Shift linkage problem

Hi fellow porsche enthusiasts. I was enjoying a spirited drive when I found myself in a situation where I had to downshift to pass someone.. I believe I brought it from 4th to 3rd when I felt some resistance before it went limp in my hand! I could move the stick freely forward and backward with no clutch, and I could not move it from side to side with or without clutch. I took the center console off and everything looked good aside from some of the plastic peaces looking a bit worn from all the shifting. See attached photo. On the transmission end everything looked to be in place. When I pulled on the transmission end I was able to pull the stick back towards the engine, but not forwards towards the frunk. When I was in the car I could do the same on the stick end - I felt it moving gears pulling the stick back towards the engine, but bringing it forward towards the funk did nothing. This was all without engaging the clutch. Any ideas?

I removed the linkage wires from their connections in the spring contraption. I was able to pull the linkage wire on the right (black one) all the way through the sleeve. So it must have broke right at the transmission, as I pulled over 3' of wire out. The left wire (blue one) had no slack at all. I was unable to pull it forward or push it back. I feel like I should have been able to do that - am I wrong? I'm going to order and install a 997 shifter since I read good reviews and at least I can feel like I accomplished something. Can have the shop replace the cables if I can't figure it out.

You may be interested in this link further down our page http://www.function-first.com/products/996

Thanks. But what I'm really interested in is figuring out how to remove the linkage wires through this grommet. I unhooked the linkage on the transmission side and the interior side but I can't figure out how to push it through. The 997 directions on this site have a different setup.

As you can see from this parts diagram, the cable is one complete unit with the grommet (includes both cables). I believe you undo the linkage at the shifter and pull the whole unit out from under the car. http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=701-00

I think your cables have just come unclipped from the side of the gearbox , the ballpoints sound like they are still connected to the gearbox linkage but slightly further back the outer casing on the shift linkage locates into slots on the side of the gearbox, take a look if they are just hanging loose, if so slot them back on and secure with a tie wrap, mine did exactly the same thing , it seems really bad but it's an easy fix, don't bother messing about replacing the whole linkage either , my indie said it's not worth it , even the new ones come loose quite quickly also, hope this helps!!

One of the cables was broken at the transmission side. Here are some pics of the old cable ends and the new one that is ready to be installed. As you can see I can't get it onto the ball end. It is a 996 cable, but for whatever reason I can't get them onto the gear selector ball ends. Any assistance greatly appreciated!

What year is your car and did you order the right part for that year?

Try a dab of silicone grease(not regular grease) in the ball socket. You should be able to give it a firm tap and get it on.

Bill, you are correct. Today I took my cable ends to Automotive Techniques who specialize in Porsche, and Dave was able to immediately find the correct part number that had my blue and black ends. $370 to get them tomorrow from a P dealer. He was under the impression from the photo that my cable ends were for a numatic. Hopefully they will snap on just fine and I'll be back on the road. On a positive note I purchased a 997 shifter with the alignment tool on a whim that I might not have purchased when I bought the used shifter cables on ebay. Will be interesting to see the difference.