Second gear when cold.........

[Rav 986S]

Hi All.

I am based in the UK and have a Boxster S in Viola Metallic.
I have noticed that in the cold the gear linkage to 2nd gear is very awkward. Once the gearbox has warmed it is a little better, but still not great.

I had the gearbox oil replaced, but wonder what you experts suggest?

Any help appreciated.

[kk2002s]

You need to find out what brand of gear oil was used. It is the opinion of many that Porsche's manual trans fluid performs best for cold weather shifting.

[Ciao]

I had the same problem in my 01 S. I recently flushed the brake fluid and in doing so, I also flushed the clutch fluid and the odd 2nd gear grinding stopped. It used to grind when shifting into 2nd when cold, but not anymore

[paulofto]

Had the same problem when I changed my gear oil from original to a generic 75W90 and I couldn't stand it. Drained the new oil and put in Porsche brand and the second gear issue disappeared. I know it is expensive but put in the Genuine Porsche transaxle oil and you won't regret it.

[Rav 986S]

Thanks all.

I checked the paperwork. The gearbox oil was changed to Syntrax 75/90 oil.

I have just sent my local OPC (Swindon, Wiltshire) a e-mail asking for a gearbox and clutch fluid change.

I will let you know how i get on.

[The Radium King]

second gear pop-out fixes.

expensive - requires taking transmission apart:

https://californiamotorsports.net/collections/porsche-986-boxster-5-speed-transmission-parts/products/cms-996-shift-arrester

cheap - 1/2 hour install:

2ND GEAR POP-OUT UPGRADE-GBOX Transmission

eric johnson (sp?) on this forum sells a version of the gbox piece as well - that's what i have in my car. 2nd gear engagement is a failure mode of the 986 6-speed transmission; fluid changes i think only delay the inevitable.

[paulofto]

Are you suffering from 2nd gear pop out or just difficulty engaging second when shifting? Like Radium King says if it is a pop out issue a fluid change may not help at all. If it is a balky 2nd gear due to synchro lag the right gear oil will likely fix it. It did for me but I never suffered from out right pop out issues.

[steved0x]

When cold I always had trouble going 1-2 and 2-3, a gearbox oil change helped and also rowing the gears a few times before cranking the car seems to help too. When it happened to me the symptom was when leaving first, I couldn't seem to be able to find 2nd or 3rd. Still get the occasional trouble finding 3rd from 2nd when cold.

[kk2002s]

Originally Posted by Rav 986S

... clutch fluid change ....
.

Clutch fluid is simply brake fluid. The brakes and Clutch share the same reservoir. So a Brake Fluid flush/Bleed and Clutch/Bleed will change fluid in clutch.
Is your clutch peddle behaving correctly?

[Rav 986S]

Thanks All. I appreciate your replies.

The clutch feels quite hard to press, but then I am used to driving an Audi as my daily.

I haven't had second gear pop out, only difficulty engaging. I will investigate the link you have provided.

[77'911s]

Make sure the oil they use is the factory stuff. I found on our 986, new motor/trans mounts along with a 997 shifter housing made a vast improvement to the car. The mounts are particularly bad on these cars.
Regards

[husker boxster]

At my last DE at Indy, my 3-2 downshift started getting crunchy. When I got home, I changed transaxle fluid. Used Motorcraft after reading several positive threads about it. No crunching now, although I haven't done a 3-2 downshift in earnest like l would on the track. However, based on the viscosity of what came out vs what went in, I'm not surprised it would be smoother.