2ND Gear

[NigelE]

Hi.
New to Boxsterland. Just purchased a 2003 Boxster S with 23k miles. Sometimes it jumps out of 2nd Gear. I have only done 300 miles and worried that this will manifest into an expensive bill.
The car is going back into the dealers because the clutch needs changing, but I dont think that is the cause of the problem.
Questions are:-
1) Do you think it is the clutch.
2) Is it cable adjustment
3) I have seen on the net that the 6 speed box has a potential problem and is it fixable or do they all do it.
4) If it is fixable what do they need to change.
The car is under warentee by a main dealer ( Audi ) and I want to make sure that the problem is sorted before the warentee runs out.
Thanks

[heyjae]

Sorry to pass along potentially bad news; good news if your dealer will do the same under your warranty. I had the same problem with my 2000 S and they replaced my transmission under warranty several years ago. It hasn't happened since.

[blue2000s]

Same here, tranny replaced before I bought the car.

[NigelE]

Thanks for reply.
Since I dont think the Audi dealer could try and repair I hope they will replace under guarentee since I have only had it 25 days and 300 odd miles. (Sales of goods act?)

[blinkwatt]

I believe the issue is the 2nd gear syncho going bad. Porsche used to just replace trannys left and right. Now they attempt to actually rebuild them from what I understand.

[ianp]

Just joined this forum and seen your post. I also have a 2003 Boxster S bought with 12k miles. 2nd Gear jumps out just after clutch is released. I have done some research on this and most helpful explanation came from Baz at Hartech Bolton? UK. If I've got the explanation right, the problem can be caused by worn 2nd gear synchro, but can also be caused by 2nd gear not engaging fully due to wear/tolerancing on the actuating mechanism. I'm told the gear shift moves the gear part of the way into engagement and the 'slick shift' mechanism takes over and moves the gear fully home. Wear, combined with wide tolerances can lead to the gear not being moved far enough into engagement by the actuating machanism (springs,balls etc) and the gear pops out when load is applied. I have partially overcome this by moving the gearstick 'positively' into 2nd gear and holding on to the stick for a moment.
Many gearbox rebuilders are happy to change 2nd gear and synchro etc but this may not be the root of the problem. Steve at Sports and Classic also very helpful
Good luck if you haven't already fixed this. I've also had very badly corroded discs and noisy rear RHS wheel bearing.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by NigelE

Hi.
New to Boxsterland. Just purchased a 2003 Boxster S with 23k miles. Sometimes it jumps out of 2nd Gear. I have only done 300 miles and worried that this will manifest into an expensive bill.
The car is going back into the dealers because the clutch needs changing, but I dont think that is the cause of the problem.

Clutch needs changed after 23k miles? That is awfully low mileage for needing a new clutch. Makes me think the PO launched it at high RPM 10,000 times then speed shifted into second now causing your 2nd gear problem.

[Lil bastard]

Second gear balk rings or synchros always experience the greatest wear, but due to the nature of synchros cannot be made any more robust than any of the other ones.

If you think about it, everytime you climb through the gears, you engage second - not always true for higher gears. And the difference in total shifts - 2nd vs higher gears, can really mount up over time.

And, if you downshift to slow the car to a stop, you always hits second. Downshifting to a stop, especially in normal traffic and speeds is really bad for the car, especially the synchros and drivetrain mounts and is actually an indicator of poor driving skill, and, imho, disrespect for the machinery.

Back in the day, when cars had mechanical (vs hydraulic) drum brakes which were much more subject to overheating and fade, it was absolutely necessary to downshift the tranny and use engine braking to assist the brakes. But with today's modern hydraulic systems and disc brakes on all 4 corners, it is totally unecessary. Still, people think it's cool, so the practice continues.

It costs about $140-$160 to replace the pads, but a grand or more to replace synchros. IMHO, downshifting in regular traffic and normal speeds isn't cool... it's dumb. Now, in an emergency, that's completely different. In such cases, you do everything you can to shed speed as quickly as possible, then, downshifting or even throwing out an anchor if you have one is appropriate.

As others have said, a clutch needed at only 23k mi. is a sure indicator that the car was abused in the past or driven by a totally unskilled driver. Hopefully, for your sake, the dealer will step up. If not, you need to have the tranny broken down and the synchro(s) replaced. I wouldn't recommend taking it to just any garage. The UK has many porsche specialists who will do the job correctly. Do a search for Autofarm, amongst others.

[roadracer311]

Not to get too far off track here, but as the car is double-clutched correctly, it shouldn't wear out the synchros to downshift. I agree though, down shifting just to come to a stop at a light, is sort of pointless.