Whelp, my shift cables snapped.

On a positive note it broke stuck in 2nd gear about 1 mile from my house. So I slowly limped her home. My car has just over 100K miles so this was bound to happen eventually. Got her safely in the garage and ready for tear down. Obviously the cable snapped because one second earlier the car shifted smooth and without any trouble and then the next second shift knob waggled uselessly and did nothing. My question to you guys is what did you do when this happened to you? What did you buy and how was the install? I have been to the Numeric website and I find the $500 cables reasonable, but the $700 short shifter is not in the budget right now. Can you get just the cables and fit them to the stock shifter? I am hesitant to replace with OEM. Is there a better cable set? Thanks in advance for any replies.

Yes, the Numeric cables can be fitted to the factory shifter. Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

Ah that's good to hear. I can get the cables now and some day get the shifter and put that in at a later date. I hear you need new caps but that will be no problem. Thanks!

Numeric cables are a whole nuther [emoji16] beast than the cable that broke. You'll see for yourself when you have both in your hands. Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

The factory cables have been upgraded but were not available at the time I was having my clutch replaced which is why I chose Numeric . They have a great feel but did bring a lot of noise in my car but not everyone gets this. Much later I installed the Function First kit to the stock shifter and that was a nice improvement.

Ordered the new better cables from Numeric . Starting tearing the car apart and found my cable is not broken, but just popped off. No worries, that needs to be changed anyway. Also on the other side I found a factory Porsche zip tie. Interesting.

Found the exact issue, the ball end is cracked. So far the tear out has been fun. I love working on this car.

I'm having the same issue. The shifter cables are still in tact, but the up/down cable end won't stay on the ball joint at the transmission. Just started happening. I popped it back on, and car shifts fine, until it pops off a mile or two later. Is the only fix for this a new cable, or can the end be replaced or secured somehow? I know the numeric cables are better, but spending 500 on new cables because the stupid plastic connector is annoying.

Porsche weak point IMO, the shift linkage on the 944 was ridiculous

While I agree that $500 for two cables is insane, I do love the idea that I will not only never have to change them again, but I will also never get stranded again. (at least for broken shift cables)

Did you try using a zip tie to hold it onto the ball? I have heard of others doing that. That ball joint isn't the usual spot the cable breaks.

FUNCTION-FIRST > Shifter Cable Ends FUNCTION-FIRST Performance designs, develops, and manufactures aftermarket performance parts for Porsches. Aimed at street and track enthusiasts, our products deliver a visceral driving experience by more directly connecting drivers to their vehicles. Products include: Transmission Mount... www.function-first.com I have no experience with this company, but looks like a good solution if you don’t want to replace the entire cable set.

I had my Numeric cables and shifter installed just last week. Already feels like it always should have. They have a current discount: 10% off For all ******** users! Code ******** at checkout! And then there is the bundle discount with the shifter. The margin over the cables alone gets more modest. You can replace the ball ends but the cable goes eventually it seems. And I didn’t want to give Porsche any more money for their design defect. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My new cables set to arrive on Thursday. This is my teardown so far. Got the cables all disconnected from the car except for the rubber encasement at the fire wall. Did you DIY guys cut that?

Yes you have to cut that grommet at the firewall. But do it carefully because you will need to reuse it with the new cables. Also pay attention to where any of the sheathing goes on the original cables. Put it (or a replacement) at the same spots on the Numerics to prevent additional noise in the cabin. A final tip: don't turn the ignition on while the console electrical connector is disconnected. It will trigger an air bag light that can only be reset with a Durametric or equivalent. I think you'll be very happy with the new cables, it really transforms the shifting!

Worth getting the numeric short shifter down the road. Vast improvement in shifter feel. Previous owner in mine had the cables upgraded with the OEM revised one so I just put the numeric short shifter in due to reported increase in NVH. Haven't heard of any cases of the revised OEM ones snapping so fingers crossed.

Got my new cables in the mail and put them in last night. It took a lot longer than I thought, though I was taking my time and enjoying the process. One of the main difficulties is that the Numeric cables are a lot thicker and stiffer than stock. This made putting them in the stock positions a bit of a challenge. They are amazingly better quality, as I suppose they should be for their outrageous price. After full reassembly I haven't noticed any additional shifting noises. I got the wrench they suggest and I don't know how I could have done it without it. Also I ordered the black wrap which also seems to be thicker as well. They didn't come on the cables like I hoped they would. No way to disassemble the cables to install the black covers so I had to cut the wraps. When I did some weird sort of fiberglass powder is released and gets all over everything. I highly recommend the Numeric cables and you will need the wrench. I would pass on the insulation tubes they sell, just use the stock ones. You will have to cut them no matter what and the stock ones are just good old rubber and not some weird fiberglass insulation filled with fiberglass dust. Dialing in the exact right position of the cables took some effort, but I got it and the video instructions on this are quite good. The stiff action of the tight cables is very nice and I am very happy to have my Porsche back.

Because of the stiffness, I felt like the "natural" route of the cables would be directly under the emergency brake tower, rather than the oem route (red Arrow) down the side of the emergency brake and then abruptly doing an S-bend to line up in front of the shifter tower. I sent the picture below to the vendor and they responded that not only was it OK to use the route I was wanting to use, but that many have and for the same reason. I was ready to hear all the additional noise that some mentioned but already knew that it wasn't going to matter to me. I really wanted nix the numbness of the shifting. I was pleased to find that I must have one of the quiet ones? 🙃

Very interesting. I actually ended up removing the little clip on the firewall because it kept popping out from the tension. Lost a screw point in the center column, not a big deal to me. The only worry I would have with the "out of the back of the E stop" method is the e brake cables hitting the shift cables. Also I had these little pieces of rubber insulation under the front of my E brake assembly. I cut those down the middle put those back on the Numeric cables.

I ended up using the same route as mainsoda, ditching the metal clip at the rear. The cables have worked flawlessly for several years with no additional noise. Also, I'm glad you mentioned the special wrench - as you found out, it is indispensable for this job.