997 shifter alignment question

So I put in a 997.2 shifter last night to replace the notchy B&M shifter the previous owner had put in. When I locked in the alignment tool I could not get the black cable to reach into the shifter, it was about 1/2" shy. The blue cable was about 1/4" shy. What I ended up doing is just placing the cable in the holder at the longest possible setting. All gears engage perfectly including reverse without forcing it. I'm curious to see if anyone else has run into this or if I should be worried.

good question - one thing I observed while installing a 997 shifter in my C2 was the note on the install instruction... "mark where the cables originally connect to the shifter so you can install the new one at the same point" To me this suggested that any play or delta between the stock config and new configuration would simply result in a minor change in the location of the shift **** in each or just certain gears. Maybe someone that isn't as noobish as me can assist? It may answer two questions at once

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If I'm understanding this correctly, your cables were probably out of alignment. If you used the alignment tool, that is the correct setting you should go with. No need to worry if everything shifts good. It begs the question if your B&M would've been any smoother if the cables were adjusted correctly. They are still notchier than factory but shouldn't require brute force to shift.

When I snapped on the tool the cables were too short to reach the connectors. I had to pop off the tool and pull the shift slightly to the direction of 4th / 2nd in order for them to reach their connectors.

Does the alignment tool help you get the cables in the adjusted correctly? I think I was corrected rather clearly by F1st that it didn't. Or maybe I misunderstood all together. Who knows.

When the alignment tool is clipped in here is what I'm getting, the black shift cable simply does not reach the clip. The blue cable is the same way.

^That's normal and no worries. I had the same experience and what you did was correct.

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So are you supposed to just barely get it to connect or do you need to somehow stretch it all the way to the original mark?

This may be stating the obvious, but first make sure that the transmission is in neutral. The shifter alignment tool is very overrated, IMHO, and is not a necessity for installation of the cables. It's just a quick way to make sure that the shift lever is aligned such that the lever has free range of motion to fully engage every gear. Basically, it's a quick way for the factory to assemble the cars in a consistent manner. As long as you can engage every gear FULLY, you are good to go - there's some room to play, so you can even customize the shifter position. But again, to reiterate, you must make sure that every gear can fully engage, otherwise you're in trouble. I also was not able to use shifter alignment tool installing a 997 SSK into a 986, as the cables did not line up.

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Correct, the alignment tool only impacts the position of the shift lever. It has no influence on the cables.

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After you put the transmission in neutral under the car and have the alignment tool mounted, you need to let the cables fall onto the female sockets with all the threads in contact. In some cases (like in OP's case), the cables will appear a little too short so you just pull them to connect such that all the male threads are in contact. No original marks are needed.