Can't shift into reverse/5th - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ChefCarnivore · 08-16-2009, 04:07 AM

I have a new problem with my boxster 97. On the way to the supermarket I found that I could not shift into 5th gear. Then when I left I could not get into reverse and had to push the car along with a volunteer backwards into the parking lot.

What should I be looking for and is this something best left to a dealer or porsche mechanic?

In the meantime I'll be looking at the Bentley service manual.

Boxtaboy · 08-16-2009, 04:42 AM

My guess is that it can be one of two things: either your shifter cables in the center console became loose from the shifter and needs adjustment, or the shift cables that run underneath the car and connect to the transmission came loose from their clamps and need to be re-secured.

Both not really a big deal to fix.

JAAY · 08-16-2009, 07:23 AM

Sounds like the the set screw came loose that connects the cables to the tranny. Easy fix if it is that. Take off the the little access panel on the passenger side of of the car (in the rear) it is 2 10mm bolts and then the set screw is also a 10mm bolt. It just lines back up with with a small hole in the input shaft on the tranny. Good luck.

ChefCarnivore · 08-16-2009, 08:00 AM

Jaay,

It is not clear to me where the access panel is located on the passenger side. Is this on the consul or the back panel by the firewall?

JAAY · 08-16-2009, 09:35 AM

Sorry about that. It is under the car in the rear on the passanger side. You have to Jack up the rear passanger side and then look fo a triangular shaped piece of aluminum. That is the panel I am talking about. Your linkage hides just beyond that. If I were home I would Jack up my car and take a photo for you. You can email me your number if you want me to walk you through it. Djmanjay@yahoo.com

clickman · 08-17-2009, 07:52 AM

Was the shifter really floppy after it happened? I had that happen in my '01 after a few too many hard pushes into reverse.

I found the left shift cable had come off right at the shifter. The cheesy little black retainer had broken allowing the end assembly to slip off. See pics. You may be able to see this just by pulling up the shifter boot.

At the time I took off the console (using the great B&M shifter installation instructions) and pushed the female piece back on. I assumed there was a retainer but couldn't find it. I didn't find it until a couple weeks ago when I replaced the shifter with the 9x7 short shifter.

If this has happened to you, here are your options:
1. Push it back on like I did without the retainer and shift carefully (normally) into reverse. Mine worked that way for years.
2. You may be able to replace the retainer, if you can get one from Porsche, but the shifter would have to be disassembled to do it.
2. Replace the shifter, likely very sloppy anyways, with the 9x7 normal shifter or short shifter. The normal one is pretty cheap, and I got my short shifter for under $300.

ChefCarnivore · 08-20-2009, 06:03 AM

Thanks for the help. I do not Understand the 2nd pic. Where are we looking? The boxster is a '97 with a manufacturing date of 2/97. So the Bentley Manual shows a more complicated attachment to the tranny. Q1) how many cables are there? I forgot to say that 1st and 2nd as well as 5th and reverse are not working.

This is the first day I can even look at the job but it's going to be 95F today so I'm not working on it till Friday or Saturday in the morning when it's reasonably cool. The humidity here in Raleigh is a killer. Wish I had an air conditioned Wrench Garage. (see post)

Q2) What gets replaced with the short shifter?

ChefCarnivore · 08-20-2009, 06:06 AM

B&M to me sounds like a can of baked beans. What is the "great B&M installation instructions"? Where can I find them?

yimmy149 · 08-20-2009, 10:09 AM

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=b%26m

Brad Roberts · 08-21-2009, 09:59 AM

Chef,

It sounds like the cable that runs closest to the driver at the shifter has come out of the rear cable support that is mounted to the passenger side of the tranny. The drivers side cable handles the left to right motion of the shifter and translates it to the tranny. The part above he is showing you can also fail and give you the issue you are reporting. The part above he is showing us is at the base of the shifter and on the driver side of the shifter. That coupler goes to the cable that handles the side to side translation from shifter to cable. Typically I see the front to rear motion cable connector break!! Not the one he posted... BUT... two times this week now people have shown me pics of this side to side motion piece broken.

My suggestion? After determining it is a shifter problem or a cable problem? If it is the shifter? Buy a new shifter. New 997 stock shifter retails for $175 and I can barely keep them on the shelf!!

The rear plate: It is a heat shield to keep the heat off the shifters cables. Heat from the muffler/cats. It is just in front of the muffler behind the passenger side wheel.

Item 11 fails 2x more often than item 10 and both run about $15 retail.

Then the cables pop out of item 12 (it bolts to the transmission)

Brad Roberts · 08-21-2009, 10:02 AM

Item 21 is used prior to buying factory Porsche parts

B

ChefCarnivore · 08-22-2009, 04:55 AM

That diagram makes things clearer. I assume that the consul around the shifter will need to be removed to get to parts 10 and 11. If 10 has come off is it a forgot conclusion that the tranny conection has also come off? I would have assumed that the attachment on the tranny cable end would still be intact and not depend on the shifter end connection, but I could be wrong.
Today the temp is predicted to be in the mid 80s so I will be able to work on this.

I'll let you know what happens.

Brad Roberts · 08-22-2009, 11:34 AM

Correct. The consul around the shifter will need to come off to access this area. You are in luck. There are only 2 hidden screws!!

I'm around all day today if you need to call: toll free 877-Spec-Box

B

ChefCarnivore · 08-25-2009, 10:33 AM

I finally got to work on the car today. The shifter seems to be working correctly. The problem must be the attachment to the tranny. I'll tackle this next.

To get to that point I guess the right rear wheel will be removed and a jack stand put there to get to the tranny location. :dance:

tommy986 · 03-20-2010, 11:57 AM

I just lost Reverse, 1st , 3rd and 5th.
2nd, 4th and 6th work fine.

where should i look first?

thanks

Brad Roberts · 03-20-2010, 01:07 PM

Take a peek underneath at the passenger side rear of the tranny. I'm betting one of the two cable connectors has come apart. The cable running the lower arm with the weight hanging low next to the tranny is the cable that controls the front-rear motion at the shifter.

I'll see if I have a pic for you.

B

tommy986 · 03-21-2010, 07:04 PM

One of the cables popped out of the bracket (number 12 in the diagram).
What would cause this? Do I need to replace a part?

thanks

Brad Roberts · 03-21-2010, 07:07 PM

Want the cheap fix? I use safety wire on the race cars, and a zip tie on street cars to keep them in the bracket. The cable housing has two clips on it. They break off and as far as I can tell, they are not available separately.

B

tommy986 · 03-21-2010, 07:41 PM

Thanks Brad!

The clips seem to be intact. It snapped back into place and I can't pull it out.
I'll put zip tie on it to ensure it stays.

Brad Roberts · 03-21-2010, 07:50 PM

I couldn't find any 6 speed pics. I see this more often on 5 speeds (but they both utilize the same crappy system)

B