2006 987 Schnell Short Shift Install

[Quickurt]

Okay, I've never done this, so you'll have to bear with me..........

First off, I LOVE the shifter!!!
Second, I bought one from another forum member and he had it at least one year before selling it. I don't know if Schnell's newer kit is the same, or not, but the one I got had a major problem that was not apparent until AFTER the install was done. Minor little detail........the shift knob did not fit!!! It went onto the shaft, most of the way, but the base of the shaft was different than the OEM 987 shaft and I had to modify the inside of the base of the knob to get it on and work. It was not that big of a deal for me, but I'm in the plastics business and have tools to work with plastic that most home mechanics will not have.
So, before you buy a kit from Schnell, make sure this has been adressed because the shift knob and leather trim are ONE PIECE, so you won't be able to just go buy a 996, or similar knob.

All right, here we go.........

First step is lift the leather shift boot by pulling up on the leather itself at the front edge (toward front of car). It has snap downs at the front edge and it then moves toward the front of the car to release L shaped clips at rear edge.

Next, rotate the shift boot 90 degrees, clockwise, by gripping the leather boot right at the base of the knob. It will "click" into it's fully turned position.

[Quickurt]

I don't know how to do multi pics, with explanation in between, so I guess I'll do a few pics per post......

Next remove shift knob by pulling straight up. Mine was VERY tight and I'm a pretty big guy and I had to pull like hell to get it off.

Next, locate the Torx T-25 screws through the holes in the carpet just in front of the two Center Consule leatherette side pads in the next two photos. The passenger side is just below the power outlet.

[Quickurt]

All the rest of the screws after removing the carpet covers are Torx T-20.
I will also now give you a great hint for working on interiors.
Even though all the screws use the same Torx head, they are NOT all the same screws. As you take each piece out, by these instructions, take a length of masking tape, stick the screws for THAT PART to the tape, fold the tape over on the screws, with enough left to stick the tape, with the screws, on the BACK of the part. This will keep all the proper diameter and length screws with the part they go with and make sure they go back into the hole they came out of.
Remove the pads by removing the two screws at the front edge as shown in the first pic below and then pulling them straight toward the rear of the car. The top clip is the hardest to remove. Make sure you keep the pads aligned properly as you pull them out, as in don't rotate them artound that pesky top clip, it may break if you don't pull that top clip straight out. It's hard to get hold of the top, soi use some patience.
Unplug the power outlet by depressing the two release tabs and pulling the plug out, as in the second pic.

[Quickurt]

There is one screw on each side of the front of the storage box at the base of the Center Consule - first pic. Remove both, but do not remove box yet.

The interior colored trim piece at the front of the shifter, wrapping around both sides of the Center Consule now is unclipped from the silver trim piece of the same basic shape, by popping it straight up from clips at the front and center of both side "fingers" and two clips at the rear edge (by the shifter). I did this with my thumbnail, but a PLASTIC wedge will also work. A screwdriver may scratch it, so please use something plastic. This is seen in the second pic.

[Quickurt]

Next is the silver trim piece. It has four screws around the shifter assembly, as seen in the first pic. Remove all four screws and this piece has two lugs that go straight down into a lip on the edge of the storage box. Lift the rear of the silver trim piece up to clear these lugs and then it slides straight back from an alignment lug on both front edges of the main tunnel cover housing.

[Quickurt]

Next, remove the Center Consule storage box. The storage box slides back, along with the next level up in the Consule. On my car this level contains the rear spoiler switch and PSM switch and slides out PART WAY with the storage box and then has a metal release clip on both sides that must both be depressed to release it. The location of the clips is seen in the first pic. Continue sliding the two parts out together. There is a small lug on top center of the upper housing that will release by slightly lowering the two units and the two units will separate as they come further out - second pic - allowing the storage box to come completely out. It's not as tedious as the description. I put the upper housing back into it's slot, to get it out of harms way, rather than unnplug the wiring.

[Quickurt]

Almost there!!

Now remove the screws retaining the main tunnel cover housing.
There is one on each side of the front of the housing - first pic.
There is one in the center that was under the edge of the storage box - second pic.
Remove the cover just in front of the handbrake - third pic.
There is a screw under that cover - fourth pic.
Open the center armrest storage box and the two screws at the back of it - fifth pic - allow you to remove the bottom plate so you can remove the other two screws. It looks like maybe you could remove the housing screws without removing the bottom plate, but why get stuff caught?

[Quickurt]

Alright, now the biggest pain and it would now be easier to have a second person to hold the tunnel housing.
The housing lifts up from the rear and the front "fingers" that wrap around both sides of the Center Consule will slide down to kind of rotate it around the shift lever housing that is finally visible.
There are numerous plugs and a wiring harness that must be removed and were impossible to photo. All of the plugs have little release clips. Take your time and use a light to find them and the plugs come right out. If you have to "force" it, you HAVE NOT released them. One is a round unit that rotates about 30 degrees and releases - first pic is where it was, near the ashtray.
There are two metal clips securing the harness toward the shift housing that slid off the plastic housing fingers. There are two black plastic clips that are tie wrap mounts that would NOT come off - second pic - I cut the tie wraps with a small pair of diagonal cutters and replaced the tie wraps when reassembling. Not a problem, at all, just be careful to not cut any of the wires.
With all the plugs unplugged and the wiring harness released, you may now remove the tunnel housing.

[Adam]

Be sure to let us know how you like the new feel. I put a B&M in my 986 and hated it so I played with the adjustments to no avail so I took it out right away. It took way too much muscle to get it into gear. More effort than anything else I've ever tried. I put in the 9x7 stock shifter and like it much better. Hopefully you'll like the new setup. SSK's seems to be a love it or hate it affair.

[Quickurt]

The first pic is the stock unit.
In order to make sure I returned the new shifter to the proper position, I put it in nuetral and measured from the end of the shift shaft to a spot on the Center Consule - second pic. I would suggest doing the same and taking a digital picture of it, to make sure you get the new shifter in the right spot. The top of the new lever is shaped differently than the OEM lever, so note the CENTER for measuring purposes.
From this point, the instructions from Schnell were great. I did everything as they suggested, except I did not remove the housing from the car. I have tools to push the new bushing housings into the shifter housing and saw no reason to disassemble more than was needed.
The cable ends work really well and BEFORE I removed the cable from them I both took very close up pics - third pic - AND COUNTED the ribs in from the end of the housing to the first rib on the cable, to make sure I knew where it went! By putting the cable back to it's exact location in it's housing (both of them) and adjusting the shift lever to my measurement with the adjustable bushings in the kit, it works perfectly.

[Quickurt]

Now, I did some testing and will pay the price so you don't have to.........
Since I didn't know for sure what I had done would work perfectly, I test drove the car BEFORE I put it all back together (and would have to take it all back apart if it did NOT work!!)
I got a measage when I drove it that I had an airbag system issue and now the airbag lite is staying on!! I made a call to my Porche tech friend and he said it will just need to be reset, BUT, if you follow my directions here, measure the shift lever position BEFORE you take it apart, take the time to make SURE you put the cables back where they belong in their housings and adjust the bushings to get your measurement right, EVERYTHING will work right and there is NO NEED to test drive the car with the wiring diconnected in the tunnel housing.

As all the great tech manuals now say - reassemble in reverse order!!
The only thing tricky going back together was the storage box and switch unit. The storage box has ribs on the side that fit into slots in the main Center Consule housing. As long as you get them lined up, it all just slides right in and the switch housing clicks in and everything is hunky-dory!
After I've driven it more than a half mile test, I'll let you know what I think, but so far, the effort to shift seems barely more than stock and the throw is REALLY short. Nearly as short as my formula cars were, and that is SHORT!!

Here is a pic of the unit all adjusted, before reassembling the interior.