After driving several days like this - I've had it.

When pulling up to a red light:
1) I disengage the clutch
2) Pull the shifter out into neutral
3) Engage the clutch back into neutral

Then when the green light appears:
1) Disengage the clutch
2) Attempt to bring the shifter into first gear, but it stops half way from neutral and first, as if something inside is blocking the pathway. And Yes, I have the clutch pedal completely down.

Has anybody encounter such a problem?

 

I have a similar problem. Sometimes, I have "resistance" in moving from N to 1st. If I don't pay attention, then I do end up grinding my gears and going no-where.

Now, if I feel it have that resistance, I put the gear in N, let out the clutch, and try again.

It's almost as if 1st gear is missing or has a damaged synchro. My old '83 BMW motorcycle did not have synchros on 1st gear. Sort of the same feeling.

Any thoughts? It's sniggling, but I have to pay attention to it so I don't make a loud grinding noise off the line, humiliate myself, and horrify any onlookers.

 

Can not say I have had this issue. Over the years, be it a Mustang or a Porsche, I have applied a simple remedy to the potential first gear shift issue. Second gear first. The old one-two, but backwards. Works every time. Just my three cents (inflation)

 

Thanks, rrruben, for that suggestion. I'd never thought about that. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

My C4S started to exhibit similar symptoms right before my clutch failed.

 

Comforting to know that I'm not alone. Have you considered taking him to the dealership, just for peace of mind? I did give the dealership a call, they said it could be due to dirty transmission oil or, like you said, damaged syncho.

 

Hi Dennis,

Did replacing your clutch fix the issue or was there more to it?

 

Couple of things. One when was the last time you had the brake and clutch fluid flushed and bled? This is an important service to keep the brake hydraulic system in good working order but the clutch is important to.

Next how many miles on the car? Perhaps the transmission fluid is due to be changed? While a fluid change won't resurrect a truly bad transmssion more than once troublesome shifting that had me thinking the transmssion was going out were cured with a fluid change. Might mention my 02 Boxster's 5-speed now has 270K miles on it.

Unless you've done the above recently and are satisfied the brake/clutch flush/bleed job was done right -- I have to stress this point: I did this once with a pressure bleeder and was not happy with the result and did it again with someone in the car working the clutch pedal and was more than happy with the results; or had the tranny fluid changed and used the correct fluid, you should do both before you look into possibly more expensive transmission work.

Now you might be throwing good money after bad with the fluid change for if the tranny is bad this won't help, as I mentioned above, but at least you know. A tranny rebuild or replacement is lots of money and you want to be as sure as you can be it needs rebuilding or replacing before you act.

Also, you should consider having the car checked out. A qualified/experienced tech might then turn around and advise you a fluid change is not going to help and at least you save that cost and you have an expert's diagnosis the tranny is toast.

 

Replacing the clutch fixed it.

 

Good for you. For me, I had a new clutch put in at about 40K miles. And it had the same symptoms before the clutch change.

I'm due for my 60KM service in about 7K miles, so that's when I'll have the systems bled and whatnot.

It's not a major show stopper, but it is an irritant. I'd pay about $1000 to have it fixed, but not much more. Unfortunately, with these mechanical problems, you really can't set a hard and fast limit at all times, but we'll see what the next major service does.

 

Thanks Macster

Just to update you all:
The Porsche technician over at my local dealership narrowed it down to the damaged synchros on 1st and 2nd gear. According to the technician, this issue isn't really too big of a deal, as long as I can stand it. Now debating if I should get the transmission fixed right away or not.

 

Did you get an estimate as to how much this would cost? I'd be very interested.

As it is, I'm treating my symptoms the same way... I think I can deal with it -- it's not getting worse. I don't track my car and on "street boogies", don't really need to be able to shift in the 99 percentile (at least not with the boost of this car).

But I am curious as to the estimated cost.

 

The dealership quoted "starting at 5k"..... I'm searching for indy shops around the bay area that could do the same job for cheaper.

Let me know if you come across any thing.