Shifting issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Adam · 04-13-2010, 12:28 PM

Hey guys I've had an ongoing issue with my Boxster ever since new and I'd like to get it solved if possible. I've noticed from day the car left the dealer lot the shifter in my Boxster was never smooth or easy to shift. I drove an 02 boxster for a test drive and it was like butter compared to my shifter. Well over the years I've just learned to accept it then I just drove a friends and forum member's 04 Boxster S and it was way smoother than mine was well. Since it was hard to shift with the stock shifter and it had a long throw I swapped in a 997/987 shifter hoping for an improvement last year and if anything it's harder to shift. I've tried adjusting cables and all that. What could this be? I was thinking a sticky shift cable perhaps? Or maybe a motor mount? It seems like it has gotten progressively worse over the years. Any help suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

sasha055 · 04-13-2010, 12:36 PM

I have same problem in my 00 Boxster, Shifting is not smooth, It's like it's too tight.. and sometimes I have to push it hard especially when down shifting.
Also when accelerating I can feel movement in the shifter

I'm blaming my engine mount until I change it (scheduled in a month or two).

Thanks
Sasha

Boxtaboy · 04-13-2010, 12:48 PM

Did you check if your shift cables (under the car near the tranny) are still seated in their brackets? If they pop out of their brackets, your shifting will not be right.

Check out this thread (2nd page), where there is a picture of where the cables are supposed to be firmly seated in their brackets.

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21740&page=2&highlight=shift+cable

landrovered · 04-13-2010, 02:50 PM

I had the same problem and had just assumed that the 2nd gear synchro was shot and that I would need a rebuild on the gearbox. Then I changed my front motor mount. The problem is not completely cured but it is 70% better and I have been able to lower the gearbox rebuild way down on my list. Now I will do it when my clutch needs to be changed.

jhandy · 04-13-2010, 03:57 PM

i had issues getting into second as well. Sometimes first was an issue. Motor mount fixed a lot of the problems.

However I recently changed my tanny oil with Redline 75/90 and OMG!! the shifting is like butter, the car is silent, much much much smoother.

I cant express how 40$ of oil seems to have brought back my new car.

I had 70K miles on original oil.

James

Adam · 04-13-2010, 04:52 PM

Thanks for the input so far guys. Just fyi it's hard to engage all the gears, not just 2nd. I haven't had the usual 2nd gear problems a lot of the 6 speed guys seem to have luckily. I'm thinking switch trans fluid first with a quality synthetic and if that doesn't alleviate the issue look more deeply into the motor mount. Problem with the motor mount is you can't tell if it's bad without removing them right?

Can someone explain why a failing motor mount causes shifting problems? Is it a misalignment thing? What about the shift cable? I googled it and not much popped up at all....apparently those don't cause many problems?

coreseller · 04-13-2010, 05:20 PM

I just went through the tranny rebuild thing, 2nd gear issue. I changed the tranny lube prior and replaced the motor mount, neither fixed the problem. When the mount goes bad the entire motor lifts in it's "cradle" during acceleration. The torque transmitted in the driveline lifts and drops the motor on it's mounts. When this occurs the slack / tension in the shifter cables (there are two of them going to the tranny) is affected which could cause your problems. An easy way to tell if your mount is bad is to have someone watch the exhaust tips as you let out the clutch and pull away. If they tilt downward a bit your motor mount is likely bad. Good luck......Mark.

Adam · 04-14-2010, 02:02 PM

Picked up some Redline GL-5 75w90ns tranny lube today. I'll put it in soon and see if it smooths things out.

yimmy149 · 04-14-2010, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

Picked up some Redline GL-5 75w90ns tranny lube today. I'll put it in soon and see if it smooths things out.

After I replaced my front mount and my fluid (with same redline you bought), I found the car shifts much nicer when the transmission is warm, but worse when cold. The first 10 minutes of driving really suck, the next 30 are decent, and then after that it's great.