Quote:
Originally Posted by sjbox
Got transmission oil changed on my recently purchased '02 Boxster. After the oil change, the second gear shift is really hard in the mornings or if the car has been sitting for a long time. Once the car gets going, it is fine. I just avoid switching to 2nd for a few miles, go from 1 to 3.
My mechanic drove it (of course, after it had warmed up) and found no trouble shifting up and down. He suspects a bad/worn synchro but didn't really recommend fixing anything yet.
I thought about oil viscosity etc but if the oil wasn't right, it should affect all gears, right?
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This sounds more like a warn syncho to me, as you are not experiencing any issues in other gears, but I do not recommend waiting, as your repair bill will only start to climb the longer you wait.
If you used a synthetic oil on your last change, get that out quickly. This may at least buy you some time on your rebuild. Once the synchronizer starts to die it will do exactly what you are describing, work well once it is hot but not so well cold. This is due to the fact that the metals swell with heat and the tolerances tighten up again to allow that synchro to get a good bite on the dog ring collar again. It will get worse though.
With enough driving the operating sleeve will start to run into the dog ring on the gear and basically shred it. It again will start with a hard shift and progress to zipping the tips of the teeth off. Then it gets expensive.
Rebuilding these gearboxes is NOT a walk in the park guys. If you have the G86.20 6 speed, you will need a very large press to do this work correctly. (80-100 tons) If you try to pull the gears off with a puller you will either break the puller, or the gear. The G86.20 has interference gears, which means they do not sit on a spline like other gearboxes do.
Some of the other gearboxes, like the 987.20 and earlier 5 speed gearboxes are not nearly as hard to rebuild, but require some good tools, patience and knowledge to do. I can not tell you how many time we get gearboxes that are partially torn down, these are to put it mildly nightmares to work on. Parts can easily get put in backwards, or swapped for a similar part that is incorrect. The work involved labor wise goes up quite a bit, and thus so does the cost.
I am not saying that if you are a competent mechanic that you should not do this work, because it can be a fun experience and give a great deal of personal pride to do the work yourself. I am just saying that a gearbox rebuild may not be the best use of your time, as if it is done wrong, it can be quite expensive in the long run.
Best Regards all, and let me know if you have questions or needs I can help with.
Erik Johnson
The Race Line
(970) 344-7761 phone