Strange shifter cable problem, can use some help please

[Doug427]

A while back while driving my 2002 Boxster S home my shifter got stuck. I could get reverse, first and second. I couldn't move the shifter to the right in the neutral gate to get to the 3-4 and 5-6 shift gates. I removed the cable ends from the transmission and the problem remained, so I knew the issue wasn't in the transmission, which was a huge relief.

Today I finally got around to removing the console and shifter. Now, the cables are sitting in the car disconnected from everything. The grey cable is stuck! It's not the shifter, it's not the trans. The cable mounting ends seem OK at both ends, and the bracket holding the shifter cables to the trans seem fine. The cables seem to be mounted in the transmission mounting brackets just fine. I can move the grey cable end in and out about 1 inch freely, but when trying to push it in further it feels and sounds like it hits an obstruction and stops. The cable end and cable move very freely up until that point, so the cable itself is not seized, it's hitting an obstruction somewhere inside the cable itself. I don't know how else to describe it. I have tried moving the cable in and out from both the shifter end and the trans end. The ends themselves are not hitting anything. Whatever is hitting, it's not at either cable end.

When I move the cable end in and out and it hits the obstruction, it sounds as if it's somewhere behind the firewall inside the engine compartment. Again, working alone as I am it's hard to tell.

Have you guys ever heard of anything like this before? Any of the usual Porsche "oops, they all do that eventually" things I need to know about?

Luckily a while back while visiting Woody's place, I picked up a good used set of shifter cables from him, as I was there anyway and my shifter always felt tight and stiff. I figured money well spent in case I needed them. Now it looks like I may have made a good decision.

How hard is it to replace the cables? Can anyone point me to a good DIY link on it? Again, the car is a 2002 Boxster S. I'm certainly hoping it's something easy that I can get around having to replace the cables. Just looking at them it seems that it will be a pain in the a$$ to do.

Any info or help at all on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!