New transmission .. no reverse .. wth

[vijen6]

Hi guys,

I just picked up my car about 2 hours ago from the dealership. It had a bad transmission ( 6 speed ) but luckily was still on warranty so dealership ( stevens creek porsche ) replaced it. Transmission was shipped in from Porsche germany, so it might be brand new, but could also be a rebuild. No warranty on the new part.

I picked up the car and drove it straight out of the parking lot with no problems, and stopped at a coffee shop 4 miles away to get some work done. When I was leaving, I COULD NOT get the car into reverse at all. I tried to be gentle with it. I tried to be a bit forceful with it. I tried to shift it in from other gears. I tried it with the car on and with the car off. No way that tranny was going to get into reverse.

Had to ask for some help pushing the car back out of the parking spot before I could drive off. Drove it another 20 miles home and tried to reverse again. No luck.

Does anyone know what could be happening? Was it installed incorrectly? Was it a defective transmission?

I'm calling the dealership first thing tomorrow morning, but hopefully one of you can shine some light before that.

Thanks.

[therock88]

My thought is the linkage was connected improperly. Does not sound like you are having any other issues, noises, etc. If the linkage is wrong, or snagged, you would not be able to get it into reverse.

I think that is it? Would be a pretty simple repair if so.

Good luck!

DC

[therock88]

On a darker note...If the transmission was rebuilt, could be some internal gears or fork etc....But does not sound like that is it...So let's assume linkage :)

[vijen6]

The car drives beautifully .. going forward .. and only fowrard.

Could it still be linkage if the car drives forward or does that make it more probably that the reverse gear itself is messed up inside the tranny?

At this point I've tried everything I could including trying to find reverse left of 2nd and right of 5th and 6th. Just incase it was 'moved' and they forgot to tell me about it. LOL.

I'll drop the car off tomorrow and hopefuly find out for sure. *crossing finger that it is linkage*

Thanks guys

Edited January 27, 2010 by vijen6

[therock88]

Yes, if the linkage is bad it could drive perfect forward, but you could be unable to move the forks in the appropriate manner to engage the reverse gear....But it could be more serious. Update when you find out.

Good luck.

DC

[koendp]

I had the same after replacing rms and clutch. Took the car back and wasn't able to put gear in reverse. Did not notice until I tried driving backwards out of my garage. Was not serious, just some piece bended at the transmission. Dealer replaced that piece and it never happened again.

Apparently it was bended moving the transmission while doing the replace.

[vijen6]

Quick update:

DC, you were correct I think.

The dealership took the car back for inspection. The service rep also thinks that the linkage is the issue, but he's confuse because the 'new' linkage style doesnt have alot of adjustments. Small change of it actually being the tranny itself, in which case I'll need another one shipped in.

I'll find out more later.

[therock88]

That is great! I hope that is it, as it will be a quick repair and you will not have to wait for Christmas for a new tranny to arrive from Germany!

I attached a picture of what the linkage on an 02 Boxster looks like for your reference.

DC

Edited January 28, 2010 by therock88

[vijen6]

Thanks DC,

I appreciate the time you took to post that up for me. The dealership took the car back and fixed it within the same day without any hassles. It drives beautifully now, both backward and forward ( bravo to Mark Williams in the service dept for taking care of it promptly ).

On a side note, probably unrelated, but the alternator died basically the day after I got the car back, so its back there again for the 3rd time in a week. That saying "A porsche spends 90% of its time in the shop, and the other 10% driving to the shop" has been true for me for basically the last month! LOL.

[therock88]

...........But on that 10% of the time they are driven to the shop, they sure are fun! :)

[flyingpenguin]

That is great! I hope that is it, as it will be a quick repair and you will not have to wait for Christmas for a new tranny to arrive from Germany!

I attached a picture of what the linkage on an 02 Boxster looks like for your reference.

DC

I did the RMS / IMS last week and with the tranny out gave it a thorough cleaning. While rolling it over I must have bent the L shaped bracket (#18 in the diagram). A gentle tug with a tire iron put it back into its place and all is good now.

JP

[aeshultz]

Vigen;

Can I ask what was the original issue with your transmission? Boxster S 6 speed, correct?

I've got a bad one also, and am interested if others have the same issue as I. Thanks.