Clicking shifter

My shifter is clicking thru every shift. Usually it�s when you shift out of gear before you get to neutral. Just started doing this. It has no problem going in and out of every gear, but now there is not a click that you can feel into the shift ****. has this happened to anyone? could it be an alignment issue, even though it goes in and out of every gear fine? I�ve sent that green alignment tool that porsche sells. Wonder if that will fix it.

Quotes source post: 18345788

I don't understand...is it a click or "not" a click? It has no problem going in and out of every gear, but now there is not a click that you can feel into the shift ****. Pop up the shifter surround and boot and take a look.

Quotes source post: 18345884

i meant to type "there is now "

The alignment tool isn't going to do anything helpful for this. Maybe pop the leather cover up and observe the shifter as it moves? Perhaps one of the components there is sticking, all though it seems like a long shot. Does the click happen after you feel it disengage the gear and during the movement back to neutral? If you move the stick very slightly through the click point, does it click every time or do you need to get all the way into a gear for it to then click?

Get a look under the car and make sure the cables are correctly fitted to their mounting brackets at the transmission. They're known to work their way loose.

Quotes source post: 18345925

after i feel it disengage and before neutral

See video. I believe it�s happening at the shift cable ball socket. Are these known to wear out? Do I just order 1 replacement and do I need the alignment tool? Is there any other �while you are in there� stuff? You Tube

The cable attachments are known to fail, but it just leaves you unable to change gears, not sure if this clicking is an early warning of that. Next step would be to either take out the center dash so that you can see those sockets and confirm, or get under the car and see if anything seems to be happening at the transmission end. The cables at the shifter have a threaded coupling which can be adjusted to control the shifter position, perhaps a thread has gotten worn out allowing it to click through to the next one? Once you start unhooking cables from the shifter the alignment tool will be helpful for getting everything back together, not absolutely necessary but worth it if its cheap. I'm not really sure what else is worth doing while you're in there, if you're just looking to fix this I'm not sure what kind of parts can be individually purchased, this would potentially be the time to decide if you're interested in something like the shift right solution or a short shifter/numeric.

Why does that look rusty, or are my eyes tricking me? Has the car had water damage?

Quotes source posts: 18347292, 18347379

If there was any other preventative maintenance parts to look aside from those cable attachments then I would swap them out while the console was out. I don't think I'd be satisfied with a short shifter, or anything short of the Numeric setup, and I don't think this car needs it tbh. It's a beater 996 convertible,,,not a race car. I guess the question is, while I'm in there, should I be replacing both of the linkages below while I'm in there, or to your point is there a good chance that one of the notches is stripped and all I have to do is adjust it up/down a notch or two to get over it? This click noise happens down from 1/3/5 and up from 2/4,,,that doesn't necessarily mean it would be isolated from one linkage to another I'm assuming.... Maybe. It was a salvage car. That yellow stuff is old grease.

I've got the numeric, its lots of fun on the streets, but the fun/cost math ends up different for everyone. I'm assuming its the second part you pictured which is causing the click, either the adjustment threads having problems (could move a few clicks over hopefully without issue) or the plastic ball retainer maybe failing, either way you'd want to get the center console out and see it to confirm. The only other major thing you'll have access to with the console out is the parking brake, could take the chance to adjust that if it takes a lot of movement to engage, but otherwise there's not a ton of replaceable parts I can think of under there to preventatively swap.

Quotes source posts: 18347755, 18347755

Agreed. I think I'm going to order a new one for when I crack into this. Thanks for the help. I'll report back.

Get the console off. You'll be able to see what's what. I agree that it definitely sounds like it is in the car and not at the other end of the cables. I replaced both cable ends on mine, not because of any particular wear but just because I was there. I also did the Shift Right kit, recommended. Doesn't change shifting geometry, just takes the slop out.

Tried the new shift cable ball socket but it was not the problem. It�s like it�s coming from inside the cable,,,binding up on something. I tried moving it around every which way but I�m still getting the noise. I�m not hearing any noise from under the car. Bizarre You Tube

Quotes source post: 18346221

I didn�t pay attention to this response before. I�m going to get under the car. I can�t see it being in the car at this point unless it�s a faulty cable which seems pretty far fetched.

I saw some funky zip ties wrapped around the connections at the transmission but I could not find anything down there that seemed to cause the clicking. No quick movements of anything, or quick snapping of cables to cause this click. it feels like it�s coming from in the car. My only guess at this point is that the cable is binding up somewhere inside of it. You Tube

100% the ball joint of the shift linkage. Even after replacing the linkage, still getting the clicking. bizarre.

If you haven�t already, I�d recommend putting the �funky zip ties� or some safety wire back on those cable ends at the transmission. They were there for a reason - the cable ends tend to work their way out of the anchoring brackets, and will leave you stranded if you can�t get under the car to reattach them (I wouldn�t recommend it with just the little scissor Jack).

Quotes source post: 18363035

I didn�t remove the the zip ties at the transmission. the ball joint I�m referring to is the one in the car connected to the shifter. Right side facing the front.

Ended up ordering a shift right kit. The clicking at the shift link ball joint is only happening at the very beginning and end of the throw, so what I'm hoping is that with the shortened shift it will be eliminated. We'll see. This whole thing still has me puzzled.

If you move the cables by hand and cut the shifter out of the picture does it still click? The ball joint to the shifter has a little plastic retention piece in it, is that visibly degraded?

Quotes source posts: 18363645, 18363645

No I replaced that shifter linkage with a new unit and still getting the same clicking. That's why I'm a bit baffled, because I can tell from feel that it's still coming from that ball joint. The only thing I can think of is the other plastic pieces of the shifter have worn out enough over time that it's causing the shifter to overflex and pop at that ball joint. That's why my hope is to replace those pieces with the Shift Right kit and shorten the throw to make it go away. I really don't think it's the cables.

Yea I mean that seems like a good sign if it doesn't click just moving the cables, there's several plastic pieces involved in the movement of the shifter so your thought there seems reasonable, good luck.

Quotes source post: 18363676

Thanks,,,I'll report back once the shift right kit is in.

The shift right kit will not shorten the throws. It will replace some stuff in the lever assembly though. Hopefully that fixes it for you.

Quotes source post: 18365675

Ya and due to my lack of knowledge I didn't know that in the beginning before I bought the shift right kit. However, I did have intentions of replacing the lever assembly with metal parts in hopes it would help. Why I thought it was also going to shorten the throw,,,,,not sure,,,I'm a little dumb....So I did also buy Bens short shift as well. In hindsight I should have just purchased the complete kit with the lever and short shift from Ben,,,but it didn't work out that way. I also attempted to buy a 997 factory short shift but there were only a couple on Ebay and the cost was $300+. It's not that I'm price sensitive but more irritated that all this stuff put together is about the same price as the numeric setup and I probably should have just gone with that from the beginning. This project escalated quickly. My only concern is that the wife is going to hate shifting it now.

The clicking was in fact the cables. A cable replacement fixed the issue. I went with the stock cables. I will say that I'm pleasantly surprised with the Ben's Short Shift Kit and Shift Right Solution combination. The shift experience has dramatically improved. The slop is cleaned up, its slightly shorter throw, and not too notchy or tight at all. I think keeping the OEM plastic cradle and adding in the metal components (consisting of the ball bearings, short shift lever, and SRS yoke) makes a nice combination for an everyday driver. I was concerned about the wife hating it but she actually likes it better than the stock setup. I am now thankful of the cable failing because I now have a totally new and improved shifting experience due to all the replacement parts. Ben's Short Shift also has a combo package that comes with a replacement metal yoke. If I were to do it again I would have just purchased that. Thank you to everyone that helped.