Costas

I am hoping this post will serve to collect information on a problem which seems common on 986s 6-speeds. I recently bought a manual 986S with 62000 Km (38500 miles) on the odometer. It was made in Finland, in April 2003. Before buying it, I had the local (Athens, Greece) Porsche dealer as well as an independent Porsche service shop (with over 35 years experience exclusively on Porsches) examine the car. They determined it was in excellent condition and it was never crashed. Still, with some money to spare and a desire to start with "as clean a slate" as I could, I had the second shop I mentioned perform extensive work, including: New clutch and flywheel (flywheel actually needed replacement with broken springs and blueish wear) New front engine mount New clutch pump Adjustment of shifter linkages I mention these to exclude them as probable causes for the gearbox problem I am having. Note that the problem was present before this "overhaul". By adjusting the linkages and changing the transmission oil I was hoping it would go away. The issue then is that, relatively rarely, the second gear will pop out or it will grind without having engaged fully. It's as if the collar's teeth do not go all the way into the gear (apologies to the mechanics if I am talking nonsense here - I have a simplistic view of how a gearbox works). This will happen both when changing up and down to second. Once the gearbox oil is up to temperature the problem becomes even more rare, although it has happened once or twice with a warm car. If I am extra careful that second is pushed in "cleanly" and firmly, the problem goes away. Double-clutching also helps I think, because I don't remember it ever happening if I double-clutch on downshifts. I have found a number of forum posts on the subject. The conclusions range from "I had the gearbox replaced under warranty" to "there is nothing wrong with it and this is how all G86/20's work". I list the posts, hoping to gather all opinions and information here: 2nd gear grinds! - RennTech.org Forums 986 02 Gearbox problem - 2nd gear grinding - RennTech.org Forums 986S 02 Gearbox problem - 2nd gear grinding HELP! Massive transmission failure at 22,000 miles Anyone seen this before Please help me diagnose a clutch-gearbox problem second gear problem effort shifting into second gear - RennTech.org Forums Clutch Question - RennTech.org Forums The last link is particularly interesting, because it suggests that the problem is inherent to the second gear "double cone synchros": I think that I should keep double-clutching and generally nurturing second gear, rather than opening up the gearbox. Thank you for any information and advice.

Most definitely - I am done now :)

It seems that sorting out part numbers is no simple task :) I just found a pdf document from techninfo.porsche.com, D_986_KATALOG.pdf, which lists the "30" springs as the correct, post-2000, M030 shocks for my car (i.e., no distinction for 2003, only -99 and 00-). Loren, the same doc lists 16 and 18 endings for the -99 M030 shocks. And also, 12 and 14 endings, without year, but with an "A" in front ("America"?).

OK, here is the data I have on my car: Front shocks: 986 343 041 30 Front springs: Two adjacent dots, yellow and red, and one brown dot towards the top. Could not make out the part number. Front stabilizer: Couldn't make out the number. Rear shocks: 986 333 051 30 Rear springs: Couldn't make out the colored dots, or the number. Rear stabilizer: 986 333 701 11 From the 30 ending of the shocks, it looks like it may be the MY99 ROW M030 which Loren listed a few posts back. Except my rear stabilizer doesn't match Loren's MY99. This may be off-topic here but, given that my car is a 2003 6-gears, I would be grateful for opinions on how correct this particular M030 combination is for my car. (I have to say though, the handling is progressive and, after adjusting toe and camber, even more balanced than I expected from a reputedly understeering boxster). Thanks for this excellent forum!

Thanks Loren. Couldn't see the coloured dots with the wheels on. I will have a better look next week, when I fit new tyres.

It turns out my car has the M030 after all. And the part number on the rear roll-bar is 986-333-701-11. If I find anymore numbers, I will post here.

Hello everyone - my first post here! I too would appreciate a verification on M030 part numbers for my boxster: I just bought it a few days ago - a 2003 986 S with a manual gearbox. The original owner has installed GT3 Recaro leather seats in Germany. Along with the seats, they installed what he was told is a "GT suspension". I am in the process of determining exactly what this means in terms of sway bars, springs and shocks. Although the car handles quite well and predictably as it is (the entry understeer is present but it is easily canceled out with some trail braking), I am prepared to replace the suspension with a proper M030, if I find out that by "GT suspension" they meant just lowering springs. So, for my 2003 M008 (986 S 3.2 Litres), M480 (6-speed manual), these are the parts I have found to comprise an M030 «Sport type running gear»: 986-343-041-31 Front shock absorber - bilstein (quantity 2) 986-343-531-16 Front coil springs (set) - marked yellow white 996-343-701-(04,21,10,23 which one?) Front stabilizer 996-343-792-(12,17 which one?) Front stabilizer mounting (quantity 2) 986-333-701-11 Rear stabilizer 996-333-792-25 Rear stabilizer mounting 19.8mm (quantity 2) 986-333-051-31 Rear shock absorber - bilstein (quantity 2) 986-333-531-40 Rear coil springs (set) - marked orange brown A guy at the local (Athens, Greece) Porsche dealer told me today that their system does not recognize some part numbers. I got them from a document I found on the Internet: "Porsche PET - 1997-2004 - 986 Boxster". Thanks!