wbgordon

Was en route with my 15-year-old son to dinner last night and in the process of upshifting to 2nd through a major intersection when I felt a sudden thud and the shifter go limp. I guided the car into a Circle K Shell where I waited 20 minutes for Roadside Assistance. Since the car was stuck in 1st and the dealer, about 20 miles south of here, was altogether likely gated up, I had the driver follow me home while I drove 20 mph in 1st.

Anyone yet experience this kind of failure with the Spyder? I'm frankly a little surprised that it happened.

Macster

Something similar happened with my 96 Turbo at around 30K miles. Leaving the house and turned onto the main road and took off for work -- just driving the car -- and at an upshift the shifter got loose and that was that. I managed to push in the clutch and coast through a left hand turn and onto a side street and called roadside assistance. The dealer was less than 2 miles away. The diagnosis was the shifter ball socket failed and the shifter rod with its ball popped loose. (I snapped a pic of the broken shifter ball socket.) New shifter time. I had the tech install the 997 shifter which tightened up the shift action some.

In my car's case the CPO warranty covered the repair and the tow. In your car's case, the new car warranty is there for you.

In short,stuff happens. That's why a new car warranty is a nice thing to have.

Relax. Your car doesn't hate you. Get the car fixed and resume driving it again. and all will be ok again. I've put nearly 50K miles on the replacement shifter and I expect it to last like the shifter in my 02 Boxster, which has covered over 256K miles. That's a lot shifting.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Marine Blue

Definitely let us know what the diagnosis is once the dealer has looked at it.

If it were me and the shifter assembly needed to be replaced I would pay the difference and have a short shifter installed. Great way to get the labor and most of the part covered under warranty!

wbgordon

Would I want a short shifter? What's the advantage? And what would be your guess as to the upcharge? Just curious.

@ Macster: This P-car has given me more enjoyment than any of the four previous 911s I've owned. I'm not upset. A little inconvenienced, it being a Sunday with no car rentals open and TS Debby dropping buckets of rain on us in Tampa Bay, but not unhappy.

Z356

I have no idea of what it would cost to retrofit the factory short shifter ($500 or less?), but it's one of my favorite options that I chose on the '12 Spyder. Compared to the one in my regular 07 997S or even in my '11 John Cooper Works Mini, this is the best shifter I have ever experienced in an automobile!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, Colorado (praying for rain!)

stevecolletti

+1

Marine Blue

Technically if the shifter assembly needs to be replaced the labor to install the short shifter will be the same. I'm not sure what the difference is for the cost between the two, I would ask the dealer.

As far as the differences, I tried a short shifter in a friends 987 and it is much more precise with much shorter throws. It does require slightly more effort and isn't as smooth but it feels more like a sports car. It's somewhat similar to having PSE, it's something Porsche should have done as a standard and not an option.

Good luck with the repairs.

lithium1330

When you say shifter goes limp... do you have free play up/down only, or up/down & side to side? It's a relatively simple (up/down/left/right on 2 free pivot points). The older (986) linkage connector from cable shifter was known to break... leaving you stuck in neutral or in gear. Though, I really haven't heard that in 987's.

BTW, page 7 of my short shift install write up has a picture of the shifter assembly and the 2 plastic linkages that may be the cause: https://www.box.com/s/25aa98e5bdceda3589c0

Alan Smithee

The Spyder does not have any unique transmission parts, but that said, it is not a known 987 malady.

GT3 Nut

The plastic connector on the bottom of the shifter assembly is total crap! They MAY have improved it on the 987/997 but I cant tell the difference when you hold the 987 and 986 versions side by side.
I broke these NUMEROUS times on my 996 GT3 so after that experience I changed it to a EVO shift link and I did it on most of the cars that followed up until the current car.
It was one of the first things I did on my Spyder along with a B&M short shifter (before it had a chance to break).
I am not sure how the B&M compares to the Porsche assembly but mine is great. It isnt really notchy like the B&M I had put in my 996 GT3. I think it is perfect. The EVO shift link also really helps smooth things out so thats probably why it feels just right.
Have them install the short shifter and order the shift link from either Sharkwerks or directly from Evolution Motorsports website. Well worth it!!!

wbgordon

Perhaps not a known malady, but it apparently DOES occur based on my conversation with the service writer at the dealer today. It was diagnosed as expected, a shifter cable failure, the ball coming out of the socket being the precursor of the failure. I asked re a short shifter and was quoted $495.00, the vast majority of it being for the part, not labor, which is minimal. I'm maybe another year, year and a half in the car tops, so I passed.