is a helpful and knowledgeable guy. He has posted on this subject here and other sites on the 6 speed issues.
Erik doesn't build gearboxes. He used to work sales for Gbox and has an e-tail parts business now. I have no idea who he subs his builds out to, but he's not doing them. It may even be Gbox. i would use CMS over them.
They make a billet shift arrester with new detent that I installed in my trans while installing a TBS diff. 100k miles on the 6-speed & it shifts as good as new if not better.
02-11-2016, 07:20 AM
Second gear problem
