1999 Boxster Transmission Question

[danjen]

Help !!

My friend has a 1999 Boxster with about 32k miles. It just had the 30k service (2 weeks ago) and all has been great since till yesterday. Last night, he was no longer able to shift into 5th gear. Everything else seems to be fine, he just cannot put the car in 5th gear.

Has this happened to anyone else and if so ... any ideas on what's going on??

Thanks

Dan

[ar38070]

As all the other gears are working it is probably not a linkage adjustment problem. Does he grind the gears? I know that on a turbo transmission, if you grind the gears, you can do something to the gears that will not allow shifting. I do not know if the same situation would occur in the boxster transmission but if he frequently grinds the gears that could be the problem. Can the car be shifted into 5th with the engine off and the clutch engaged? Or under no situation can the car be shifted into 5th?

If you cannot get the car into 5th under any condition then I would say that something is broken in the gear box and it will have to be replaced/repaired.

FYI there was a 5 speed transmission for sale on the boxster racing board for $1200.

[djgross]

I had the same problem several years ago; the linkage was stuck. I was told by the service manager that it took 2 people a lot of effort to get back into its proper position. Your dealer should be able to fix it.

Duane

[rennsport986]

danjen, did your friend manage to find out what was preventing him from shifting into 5th gear?

i just experienced the same problem last night. I can shift from 1st through to 4th, and I also have access to reverse. I cannot get 5th gear, it feels like there is not even a gate to shift into now. I do not recall hearing any noise from the transmission prior to the problem surfacing.

My car is a '98 986, 5-speed manual.