Gear shifter does not move to the side. PLEASE HELP!!!

HI all, I post mainly in the 928 forum. but i was driving my 2000 996 Carrera (base modle no options. cept cupholders) last night against a bmw 323i(friend of mine). When i went to shift to 2nd or 3rd i felt something pop/clunk and the engine redlined and the shifter would only move front and back losely like it was not connceted. It would not move side ways (left/right). I had the clutch in and i thought the tranny had fried or snapped or something. but when i released the clutch it was in a gear 3rd or 4th. the only thing i could do was engae and disengae the clutch, it wouldn't shift to any other gears. even in the direction it could move in(front/back). neutral could not be obtained either. luckily all the lights were green on the way home so i didn;t have to stop. when i got home i had to stall the car to stop it. I thought maybe the linkage had popped off in the center console area.but i took it out and everythign was connected and the cables didn;t look sheared off anywhere. So any ideas as to the problem. Thanks for your help in advance.

bump

The cables connect up to the shifter through a plastic connector. With the console removed you should be able to see the shifter and cable moving freely. Other possibilities could be the plastic bushings on the shifter have been known to break, these are the bushings everyone worries about destroying with a B&M install. Or the connection at the tranny end of the cable is broken. Regardless take it to your dealer, sounds like a warranty issue.

You had to stall the car to stop, holy cow, That sounds scary, hope i don't have to go through that. But, I also find that sometimes during spirited shifting, the shifter is not smooth, but could be 'cause i'm new to stick. But, i am very comfartable with it at all other times, so it could be the stock shifter?

well i took it to the dealer they can;t get to it till july 7th. ugh.... anyone have any idea as to the possibility of fixing it on my own. Cheers, Nicholas

I'm curious what you meant by "i had to stall the car to stop it"? The clutch works and presumably the ignition key so why the need to stall it? Is there something else going on as well as the shifter mechanism? Colin

hehe, no i wasn't thinking clearly and thought that would be the only way to stop it. all i was thinking was "oh my god i broke it" over and over again.

We all do funny things in the heat of the moment. I was rolling the car a few feet back out of the garage, without starting it, the other day. Sitting half in and half out, like you do, with just my right foot in the car and perched on the edge of the seat. My heart jumped into my mouth when the brake didn't work. I yanked on the hand brake before realizing I'd pushed the clutch instead. Easy done I suppose but I felt pretty dumb for a while so I don't think I'll tell anyone. Oh, I just typed that out loud didn't I. Colin

lol.. hehe the stupid stuff we sometimes do. Little more insight in to the problem. the side to side is not broken it is workign fine it won't move becasue its locked into gear. the front to back is the one broken since its the one that moves losely. but only front to back not side to side. i think it has disconnected itself somewhere underneath on the tranny or wherever it connects to the tranny. doesn any one know where i can get diagrams for it. to see where it goes. i have the PET but it doesn;t show all of it.

Nice collection of cars!!!

thanks mike. I like porsches. The 996 is not really mine, i am watching it for my friend while he is out of the country for a year. lucky me hehe

Smurf, Simple fix. What happened is that the cable linkage under the car that connects to the gear shifting arm popped off. Simply raise the rear end of the car so you can access that area and then push it back on. (Plastic grommet fits over the transmittion shifting arm). Zip tie the two together so it will not happen again and you are up and running Have fun beating that 323i next time. Walt