SimonP Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 First day with my 2012 manual Cayman 987 and just near home the gear selector no longer functions and I think we are stuck in 3rd gear. I understand this is a known problem when a plastic part breaks. Hope it can be repaired easily with an upgrade so it doesn't happen again. Apart from that, the car is a dream as you all know!! Needing lots of sympathy right now! SimonP Birmingham UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hi Simon, Sorry to hear that on your 1st day with the car ! I've heard about this several times but so far have been lucky with mine. I think there are a few upgrades available incl. Numeric cables and Functionfirst also have an upgrade to the shifter ends which should stop this from happening. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing to how you resolve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bushman Posted December 18, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted December 18, 2017 you could pop off the gearstick gaiter and cover by gently teasing up the front edge then lifting and rotating 90 degrees to remove it. this will allow you to peek at the shift selector and the 2 cables with their pop off ball joint ends, one underneath and one to the passenger side. most likely, one of the cables has come off or one of the swivel bushes located front and behind the gear lever has collapsed. you can get a replacement quick shifter kit from the net for less than £50 ( anodized blue aluminium chassis). I bought one recently but havnt had time or decent weather to fit it yet. there are plenty of you tube clips showing how to do this far better than I can explain. hope this helps. Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Thanks Steve. Looks like a pretty easy fix. Will hopefully get the local Porsche guys to take a look soon. Want to be out again with my ride ASAP. Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 I had a shifter failure, wasnt the cables it was the mechanism itself. Pain in the proverbial, £216 plus vat to replace from Ninexcellence, i think. Could have upgraded to a short shifter but didn’t. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Cayman taken into local Porsche garage this morning. They tell that they have replaced two gearshift mechanisms in the last 18 months so maybe just bad luck on my part with a car that has only done 30,000 miles on my first day of usage! Will report back on outcome. I checked for design faults on this model before I bought it and this did not come up on the radar! SimonP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushman Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 worn or collapsed pivot bushes at each end of the gear lever pivot will allow the lever to move but not move the cable. they are plastic and go brittle. you have to chisel the locking tabs off to remove them. all the quick shifters seem to come with proper bushes in metal housings that are retained with circlips. did the car come with any warranty cos I would hate think how much an official dealership is going to charge for this fairly simple mechanical repair. looking at some of the muppets doing this on you tube, and they manage to do it ok, suggests to me that most guys that know how to use he contents of a tool chest will find this fairly easy to do in a couple of hours. NOTE; as with any trim removal tasks, in this case the centre console, get the interior really warmed up first to avoid the trims cracking a you pop them off. you will need one of those all plastic trim remover kits that come in a tool roll. like mini crowbars. let us all know how you get on Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Whilst I am not an engineer, I do like to know what causes problems and ideally arrange to reengineer so it doesnt happen again. Garage hasnt offered any kind of upgrade so will use standard Porsche parts. I will ask to look at the broken bits and learn whatever. SimonP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushman Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 if you get to find broken parts Simon, could you take photos and post them please, so that others may benefit and see what issues to look out hopefully before they become problems. thanks.Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Just checked, it was £260 plus vat supply and fit standard shifter. A Porsche short shifter would have been £360. Seems like an odd thing to build cheap on a premium motor. Mine is on 53k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SimonP Posted December 22, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 22, 2017 Yes that is what I have just paid for the new cables which come as a pair. One of mine had broken - apparently a fail safe if two gears were selected to stop the gearbox blowing apart! Not sure if that was what happened in my case. Didn't manage to get a look at the broken parts as they had already been binned. Hoping that things remain reliable from now on. Going into the local independent specialist for a free car clinic checkover at the end of January when I believe they will plug in and see if anything is amiss. Let hope they don't reveal its racing history!! Looking forward to long summer days with dry roads. Our recent snow and ice is no place for Caymans. Mine is fitted with PCM, telephone hook up, heated seats etc. Think this is the PCM Mk 2 or 3 but there are a huge array of functions and the navigation repeater display in the instrument panel is good. Now what journeys can we plan? Scotland for sure at some stage. SimonP 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilCS Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Glad you got it sorted mate. Scotland is a great shout for a road trip, the North Coast 500 route is a popular one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk1 Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 1 hour ago, SimonP said: Now what journeys can we plan? Scotland for sure at some stage. SimonP Recently announced ... https://www.northeast250.com/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idlewild Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Coincidentally, mine has just gotten this problem this morning. Car now left at the gym, stuck in first gear. Hopefully it's just a cable that needs replacing rather than the whole linkage. But if it is, a short shift kit would be tempting... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 Hi That's annoying. In my case it was a broken cable and cost about £450 to fix. The new pair of cables were over half of that. I am now extremely careful and working on perfecting the perfect gearchange! Hope you get it sorted soon. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Just out of interest Simon did the fault occur at the gearbox end or in the shifter mechanism on your car ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Sadly I never got to see. I did ask them to keep the broken parts but when I went to collect the car they had already been binned them and they couldn't find them. I believe the cable broke rather than the plastic collar. If it happens again I will fit a short shifter or stronger mechanism. You can find details on the internet but I guess the Porsche dealers will not be keen to fit these. SimonP Edited January 7, 2018 by SimonP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idlewild Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 22 hours ago, SimonP said: Hi That's annoying. In my case it was a broken cable and cost about £450 to fix. The new pair of cables were over half of that. I am now extremely careful and working on perfecting the perfect gearchange! Hope you get it sorted soon. Simon I think it's a combination of: substandard Porsche part (that they have since upgraded for repairs), the cold weather making things brittle, and the age of the car (09 plate). I'd like to think that I am capable of making fine gear changes; I am an advanced driver after all. Tempting to get some upgraded cables if that turns out to be the problem, but there are comments that cables with metal ends introduce transmission whine into the cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpannerMan Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 The upgrade cables are a bit noisier, but they also make the shift feel better - I like them, makes it feel nice and mechanical like a Porsche should Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonP Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 To be honest I am not sure what cables they fitted to my 2012 987. Current stock I guess but I haven't noticed any noise and the gearchange is pretty good. Had a great day at the Bicester Scramble yesterday - must have been about 1000 Porsche there and a good opportunity to see others with different specs and colours. SimonP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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