jkarp

Hi all,
I installed a B&M shifter in my 2002 C4S a couple of months ago. Yesterday, while putting the car in reverse, something came loose and there was a lot of side to side movement of the shifter while in gear. I was still able to shift though. Today I took everything apart and found the problem.

There are 2 cables going to the shifter, blue and white. The white one has a ball pivot that snaps into the shifter. The blue one simply has a round base that attaches to the shifter. There is a washer that goes on here as well. The thing I can't figure out is what is supposed to keep the blue cable in place with the shifter? The washer (pictured below) had come off of mine, and I can put it back in, but is there supposed to be something there (like a nut or something) that prevents it from slipping off the shifter cable?

I know this is kinda confusing, so please see pics below. In the second pic, the blue cable is connected to the white "stub" coming off the shifter base. How does this stay on without slipping off the side?

thanks... josh


this is the piece from the shifter that is supposed to go into the link cables.



this is the linkage connected to the shifter, but not secured in anyway to the shifter (this is what i'm trying to figure out how it should be secured)



this is the washer that goes in between the linkage and the shifter.

JBRipps

not too sure...but doesn't the spring on the cable slide back so you can place the cables on the shift rod? Once it's on, the sleeve/slide should slide over the rod and "lock" it into place? Tim.......????

J

jkarp

yeah, that's exactly the problem. Once I slide the sleeve over the rod, it doesn't lock or snap or anything. There's nothing holding it in place. What if I just glued the sleeve to the rod? It's better than zip tying it, right? ;-)

thanks for the help... josh

gota911

Josh - I ran into the same thing when I first installed my B&M shifter, but I "discovered" the missing piece before I re-installed the center console. As near as I can remember, there is a black (at least mine was black) plastic cap that slides into the plastic white washer (shown in your 3rd pic).

When I removed the blue cable end from the OEM shifter, the black cap fell on the carpet. When I installed teh B&M shifter and tested it out, the blue cable kept trying to slide off teh connection. I looked closely and saw the cap on teh carpet. After I shapped the cap into place, the cable end was securly fastened to the shifter connection.

Here is a copy of your pic with a photoshopped representation of what teh cap should look like (alright, I know it's not the best drawing, but I did it quickly).

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, post them here.

EDIT: OK I added a 2nd pic. Your "cap" may be white and shown in the 2nd pic below indicated by the arrow. The "cap" may have a hole in the center if it. It is the inner part of the white plastic part.

jkarp

ahhhh, interesting. ok, i'll go start searching with a flashlight to find that part. that's exactly what i need.

thanks a lot... josh

Tippy

Geez Tim, losing the 911 must really be bothering you. You misspelled the 3 times.

gota911

Unfortunately, I do that a lot. For some reason, the (or teh, if you prefer) fingures don't type in the correct sequence for that word. I usually catch and correct them, but didn't this time.

I'm so embarrassed!

michael.s.under

See Tim, this is what Im talking about, real world issues solved by a seasoned veteran.....

jkarp

Tim, you're exactly right about the missing part. I searched the car, but found nothing. Who can think of a good way to secure these 2 pieces together without that cap? As of right now, I'm about to glue them together and be done with it ;-)

Thanks Tim for all your help.

...josh

Tippy

Why I said that is because I do teh same thing all teh time.

gota911

Josh - I think you were kidding about the glue, but just in case you weren't, DO NOT glue these parts together. The cable end needs to be able to rotate in order to work properly.

When you looked for the cap, did you remove the black shif tower? When you initially installed the B&M, the cap could have slipped down below the shift tower. All you have to do is remove the 4 nuts to remove the tower.

One option would be to call your Porsche parts department and describe the missing part to them. They may have one in stock or can probably order one for you.

Another option would be to look at Lowe's Home Improvement store for a replacement cap. They have a lot of these types of plastic parts in stock.

jkarp

Thanks Tim. Yeah, I was kidding about the glue ;-)
I'm not kidding about a zip tie though. That would still allow the 2 pieces to rotate, but not come apart, right? What do you think about that?

I talked to the dealer and that cap is part of the entire shifter housing assembly. They want $200 for that (which is fine at this point) and it would take about a week to get (which is not really fine at this point). I think I'll go to Home Depot and see what they have.

thanks again... josh

DCP

Oh this sounds familiar. I had the same problem. I used the Porsche method instead of the B&M method of install which involved removing the cables by removing that black plug. Did you do the same?

I discovered the hard way that if the white bushing is installed backwards the black plug will not hold the cable on. Actually, it was either that the bushing was backwards or the cable fitting needed to be rotated 180 degrees. Sorry, I just can't recall. Anyway, one way it holds and the other way it doesn't. If it is the same problem I had, it will be obvious when you get it sorted. Although I did not see it in your picture, the black plug might be in the fitting where it belongs because if the thing is backwards, the cable will slip off over it.

JBRipps

200?? Ouch...eric over here sells the entire b & m shift kit for 199. www.bumperplugs.com

J

jkarp

ok, well i THINK i may have it fixed (only time will tell). This sounds pretty ghetto, but I think it's actually pretty solid. If you lift up the ashtray, there are 2 self expanding "stubs" that the screws go into. They happened to be the same size as the shift linkage. I took a metal washer, put that around the "stub", and shoved it in there. I slammed in pretty hard afterwards and it seems solid. There's not a lot of force back and forth (which the blue linkage provides), only front to back. What do you guys think? I guess we'll see, huh ;-)

Anyway, thanks to everyone that chimed in with ideas and suggestions. You guys are great!

...josh