Stiff Gears

[JamesD]

Hi all,

Ahhh the joy's of 996 life, another day another problem, but I still love her.

So here's the story.

2001 996 C4 6sp Cab. RHD 75880miles on the clock.

My gears have become noticeably more difficult to change.

1st 2nd & especially more so the reverse gear.

I have to wait a moment paying attention to fully engage the clutch and try again sometimes with force for reverse to fully engage.

I've also notice a squeaking noise from the clutch when I press down, it can sometimes be heard from outside the car too?

Could it be one of the following:

1. A syncro issue?

2. Gearbox oil change?

3. Cable's realignment?

4. New gearbox? (not this one please)

What do you's think?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

As always, the expertise from you all is much appreciated, and really does help.

:renntech:

Edited February 3, 2010 by JamesD

[JamesD]

Anybody any ideas?

[phillipj]

Loren would probably be the best one to help you on this. But for what it's worth I'll through in my 2 cents. How many miles an your clutch? Is it slipping at all? Have you checked the gear oil level in the tranny? Porsche says to change the gear oil after 100k miles. I doubt that your factory fill oil could be causing your issues.

Do the synchros grind or is is just difficult to get in gear? If not grinding it could be a shift cable issue.

Although 996 gearboxes have been known to fail it doesn't sound like your problem fits the typical symptoms of failure.

I do have some experience with gearbox problems on my old 996. Mine turned out to be clutch related. Many other here have had shift cable issues that have caused serious problems (an easy fix by the way.)

Hopefully others will chime in on this and help you out.

:cheers:

[whall]

James,

I too am not a clutch/gearbox expert, however......

Many people have found that servicing the transmission with new oil improves and smoothes the shifting action. Others have found that worn engine mounts have caused problems that cleared up after new engine mounts were installed. There are DIY's here on RennTech that cover those two chores.

I had a sqeaky clutch which was cured by my dealer's technician with the judicious application of some sort of lubricant (I didn't watch) to the pivot points and "helper" spring of the clutch linkage under the dashboard. Some people have reported, in the past, that some dealers/technicians wanted to change master cylinders and slave cylinders. Yeah, right!

Bill

[JamesD]

Thank's Philip & Bill

Philip, I was thinking it cloud need an gear oil change but my mechanic is strongly against this?

he says whenever this is done it cause's problems? to don't change it! not until it's really needed.

I cant see why this would cause a problem? I don't know how many mile there's on the clutch,

but I know at about 55000 miles the 2nd gear synchro was changed (and a new engine)

And there's no grinding at all so I'm hoping it's the shift cable's.

Bill, I would not have even though of the engine mounts going to look into it.

And I too think a bit of grease is needed for the clutch.

So basically it sound's like the solution to my sticking gears is some KY-Jelly sweet :)

Now how do I explain this to my mechanic.....

Cheers guys

Thanks for the help I'll keep you's posted

p.s. Is that true that changing the gear oil can cause more problems?

Edited February 4, 2010 by JamesD

[Gary H]

I've just about to replace an engine mount on my Boxster S and one of my symptoms is a difficult gear change. I had a mount perish on my Volvo S60 and replacing it was liking getting a new gear selector!

[phillipj]

James,

I have never herd of changing gear oil causing problems as long as you stick with the Factory fill recommendations. But there is really no reason to do it until the 100k mark. Some people have had issues by experimenting with other (non approved) oils and viscosities.

[Steve Tinker]

A clutch issue can cause difficulty in being able to select 1st & reverse gears, as can air in the clutch hydraulic line. I bled the clutch fluid last year on my Boxster S when I flushed the brake fluid, and there was a distinct improvement in clutch feel.

If you cannot select reverse, try 1) pumping the clutch pedal a few times before selecting reverse, or 2) stopping the engine and then try to select reverse. If it goes in OK, could be the clutch dragging causing gear selection difficult......

Edited February 7, 2010 by Steve Tinker

[PTEC]

Changing the transmission oil, bleeding the clutch, and adjusting the cables couldn't hurt anything at your vehicles age. If your on the original clutch it would probably have to be replaced before you could accurately diagnose any internal transmission problems.

[mikes_box]

i spoke with a porsche mechanic previously about changing my clutch and the one thing i remember him saying was to depress the clutch pedal in a garage to see if you hear a squeak while depressing it... a squeak usually indicates that a clutch replacement is in the works...

[Stefan]

Start by checking the cable alignment using the $5 Porsche part from your dealer. Also, you might want to try using the search function as this topic has been covered numerous times.