2nd gear detent (Gbox)..... pictorial DIY.

This is a DIY for the 2nd gear detent made by gbox... I followed their instructions here: http://www.gboxweb.com/detent.html This DIY took me 1:15 min... can prob do it in 45min now that I know. There is a lot of feeling rather than seeing with this mod....as space is extremely limited. If you are clumsy or if you will be on your back..... forget it. Unless you are one of those young ones.... then go for it. Kicking out wifey's car, she was not happy.... the wife not the car. See my finger? thats were the detent cover is.... right next to it is the cover bolt you have to remove first. OK.... first thing, we need some space. Take off the last tunnel cover. You need a 8mm for the cover bolt with a flex extension since you will be going at it at an angle. Go in from this side to get to the bolt.... this is not that bad. Here is the bolt.... damn, thats a long bolt. Next is the detent cover.... get an allen socket (13mm) and knock out the allen part with a punch and hammer. You need a short allen and a ratchet (the one that youve never used) Put the allen on the detent cover and slip the ratchet on the allen..... I used a cheater bar to break the cover free. detent cover off Use the allen and a magnet to fish out the detent spring like this. Again use the allen and magnet to fish out the detent..... tada! Here's the OEM (left) and Gbox.... when you slip the detent back in the tranny, the wheel pin must be 90deg from the tranny side (or facing the side of the car). You can wiggle the shifter a bit and it will move the detent.... this is in its normal position. Reverse the procedure.... button everything up. Put a blue loctite on the cover for a little seal. Clean up and grab a beer. Next Mod..... reverse light switch on the tranny. My light does not work.

Thanks for the pictorial. I thought this was primarily and issue for the turbos. Were you having problems? You'll actually enjoy replacing the reverse switch. It's literally the easiest thing I've ever repaired on any car. -Shawn

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Ive experienced a 2nd gear pop out in the cold a couple of times intermitently, it wasnt bad at all.... this is more preventative before it turns into a problem... The pop out is not that common... more so in the turbo, but it does happen in the carreras'. Been wanting to change that switch forever.... now that it is exposed, its a good time to knock it out.

Nice job. Those are some tight working quarters. I was just reading about the 'back up light' DIY on Renntech. Mine doesn't work either.

Thanks for the write up!! The OEM detent looks identical to the new one. Also, did you feel any difference in shifting?

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dude... its like a ice skating rink out there. Gonna wait till this thaws out, Im not expecting anything different in shifting though.... just no more pop out. There is a tiny difference between the two.... thats why these are supposed to work, the OEM tolerance are to tight.

Awesome, I can't wait until it gets warm out to upgrade mine.

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1. Any cam shaft related DTCs are usually serious and should be addressed. Perhaps worn pads or variocam actuator mechanism. Or worse. If you can get the DTCs from the car you can get more exact diagnosis. 2. IIRC the detent is for G96 manuals only, not A96 tips. You should check your trans fluid level. It is possible there is some mechanical problem or perhaps the torque converter is worn. Best thing to do would be to create a new post (or two), one for your trans issue and a second for the trouble codes your car is throwing related to the cams.

Thanks for the write-up my wife's 996 also suffers from the occasional 2nd gear pop-up so I'm getting to do the same thing on her car. This will help!

Out of curiosity, has anybody measured the factory shifter detent vs. the replacement? I'm curious how close they are...

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I replaced mine with Ferd's help about a month ago. The difference is very minimal. An extra 1/32 of an inch maybe at most. The challenge in my install was tranny fluid created a vacuum when trying to pull the detent out. Ferdinand worked on it for over one hour just trying to remove the stock part.

1/32nds of an inch in which measurement/is the replacement narrower or shorter?

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It's the inside hole gap taller IIRC. I used to feel a big click shifting into second gear when the tranny box is cold and my shifts were more deliberate holding the shifter into second longer. Now the click is not as noticeable and slots into second easier. I do have a b&m short shift which makes the action harder than stock.

Inside hole is taller? I appreciate the feedback, but not sure I'm following you?

Thanks much for the info. I replaced my reverse light switch, now need to do this next. I have the 2nd gear pop put only when the car is cold, but would rather take care of it now.

Can someone verify I have a genuine gbox piece before installation. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ent-piece.html

Reviving an old thread, but used this for reference in changing the factory detent to the GBox piece, which will cure the 2nd gear pop-out when the transaxle is cold. Notes: - I elevated the car on my liftbars, and removed the right rear wheel for easier access - I cut down an 8mm allen wrench on the short side by about 1/4" rather than try to use an 8mm socket bit. - I did need to put some extra 'persuasion' on the end of the allen to finally break the cover free. With the sealant on the cover, it is no easy removal as the sealant gums-up the threads Here's the difference (in mm's) between the factory piece and the GBox piece: Factory detent GBox detent

Anyone know what the part number is for the OEM detent spring?? I'm having the GBox installed next week when they do my clutch...figured it might be worth putting in a fresh spring. I came up with part# 996-303-245-00. Not sure if this is correct though. Porsche San Antonio said it costs about $1.

Hey guys, wanted to update this thread with a couple of useful photos I took while attempting this job over the holidays. First, following the photos above, I was able to remove the 13mm bolt on the trans housing using the method shown in photos 4 and 5 above. It was tight, but eventually it broke loose. However, I attempted to remove the cap screw using the method shown in photos 6 through 9 and it would not budge. I even used the exact same wrench that redridge used and ended up bending the wrench before the cap screw would come out. However, if you remove the passenger side rear wheel, place a jack under the transmission and remove the trans mount bolts you can actually lower the transmission about 2 inches which is just enough to get a regular 8mm allen socket and a 3/8-inch breaker bar onto the screw. To get more leverage, I used a 15mm deep socket and a short extension placed over the handle of the breaker bar - see photo. This did allow the cap screw to be removed and I was able to access the spring and detent. The spring came out fine using the magnet method shown in photo 9 above. For the detent removal, I tried using the magnet method shown in photo 10 above. I even used 3 different magnets - one of them was very strong, moved the shifter back and forth in 1-2, but the detent would not come out. It would come up about 1/4 inch but it seemed to bind on something as I was trying to pull it out. I made a tool using a dental pick that I cut in half then using a pair a needle nosed pliers made a small J-hook on the end that I could lower through the center of the detent and hook onto the bottom to pull it up. This method did provide better leverage and a positive engagement to try and remove the detent. Unfortunately, in my case, the detent was still binding on something. It would come up about 1/4 inch, but no further. After playing with it for about 3 hours I gave up and I think I'm in the boat of having to drop the trans to replace it - which is going to be a PITA that I had not envisioned. It seems most people are able to get this detent out using the magnet method. Anyway - hopefully these photos help somebody if they are undertaking this project.

Unfortunately, my Indy had the same situation, and had to drop the eng/trans. That led to finding several additional issues, Leaking valve covers, blah, blah...

Final update, we had the car on a lift this weekend and a friend of mine/local tech was able to use a pair of 90 degree bend needle nose pliers like these to grab the upper edge of the detent and work it out. It still took about 20 minutes of playing with it. We never could figure out what was causing it to bind. No scarring or corrosion visible on the old detent. The new detent slid right in. We removed the two trans mount bolts to lower the trans about 2-inches, but was able to complete the job without pulling the transmission. With two days of driving, so far so good. No first-gear pop-out. I'm cautiously optimistic this will solve the problem. Fingers crossed.