Shifter broke on highway AAAHHHH!!!!
 

I have a story followed by a few questions,

So I'm driving down the highway, when I realized my exit was coming up and I needed to be over a lane. I downshifted from 5th to 4th and when I tried to go back into gear all the sudden my RPM's went crazy like I was in neutral. Weird. So I try to put myself into gear and the shifter was completely limp, flopping around like a broken arm. I was able to pull off to the side of the road and curse for 10 minutes. After cursing, I lifted the boot of the shifters nob so I could see down where the shifter meets the cable end (I believe that's what it's called). It was disjointed. Long story short, I went back with a bunch of tools and have verified, the cable end was indeed broken. I was able to repair the broken part (a small piece of plastic about 10mm around) with super glue, this allowed me to get my car off of the side of the highway and into my driveway until I can order the part I need. Here are my questions:

1. I just got a new clutch. I had a local place that is not a dealer, but deals 90% with Porsches put it in. Is it possible they did something wrong that could have caused this to happen a week later? I suspect not, because I don't believe they mess with the shifter itself when replacing the clutch, but I'm not sure.

2. Has anyone had this happen before? I shift hard and fast, but doesn't everyone that drives a Porsche? And when it broke I wasn't doing a perticularly hard shift.

3. Is this part actually called a Cable End? I posted a picture from the B&M short throw shifter manual (VERY helpful), the part that broke is the black piece that is labled Q in the picture. It is the joint that connects the Shifter to the Shift Cables.

I threw in some extra pictures of the work that happend on the side of the highway with 50 bucks worths of tools. Enjoy.

Q.........

That's the culprit. Where did you get that middle one from? Is this a "cable end"?

I believe that they remove the entire engine/trans unit to do the clutch. If so, don't they have to disconnect the shifter from the linkage in some way?

BTW-this is a good time to buy a SS kit from Vertex!

:cheers:

Clutch replacement doesn't do anything near the shifter. The shifter goes to the gears and is not attached to the clutch itself.

I'm with Brucelee, if I had that baby apart I'd go ahead and get the Vertex short shifter while you can install it in 5-10 minutes. :dance:

I'd get the Porsche short shifter kit since it includes the ends that broke on yours.

R.........

Okay, anyone who runs into this here is some helpful stuff.

This is a very easy fix, just follow the instructions for the short throw shifter from B&M Racing at http://www.bmracing.com/media/products/pdf/67.pdf

The only tools you need are:
- T-20 Torx Driver
- T-30 Torx Driver
- 10MM Socket Driver (helps to have an extension)
- Flathead screw driver (for prying things)
- Needle nose pliers (optional but helpful)
- Soft hammer

The part you need to replace is called a "Shift Cable Fastener" and is Porsche part number 99642414700, at least for a 2001 Boxster. Cost is $20.00.

S......

or you could buy one of the slick shift cable fasteners like in the pics posted above by Tool Pants. they're cheap and they won't ever break. they can be had lots of places.