2001 S won't shift into gear?

[rdougan]

Hi,

Left my 2001 Boxster S in an underground carpark today, was running fine. Came back 2 hours later and it would not go into any gear. The shifter moves freely but there just seems to be no gears to select.

Don't know what has happened. Seems odd how it can randomly do this? My clutch is on it's way out but I doubt it is anything to do with that..

Any ideas?

[harryrcb]

Originally Posted by rdougan

Hi,

Left my 2001 Boxster S in an underground carpark today, was running fine. Came back 2 hours later and it would not go into any gear. The shifter moves freely but there just seems to be no gears to select.

Don't know what has happened. Seems odd how it can randomly do this? My clutch is on it's way out but I doubt it is anything to do with that..

Any ideas?

One of three things. The cable adapter that attaches the cable to the actual shifter broke (made out of plastic) The cable itself broke (yes I know there are two) or the cable became detached from the transmission linkage(cup that snaps on ball)

[rdougan]

@harryrcb

Thanks for the feedback. Do you know if you can get at the transmission linkage without jacking up the car and or removing plates from under it?

[harryrcb]

Originally Posted by rdougan

@harryrcb

Thanks for the feedback. Do you know if you can get at the transmission linkage without jacking up the car and or removing plates from under it?

yes you can it is a little tight and you would be better off jacking it up so you can see what if anything the problem is. The outer cable housing is also locked into a bracket and sometimes the clips that hold it in fail, so if it comes out of the bracket you will not be able to shift. It would be hard to fix this without jacking it up. Maybe you can borrow a friends ramps and back up onto them, that would give you plenty of clearance.

[rdougan]

Ok, bought a jack today and took a look:



It seems that the bottom most one is out of place. I tried quickly putting it back in, but it is awkward to get at. Any tips?

Also, Is it as simple as that? The top most one seems to have a loose washer as well. Issue?

[mattatk]

I had the same problem. Try selecting 1st, 2nd or neutral one at a time, one of the gear positions gets the cable right over the bracket. Then you can simply press the cable back into the bracket. It appears that the bracket has small indents that help lock the cable into the bracket.
I'm wondering if you could use a cable tie to old the cable in the bracket if the bracket is worn