986 S 2nd gear detent, any thoughts on the Ebay options?

[bwych]

I'm looking to try and alleviate the occasional 1st and 2nd gear bumpiness (for lack of a better word) and Gbox is making it surprisingly difficult to order from them. Has anyone tried any of the several Ebay listings for the detents? I'm sure they're all for the same part out of the same production run in China but they're much cheaper, and frankly appropriately priced for what it is. Any horror stories, or should I give it a go?

[Newsguy]

I try to avoid burdening a Porsche with anything Chinese. Prior experience is illuminating.
Having purchased the genuine article from Gbox, I’m pretty certain its construction is noticeably better.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

I try to avoid burdening a Porsche with anything Chinese. Prior experience is illuminating.
Having purchased the genuine article from Gbox, I’m pretty certain its construction is noticeably better.

you do realise than many "Porsche" parts are actualy made in China, not in Germany. Not everything made in China is crap

[Newsguy]

Please illustrate.

[bwych]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

Having purchased the genuine article from Gbox, I’m pretty certain its construction is noticeably better.

That's all fine and dandy but Gbox won't return my emails to them. Besides, the part itself is an AA battery sized piece of steel with a slot and hole cut in it. I searched as deep as I can and I can't find any horror stories, so I'm going to order one and see what I get, $23 shipped.

[Newsguy]

That’s certainly your choice.
I found them very responsive.
And while it seems a simple product, there are many instances of Chinese “engineered” products failing due to either a lack of care or insufficient materials knowledge. I have seen the frame of a Chinese motorcycle broken in a way I have never seen in being around motorcycles, for pushing 50 years.
Let us know how it goes.

[nuvolari]

I had a miserable time with Gbox also. i bought their detent and mine would not come out so I kept calling them for help, and I mean after paying $175 for the small metal detent, I figure they could spend some time helping me but eventually they would not return my calls or contact me. I even sent them photos of my detent after I finally got it out: after removing the transmission and then the casing to remove the detent from the inside! It seems my detent was spread eagle at the bottom where the roller sits so there was no way it would ever come out the way it's supposed to from the top. The guy at Gbox apparently never had a clue that could happen. Admittedly mine was a strange case but it should still interest him but never heard from them again.
So I say to give the chinese version a try definitely especially for the price and if it works, that's great. If it doesn't, you can still buy a "better" detent but I think there's another Porsche specialist trans shop that sells one and I would use them as I'm sure they will be better with support and qurstions than Gbox!
Good luck!
Here's a pic of my old detent and why it would not come out: