Sticky 5-speed
 

I just started to have issues with my shifter. It seems really sticky going East to West. It seems like it won't even return to the middle without some help. Has anybody had any similar experiences? This is my 01 base Box with 122k miles. I really noticed the stickyness after driving to work during the hard rains in SoCal. I went through some really high water...even got the carpet under the seats wet. Any ideas?

I'm betting the grease inside the nylon bushings that allow side to side movement has dried up and is causing a bind. There is one on each side of the shifter. The bushings aren't replaceable/serviceable. You can either replace the whole shifter assembly or just buy a short shifter that does come with serviceble bushings.

Which short shift kit would you recommend?

Personally I'm not a fan of SSK's for the Boxster because they increase effort and notchiness too much for my taste. For about the same price as a genuine B&M shifter you can get the whole 997 stock shifter assembly. I'm not talking about the 997 short shifter assembly, just the regular one. It actually shortens the throw slightly over the 986 assembly and give a more positive shift feel. It is very similar to the 986 unit and drops right in place with no mods. I think Suncoast porsche has the best price on them. They were around $180 awhile back.

Looks like they've gone up a few bucks, but not bad for the whole assembly. Link below
http://www.****************************************************.com/product/997SCU.html?Category_Code=986Tran

Adam-
Thanks for your input. Just curious...did you have a similar issue to mine? You seem very knowledgeable.

ps Happy New Year!

-Wil

I haven't had the exact same issue but I've had my shifter apart many times and have tried different shifter setups. When I had a B&M I noticed the same problem when I put to much tension on the bushings( there is a set screw to adjust bushing slop). The shifter wouldn't center itself and it was tougher to move side to side. My guess is the stock bushings are shot and binding up on yours. Porsche packs a little bit of grease in there and it's very possible it ran dry causing the issue you're having. Unfortunately Porsche designed the shifter so you can't remove the stock plastic bushings and repack them with grease without breaking them. Yeah, have a safe and happy New Year as well!