I think I'm screwed...

My transmission will not shift into reverse and the other gears are very difficult. I removed the rear console and checked the shifter mechanism and cables and all seems to be in order. Next I went under the car to check the other end of the cables and other than the boot having come off of the reverse cable, they both look fine. However... 302-07.gif part no 2, gearshift lever, has considerable play (+/- 1/4") when I move it perpendicular to its axis of rotation and is leaking fluid where it enters the case. _DSC0031.jpg I'm thinking this is gonna really suck, perhaps removal of the transmission, $$$, maybe a tear down, $$$$$, or a rebuild $$$$$$$$$. Anyone else have a similar experience and can offer some insight?

A leak there doesn't have to be due to a bad tranny. My 03 Turbo's 6-speed developed a leak at a selector shaft seal and the tranny was just fine otherwise. 'course in my car's case the CPO warranty kicked in and a new tranny was installed. Doe the clutch disengage completely? Hard to check this but you have to consider a clutch hydraulic system that can't hold pressure allows the the clutch to engage even though the pedal is still fully depressed. It does not have to be a bad clutch hydraulic system either. It could be (could be) something as simple as clutch hydraulic fluid that is way past its change by date. If the shift linkage/adjustment is found to be ok then the trouble is inside the tranny it has to come out and be rebuilt. What you want to avoid is doing any serious damage to the tranny thus increasing the cost of the rebuild or worse ruining the tranny so it can't be rebuilt.

I did notice the clutch felt different. Maybe a bad clutch master or operating cylinder. Hmmmm. How would I check that? I checked the fluid level and it's ok, but that doesn't mean the seals are ok in the cylinders. Is there a procedure for verifying the clutch cylinder integrity? Maybe I should just replace them. I wonder what the expected service life of the cylinders is?

Can you get it into reverse or first with the motor off? If so start the motor keeping the clutch fully depressed. If it moves and/or has obvious engagement then it's in the clutch system as McMaster suggests. It's the most likely culprit, reverse/first gears don't easily wear out....

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I can shift with the motor off though with some difficulty into reverse. I didn't notice any movement when I started the motor with the clutch in. The rear wheels are in the air so I let out the clutch to see how far it would travel before engagement and it was immediate, but it will disengage. As I said though it did start feeling odd when this first started - it was actually the first thing I noticed. The cylinders are $140 and $60 from Pelican. I guess I could just replace them and flush the fluid. I know the fluid hasn't been changed as long as I've had the car, 3.5 years, so I guess it's due. How long do the cylinders usually last?

Just read this on another forum: "Stiff Clutch Pedal: Typically a very stiff clutch pedal in the C2/4 is indicative of a bad throw out bearing guide arm. There is an updated arm and release bearing which will alleviate this problem. Again, you are looking in that $1500-1600 range to have it replaced." My clutch has always been incredibly stiff. I know from the service record it was replaced once or twice but I wonder if the above could cause the stiffness?

A stiff clutch is also indicative of a worn clutch. It may be that your clutch spring plate broke - that's what happened to me. In my case it was obvious...when i put the clutch in the pedal dropped to the floor and wouldn't come up all the way by itself. I spent way to long trying to figure out if it was the clutch or the slave. It was the clutch all along. Don't know why I was in denial...

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Well it could be - I checked my records and it's been 57k since it was last replaced.

sorry to be off topic but, what is that blue anodized piece on the trans?

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B&M Precision Trak Shifter. I think they quit making them a few years ago.

When I got my car back form the dealer after they replaced the motor the shifting was bad and getting worse every time I drove it. I found the shift cables were not put back into their holders and the trans was not tightened at the forward mount. You might look at this if you haven't

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Wow! Sounds like the time I had new tires put on and they forgot to tighten the lug nuts. But, yeah, I did check the cables.

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Not sure but a flush is definitely in order. FWIW I would now pull the trans and check the clutch/pp assembly. You seem capable and it's not that big a deal. The replacement kit from Sachs is around $500., and you could then replace the cylinders much easier. I'd hate to see you struggle to replace them, flush and still have the same problem. That's a lot of work for naught and I've done just that at the track last year. Bleeping waste of time as it was the PP as usual. They're the weak link, clutch discs don't wear much on these cars....

Without thinking about it too much, this sounds like your transmission linkage is out of adjustment. I'm not exactly sure how you adjust the linkage, but I'd look into it. Others might correct me here, but the gear box would shift smoothly with a bad clutch when the engine is off. Edit: You can pop the linkage off the transmission under the car with a pickle fork (or pry bar if you're like me) and manually move the two mechanisms into the 7 gears. Assuming the linkage is the problem, the shift mechanism should move in and out of gear smoothly.

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Healy is correct here...that would be a check worth doing. a bit of a pain in the ***...but it should just snick in and out...more of a clunk actually. That said - the shifter and linkage is pretty straightforward on these cars.

If you are getting grinding then I'd think syncro's and next wear item gears. Most fully functional syncroed trans will clunk in as you say. With the engine off and clutch in after repeated forward and back throws into the two gear ranges picked the gears should be lined up so that releasing the clutch should allow the same easy action like mentioned with the engine off. If it is easy after repeated shifting back and forth clutch in then out then its time to keep the clutch in and start the engine. This is where a dragging clutch and failing syncro's will make themselves known. From my experience the engine running is going to change the gear alignment a little but it shouldn't end up being a problem to shift. The service manual says whenever removing the cables from the transmission the clips and center piece are supposed to be replaced. I wouldn't but maybe it causes binding later on if not done. Cheapest quick route is having the alignment tool for the shifter and checking that adjustment. Also if the shifter seems to reach a limit on one extreme of the gate and not the other I'd suspect the selector cable (blue gate cable?) needs adjustment possibly. Good time to read the manual at least. Glad its not my problem or I'd already of paid for porche guys holidays.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. To summarize it could be: the clutch the slave and/or master cylinder transmission internals All three require pulling the transmission which I will only do if I have a lift, which I don't, but for the cost of taking it to the shop I could purchase a lift and have it for future use. I'm seriously considering this option, most likely a Maxjax.

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Although lots of us have done this on jack stands, I cannot in good faith discourage you from buying shiny new tools.

Maxjack only lifts about 4 feet. It's slifgtly better than cack stands but it's nowhere near a full size lift. Pulling the transmission on a Maxjack will be more of a headache than using 3ton jack stands.

Really? I think 4 feet is pretty high...sitting down on a roller seat, my head is at 45". (I'm 5'8") So I would imagine I could sit quite comfortably and work under the car. much better than lying on my back :/

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Yaaaah and when the transmission has to come off or, better yet, go back on, what exactly will be the plan? If the car is near the ground, you can use jacks or hydraulic low rise transmission lifts. If the car on a full size lift, you can use two people to lift it or a full size transmission jack. When you are half way up and sitting on a caster, it will be a real PITA. I've helped a buddy work on his 928 that was on a Maxjack and saw how it works and what it's limitations are. If you have the room in your garage, go with a two post lift. What worked really well for my back was when I left the car in the car trailer, lifted the back up to sit on a couple of 3T stands and then slide lay under it while doing the work. This way I didn't have to be totally on the ground (had about 1.5ft from it) and the was close enough to the floor of that car that everything was at an arm's reach. Sort of like a MaxJack but the floor was much closer.

i had the B&M short shift kit that attaches on the trans shifters on my 02 996. I took it off after year or so as i had some issues with it shifting smoothly/correctly- It was much better w/o it- you may want to take it off altogether and reinstall the orig brackets etc and see if this helps at all. Also check that cables are secure & clipped onto the brackets in front of trans.

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(think of the movie "Office Space") "Uh yeah. I'm gonna have to sorta' disagree with you there..." I've done the "on my back in the driveway" transmission and clutch replacement. The biggest issue (but not the only issue) we had was the tranny was too big to move from under the car while still on the jack, so we had to wrestle it off and drag it out. I can't imagine anyone preferring to use a jack and stands when a lift is available, even if it only goes up 45" - that's still twice as high as my stands and ten times easier to lift and much more secure when it gets there. But if that's your preference, I certainly will not argue. To each his own and I'm glad that works for you. I think I'm gonna' buy the lift, but I don't trust my garage floor so I'm going to cut out a 2' by 10' section and replace it with 8" of 4000psi concrete reinforced with #4s and tie it into the existing slab. Instead of the shallow inset anchors supplied I'm considering purchasing epoxy adhesive inserts to secure it to the floor. I just can't envision trusting expansion anchors while I'm crawling around under the car. I know they are more than adequate per the specs, but I would feel more comfortable with the adhesive anchors. That's my preference.

You didn't read my post carefully enough. A 3Ton jack stand in the down position is as high as a 2Ton fully extended. When the 3T is fully out, there will be more than enough room to pull the trnasmission out. If your preference is a Maxjack than that's fine but they cost the same as a full size 2 post lift.

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Oh I read it all. I have a 7'-8" ceiling so a two-poster is out, plus one still has to jack each end twice, etc, etc. Not to mention how easy brake jobs, suspension work, detailing and other such jobs are if one can eliminate the tedious jacking. And I still don't want to crawl around on the driveway on my back. Did it for years - hate it.

Love mine. And I have used it to pull trans on old Ford. Used a low lift ~30" trans jack, just lowered the lift until the trans was on the jack. Also have a low ceiling. When I'm done with it I unbolt it and tuck the pieces out of the way in the corner and under my workbench, all are on wheels.

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Thanks for your input. I understand the posts weigh 300 lbs ea. Are they hard to wheel around? Also, if it was shipped by truck directly to your house, how did you get it off the truck and to your garage?

Don't know if you care to look at this option, a little cheaper, way more portable, no need to modify garage floor, and safer, IMHO. www.ezcarlift.com Takes up like no room when not in use. I got mine during a group buy a few years back for $1275, and I thought the list price was (still is) way too high. It only lifts 26" and 4400 lbs, but I love mine, and so far nothing I can't do with it. I had looked at Maxjax at the time, and there was like a $1000 difference during the group buy, so for my needs and cost, it was a no brainer. I like being able to micro raise/lower the car to maneuver things in place. The extended arms always worry me, after I watched a few "car falls off lift" videos on the 2 post units It's on sale for the holidays, $250 off. Good luck, let us know what happens.

I plan on doing something like this since I have low ceilings. Alternative would be a scissor lift built into the ground. Many 911 owners have been able to successfully drop the motor with this type by modifying the rear crossbar as well.

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Why not 5/8" by 12" J bolts into a 12" x 24" deep footing tied into your new slab and also under the existing? You don't need 8" of slab with deepened footings. The issue with the 4k slab is you could theoretically pull up the entire new slab. Much stronger than epoxy

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Jbolts are generally not used anymore in high load structural applications because they can deform and pull out. In 25 years as a structural designer I've never spec'd one on a project. Besides, it would protrude from the slab when the unit was stored. A single footing under each post as you described (if I understand you correctly) would be more likely to overturn than having both posts mounted to one monolith of thickened slab. I'm not sure what this means but the epoxy anchors have a pullout resistance that is much higher than the expansion anchors. The concrete would fail long before the either anchor but I just prefer the epoxy anchors because sometimes the wedge of an expansion anchor will, for whatever reason, slip and fail during installation. With a properly prepared hole the epoxy installation is pretty much fool-proof.