C4S stuck in 1st

my 2002 C4S stuck in first gear,, shifter is free vertically but not horizontal,, car has RUF short shifter,, please,, help,,

one of the cables bound up or out of it's holding bracket under car

nothing to check in console area?

Look underneath first, less work than taking apart the console and more likely the problem.

Kind of reminds me of the funniest stories I've heard from friends with their little kids. Luck for you 8 tracks and VHS aren't around anymore Anyway just a chance a kid was near it? If you ever want to hear funny stories about kids ask a friend about what and where the kids have stuck stuff.

Happened to me and it was due to a broken fork that shifts from first to second gear in my 01 Carrera when downshifting to second in Turn 7 at Sebring. Fork broke and first gear was what engaged.

Sounds like one of the shifter linkages may have come disconnected in your console. This would be the quick/easy problem (and it happened to me not long ago). Lift up the shifter boot carefully and peer into the console with a flashlight. Your shifter will have a couple small connectors with snap clips that mate to the gear cables. Make sure they are connected. As shown below, these are near the bottom of the shifter console unit, but you should be able to see them with a light. If they are not connected, and if your hands are small, you can hold it in place and leverage a screwdriver to reattach it. Although it's pretty hard to get it to snap right so you might have to loosen a few of the console screws and angle it up a bit to give you a more access. You don't need to take it all the way off to get the linkage/cable reconnected. I was able to do this at the track and make the car usable to drive home. I then put on the 997GT3 shifter console unit (pictured below). Check the shortshifter install guide to remove your console if you need better access. -td

Are you saying its in first but you can move the shifter in to 2nd but no other gears? Does it feel real free like it's moving nothing?

Here's a test: While the car/engine off, can you shift normally, as in the gear shift lever goes in without hesitation or very little resistance? ( I would guess you can) With the car on and idling, can you shift (i would guess not) gear from 1st to second or from 2nd to first, or have really heavy resistance? If both conditions are true, then your clutch spring is gone and you need a new clutch.

my mechanic says the cables are broken in the rear,, any upgraded cables available?

update: i replaced the broken cable,, now shifter doesn't center in 3rd/4th position while neutral,, when i go from 2nd to 3rd i have to take the shifter slightly to the right,, it wasn't like this before,, i used to only push the shifter forward out of 2nd and right into 3rd,, please,, help,,

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Sounds like the shift coupler isn't aligned properly.

how to align it properly,, given that its a RUF short shifter?

Well, I'm sure someone more knowledgable than I will chime in, but I'd start with RUF and ask them. I installed a short shifter on my old SC and it was something that needed some bit of finesse. I kept 2 wrenches in my car for a day or so and made little adjustments as needed. I finally got it dialed in perfectly. Since I haven't even looked at the shifting mechanism in a 996, I can't speak to specifics. Some here can, no doubt. EDIT - There are pics posted by someone above. From his description it doesn't sound like couplers need adjusting, just connecting.

There's no comparison between the 996 cable shift system and the old 911 shift rod system. Apples and oranges. On the stock shifter the spring centring is done by the shifter itself. The transmission, cables and the connections at the gearbox are not sprung. I don't know how the RUF shifter is set up, but given the above, it must have built into it a spring centring mechanism. It's possible, but unlikely, that a spring centring mechanism was also installed at the gear box. So, that means it's almost certain that something has come undone, or has broken, in the shifter itself. This could have happened while you were "troubleshooting* you problem during which time you probably tried forcing the shift level in all sorts of directions, or it could have happened while the cables were being replaced. You can first lift the boot at the shifter (it just snaps in to place) and see what you can see, but more likely you'll have to remove the centre console. There are procedures posted on line how to do that. It's not hard, but it's a bit fiddly. It should be obvious what the problem is once it's apart. ***First check the connections at the gearbox though. Probably not the problem but as Dharn said earlier it's free and easy and you'd hate to go through the trouble of removing the console and have the problem end up being back there.

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the shifter was installed by RUF and has RUF logo on **** but when boot was off i found GEMBALLA logo on the linkage,, the shifter is totally free with zero resistance if disconnected from cables,, i know for a fact that RUF didn't modify the gearbox when they converted the car back in 2007,, where does a regular 996 have the centering spring?

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I'm working from memory here but: the pivot point of the shift lever has two rods coming out of it. One rod points straight down and is effectively connected directly to the cable that actuates 1-2 or 3-4 or 5-6. That is to say it moves the shift forks for each of those gear sets forward and backward. The second rod juts out of the side of the pivot, and this rod is nestled into a paddle type of arrangement so that when you move the shift lever side to side, the rod makes the paddle wobble up and down. This motion is then transmitted to the cable as in and out and at the gearbox this selects the shift forks for either 1-2 or 3-4 or 5-6 gear sets. Anyway (still working from memory) the centring spring should be attached to that paddle which takes the side to side motion of the shift lever and transforms it into the up/down in/out motion that the cable requires to select the 1-2 or 3-4 or 5-6 shift forks *phew* - hope that makes sense

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the paddle is freely loose,,

one thing,, shifter snaps and jumps firmly out the reverse/neutral position,, but it doesn't out of 1-2 or 5-6,,

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There's a spring in the gearbox to disengage reverse. See #14 in the drawing.

what drives me nuts is that the shifter used to center properly until the day i got the cable damaged and replaced,, what are the good available options of shifter kits?

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There's a lot of options. Here in the classified you will find BBM short shifters that people have tried and didn't like (count me as one of those) as well as stock shifters from people who switched to short shifters and did like them. These are usually priced between $100 and $200 and can be installed in an afternoon. A real good guy will give you his stock shifter for free. You can buy new BBM short shifter guts for close to $200 but you have to use your stock shifter housing which entails destroying the stock bushing. It's hard to go back to stock once you realize the BBM sucks. A very popular upgrade is the 997 shifter which I am told works very well in the 996. They do a factory short shift version as well, although I think it's called a 997 "sport" shifter. Hard to find used, but they do come up. Figure on $400 for a used 997 shifter. You can buy them also from advertisers you will find in Excellence or Panorama...maybe $600 but I'm guessing. There's other short shifters around, but they're all pretty much the same. Myself... I'm happy with the stock shifter. The lengh of the throw has never bothered me and at least I'm not thrashing my synchronisers. The best upgrade apparantly is the cup cables. These have metal ends instead of the plastic ends that are installed on the stock cables. They give a nice crisp shift. Real expensive though...like $1000 per set. They won't solve your problem but a sock shifter with cup cables feels beter than a short hifter with stock cables.

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Jasper,, thanks a lot for the tons of info,, i really wish you chimed in earlier in this thread when i asked for cable options before i bought the stoick ones,, i might go for 996/997 stock shifters but what do you think about the 996 cup car shifter?

Sorry kj - I don't have any experience or knowledge about cup shifters. Probably overkill for the street though. Remember - I'm working from memory that the paddle mech is spring loaded. Please confirm this before you spend any money.

Sounds like the new cable is a hair shorter, maybe because the old one had expanded over time. There are adjusters on the connectors in the console unit. If you don't have the centering tool, I'm sure someone nearby has one you can borrow. Directions from BM short shifter should apply just fine. Just center shifter with the tool and adjust connectors. Should be good to go. As a shortcut, you could just extend the connector just a bit without the centering tool. That should probably work just fine. -td

could it be the new cables are a bit tight? can i spray some wd-40 where the cables extend out their housings?

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If you are able to engage both 1/2 and 5/6 then the cable adjustment isn't the problem. If the cables were binding up then it would feel syrupy when you move the shift lever side to side. Don't spray lube into your cables. You will gum them up and you'll be buying another new set pretty quick.

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It engages all gears perfectly,, it only feels slugish moving side to side in neutral and the stick stays where i leave it and never goes back to 3/4 position,,

The shifter itself has no centering mechanism. You can move it freely vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. I suspect the problem is in the cable adjustments at the shifter. When you swap out a shifter, you have to be very careful to mark the cables so that you get them in the same position when you connect them to the new shifter. Since you went with new cables, This wouldn't have been possible. That's the extent of my knowledge though. I'm not sure which cable, and direction to adjust it would impact the centering in neutral. I'm sure someone one here does however. Good luck. On edit... Just read your last post. It's sounds like a cable could be bound up a little as well.

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That's what I was struggling to remember. How does the shifter centre to the 3/4 plane then? Is the spring in the gearbox?

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I would assume so, but the above is the extent of my actual knowledge on the topic. I only know that much because I swapped my shifter out myself.

As I noted above, there is a centering tool. I think the green one is the one you need.

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afraid so,,

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that tool only works with the stock shifter,,

i checked the new cable i got from Porsche,, the part number is 99642404109,, the old one was 99642404112 which was updated to 99642404114,, the cable ends at the rear of 99642404109 have plastic housings while the old one had metal housings,, could be the problem?