Schnell Short Shift kit problems! You get what you pay for!
 

The short shift kit is making a very strange
noise during shifting, sounds like the shifter lower
metal part is striking the circumference of the
housing especially on gears 1, 3 and 5 the noise is
very annoying and to be honest terrible.

To be honest I should of purchase b&m instead of saving me a few bucks, dont know how to correct the issue (if it can be fixed) and now I lost money in the process....

DO NOT BUY SCHNELL PERIOD!!! :mad: :( :barf:

I noticed when I installed mine there is a small plastic piece under the cables that really doesnt do anything, its green. This piece of plastic just snaps into place and is right below the adjusters. The cables would snag this plastic and make a popping sound. I just removed that piece and all is good. I ran through the gears before I put the center counsel back in. Did you do the install? Im sure thats all the noise you are hearing. Im surprised noone else had this problem. I dont have a Schnell shifter either.

Schnell!
 

No, the problem is not the green plastic but the metal part from the shifter that is hitting the housing of the shifter. Strange but true, I will be doing a double check sometime today however that is what the problem is. Nothing else is in the way, its a clean install....

I bought the cheapest shifter alive on ebay, its a shorter throw than the schnell and it cost me $60. No problems. But you should try to see if there are any plastic washers in between the stick and the housing. Or maybe yours came upside down and you need the take the stick out and switch it.

I had been thinking about a short shift kit ever since I got my Boxster. I suprised when I started test driving the cars how long the throw was in the stock cars. Stock shifters felt very smooth, but it was the longest throw I have used before.

I started thinking about a short shift kit, but I was concerned about some of the reports of others that had put the kits in. Then when I was in the shop recently getting a new clutch and flywheel installed, I had the chance to drive another customers car that had the B&M short shift kit and it felt very nice, so I had one installed while they were doing the clutch. I love it, very smooth, gives me a new smile every time I go through the gears.

Ed

:cheers:

Yeah, mine is the 60.00 dollar one on E-bay too and the thing works great, Im thinking its the installer.

I had the same problem with the Schnell shifter but like ohioboxster I removed the green tab, it does absolutely nothing I don't know why it is there. I called customer support and they were fantastic. If it isn't the green tab you may want to give them a ring. I am sure they will walk you through it.

@ Ohio & Boggtown,

How does the eBay shift feel comparede to stock? Is it easy to use? Does it go into gear easily? Does it make it a pain to go into first? Is it constructed well?

@ Blinkwatt, I cant believe there is any difference between the 60 dollar one and the 230 dollar one. It shifts great and looks to be a quality piece of machined aluminum. Get the cheap one and if you really wanted to you could tell everyone it was a B&M, lol.

Have you driven the B & M? Does it make it hard to go into certain gears? If I didn't like it would it be easy to go back to stock?

Blink I listened to everyone out there and bought a B&M about a year ago. Let me tell you, if you like smooth easy shifts I would skip on any SSK for your boxster. It was really, really hard to get into first and reverse. The rest of the gears engaged a bit easier but still way notchier and with much more effort than stock. Plus, there did seem to be a clunk of some sort like someone else mentioned when shifting into 1st, 3rd and 5th. I went back to stock after only a day or two after redoing the install to insure it was done right. It was. You can go back to stock, but the catch is you can't return the SSK and get your money back because during the install proccess you MUST break the stock bushings and use the ones supplied in the kit. Now I have a stock shifter with B&M bushings. Those were two very expenisve aluminum bushings let me tell you. My advice is to try before you buy on this product. I think the factory shifter is much better despite the longer throws.

I agree. I've driven a couple Boxsters with the B&M and the Ebay clone shifters, and don't like the feel. Yeah, the shift action is shorter, but the smooth, buttery feel is no more, and the gearbox ends up being more notchy...especially in cold weather. Reminded me of the shift action of an 86 Mustang GT one of my high school friend's used to have.

I suggest you drive one with a B&M before switching.

Mines not hard to get into first or reverse at all. Its awesome. Same with you ohio? Yes, very quality piece of work, my stick was installed wrong as another member who bought it told me, so all I did was undo the bolt, turn it around, and re do the bolt and its perfectly straight up and down.

All I'm saying is there is a big increase of shift effort when I put the B&M shifter in. I had it checked by two people...one being a certified mechanic and they also agreed that it felt like crap and verified the install. I dunno...maybe my car is an anomoly (sp?)

It sounds like the shift cables need to be adjusted. The fore-aft cable basically adjusts the position of the shift lever relative to the housing. If the lever is contacting the housing it sounds like it is moving too far in one direction. This can actually be dangerous because if the lever is not allowed to move far enough the gears may not be fully engaging.

I would suggest moving the cable a couple of notches in the appropriate direction and see if the problem persists.

I personally hate the action of the short shift kits out there, they shorten the throw way too much and make it hard to engage the gears. The factory throw is long and ropey but at least I've never missed a shift.

I appreciate the advice but I've been there done that with cable positioning. We tried everying in the book but bottom line to several people the shift feel was pretty bad and unacceptable.

I was making the suggestion for the original poster.

Agreed though, the shift feel is terrible. Nothing you can do about it except put the stock shifter back in. that's what I did.

Actually there is an alternative. Put your stock shifter back in but use the EVOM swift shift kit http://www.evoms.com/marketplace/ViewProduct.asp?Now=12%2F5%2F2006+8%3A58%3A30+AM&P roductID=%7B66A0842F%2D117B%2D4EA1%2DAEA7%2D9910D0 A2A6FB%7D&OrgID=%7BCA5E16BC%2DD877%2D4137%2D8237%2 D7EB9084DD3D8%7D&ParentID=%7B39421AB2%2D78D9%2D49C 0%2D8628%2D86236EF51945%7D&Curr=%7B39421AB2%2D78D9 %2D49C0%2D8628%2D86236EF51945%7D

The combination of stock shifter, roller bearing bushings and heim joint linkage gives you about 20% shorter throw with a better feel than the stock unit.

It's not cheap but it's worth every penny IMHO (I have it and love it). I removed a Schnell shifter that I hated to install this.

FYI, Brandywine Porsche (i think) had an add in this month's Excellence for the factory short shifter (usually $450) for the 986 / 996 on sale for like $199.

Got It Done!
 

Apparently I did the installed correctly however I didnt adjust the shifter cables, got it done today and finally I could say that the shifter does work nicely, no more knocking or metal hitting the housing. Silly me! Quess I dont have good mechanical skills, lol!

thank god!!!!! I have the schnell siting in my trunk still and can't decide to put it on or not.....okay, how is the shifting cause the normal shifter is rough into first when it gets really cold. How does it feel?

i've got one in my 986 and i love it. it feels a bit notchy at first; the throw is a LOT shorter than you think. give yourself some time to get used to it and i believe you will be hooked. the stock throw is SOOOO long.

I just talked to Brandywine. It is $250 and is actually a B&M. He said that Porsche sources them to make it for them but it is the same thing you can buy elsewhere. They do back it up with "Porsche warranty" whatever that means. They also said three hours installation. I bit on the high side...

I bought the ebay kit. The aluminum is nicely machined and anodized. The shift shaft appears to be well made with a roller bearing in the hinge for smooth operation. Also the hardware is quality material.

I was a bit dissapointed with the plastics that they used for the bushings though. It appears to be a nylon. I had some teflon bushings made to replace both the cup bushings and the washers that ride between the shaft and aluminum housing. It should help to reduce friction in the linkage and improve effort and feel.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...r/HPIM0520.jpg

The teflon bushing is on the left, the stock on the right.

Shifter
 

I miss the nice smooooooth flow with the oem shifter however the shifter is nice, shifting is shorter and faster and somewhat smooth but not creamy smooth, its a sport shifter so it will be a little different anyway I am happy. I did the install myself just make sure you adjust the cables once you install the shifter, also do a test drive before you re install all of the components, trust me it will save you tons of time. And NO, whoever charges 3 hrs for labor is CRAZY, the install is super easy and I am no professional mechanic. Patience and time will do the trick.

I take it you bought the $55/60 Ebay clone.

What kind of place do you go to to get teflon bushings made and where do you find the teflon stock?

Yup, the cheap-o parts.

I'd check with a freelance machine shop to get teflon parts made. They can often find material for you.

I installed the shifter tonight. As was stated above, it's not a hard job at all. My biggestproblem was getting the stock bushings off the housing. There was a lot of plastic flying around!

It feels great. I'm really happy with the shift action. It's still not as nice as the unit in the Miata, but I'm happy with it.

I'm a little worried about the ball-in-slot that replaces the ball-in-socket-in-slot used for side to side motion. The ball can wear a groove into the slot over time. Porsche's design is more robust. I guess only time will tell.

Hi,

I suspect that the Bushing is Delrin, and not Nylon. It would most likely prove to be more wear-proof than the softer Teflon one over time...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

The yellow tint is the giveaway. It's the natural color of nylon. Delrin's white when not colored.

Teflon is typically used for bushing applications like this. It's the perfect application. Although Delrin would also be a good material here as you correctly state that it's wear restance is higher, it's friction coefficient is about 2.5 times that of teflon.

My buddy Ken made me some replacement "stock-like" shifter bushings on his lathe using some delrin stock. I had been using the stock shifter with the B+M bushings, but I wanted to sell the B+M (piece of notchy-shifting garbage that it was). They work awesome!

This looks interesting. Anyone tried or seen it? Anyone ever seen any installation instructions?

http://www.bmracing.com/index.php?id=products&sid=4&cat=3&subcat=15&pid=31 7

I have no experience but one of the local 996 owners has the unit that bolts to the transmission linkage.

Great picture. That explains exacly how it works. It's adjusting the throw of the linkage at the inlet to the transmission instead of at the shifter. I've never seen that type of short-shifter before.

On that particlular car it doesn't look like the new bracket is installed, just the lever.