BRETT BITES THE BULLET
There comes a time when the job just has to be done and that time has arrived for Brett’s Boxster. With gear selection issues and a heavy clutch, the writing was rather on the wall. A new clutch and an internal gearbox examination and now all is well
We humans can be adaptable creatures when we need to be. Able to compensate for deficiencies in our surroundings without a conscious decision to do so. Especially when the deterioration in quality has been a gradual one; then we can be brilliant at making do without mending, changing our behaviour subtly and subliminally to make allowances for things not operating at their prime. At least, I’m really good at this, particularly when by adapting to a worsening situation I can avoid spending money…
Inevitably, though, there’s no more adaptation to be done. It happened a while ago with the Boxster’s deteriorating brakes: subconsciously I’d changed my braking behaviour to accommodate the brakes’ decline, but eventually optimism became no real substitute for sufficient pad material and healthy discs. Now a similar situation has occurred with the transmission and I’ve taken no solace from Editor Bennett’s words of comfort: “Isn’t it impressive that its original clutch lasted 100,000 miles?”
Must confess that Mr Bennett’s wisdom hasn’t really informed my thinking on the matter, but at least he tried. I was actually a tad surprised that the Boxster needed a new clutch, as my gripe was with the quality – or lack thereof – of the gearchange. For the past couple of years, and perhaps longer, when the car was started up from cold the shift action could be stiff and the lever reluctant to make the journey from second to third. Generally after a few miles, with the lubricant inside the gearbox warmer, the shift improved markedly and I thought little more about it.
In the beginning, even when cold, you could get the lever to park itself in all its preassigned slots provided you were patient enough. Then one day, suddenly, patience didn’t suffice. Second to third was a no-go when cold, and instead of fighting it I short-shifted second to fourth. No biggie, because within a mile and a half third was once more accessible. I’d adapted. Started driving the car on its terms rather than mine. It didn’t greatly concern me because within a few miles all was hunky dory. And when I had the gearbox oil changed there seemed to be a minor improvement in the shift quality.
Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Three or four months after the oil change the shift action worsened. The mileage required before you could use all the ratios without the lever baulking increased. The lever started ‘snagging’ when you commanded it to leave its current slot and move to another – each gearchange became a two-phase action where you had to push or pull hard to release it from its existing position, pause momentarily, then carefully and slowly guide it into the next position. Again, though, I’d adapted to this new shifting strategy without much realising that I’d done so.
In the end, though, even I had to concede that something probably needed to be done. So I took the Boxster to the friendly chaps down at PIE Performance, based just outside the historic Suffolk village of Lavenham. Ash Martin took my car for a quick blast down the road and confirmed that there was no ‘probably’ about it – something definitely needed to be done, and needed to be done soon. As well as the crappy quality of the shift he also highlighted the heaviness of the clutch pedal – as other specialists in the past have done but I’ve just learned to live with – and how high in its travel it was biting.
Back at base, Ash hoiked the Boxster up into the air on the lift to inspect the gearbox casing up close and personal. He immediately spotted that the end of the gear selector lever that sticks out of the gearbox casing had too much free play in it, meaning that it was no longer guiding the internals with sufficient accuracy for a smooth shift. Plus it now had a slight twisting action, causing it to stick. Ash also noted that the seal where the lever entered the casing was leaking oil, and there was another oil leak on the back of the casing. I’m no mechanic, but even I could see where this was all heading…
Inspection complete, Ash hit me with the depressing – if inevitable – verdict. New clutch for definite. Internal examination of the gearbox also a certainty, with the focus on the selector fork and a check of the selector cables to see if they might have stretched, further hindering the shift action. Plus whatever else might arise when you start pulling mechanical things apart and they reveal their inner secrets. A slightly sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and also a sense of resignation as this day was always coming, as it always does with older, high mileage cars. Bullet bitten, I booked the Boxster into PIE for a few weeks hence.
I wish I’d had the time to stay and watch the PIE guys pull the car apart: there’s something curiously satisfying about seeing a
group of professionals going slickly and confidently about their work, instinctively dismantling big sections of car in minutes when it would have taken me hours. Frankly, though, there’s no way in the world that I’d take a spanner to an important mechanical assembly such as the gearbox, and I’m always slightly in awe of those who can make the task seem comparatively easy.
A couple of days after dropping off the Boxster, I got a call from PIE’S boss, Chris Lansbury, to run through a few bits and pieces. The exhaust system had to be removed and as the bolts on its brackets were so badly rusted that they resembled Cadbury Flakes, there was no alternative to cutting them off. I could have aftermarket replacements from ebay if I really wanted, but some of them can last less than a year, so Chris recommended genuine Porsche items which although are quick to rust, are much longer-lasting.
Then there was the dual-mass flywheel to discuss. Well, actually, there wasn’t much to discuss. It was knackered. Chris revealed that there was one customer on a tight budget who insisted on putting the old flywheel back in during a clutch change – he was back within 12 months because the flywheel had failed completely, necessitating another new clutch… It’s a tough call when you’re running a Boxster on a shoestring and a new flywheel is typically £355 plus VAT, but Chris reckons it’s a false economy not to get it done at the same time as the clutch. PIE now requests that customers who insist on keeping their old flywheel sign a disclaimer, as an even more costly outcome is sadly inevitable.
Perhaps in a bid to bolster my wilting spirits, Chris explained that I’d eked out every last bit of life from the clutch – it was worn down to the rivets. Couldn’t have gone on much further. I’d got my money’s worth out of it, that was for sure. PIE’S clutch kit, which includes a new rear main seal (RMS), costs £900 plus the VAT, and Chris confidently predicted that it should outlive the 100,000 miles that the original lasted. Which is another way of saying that it’s likely to outlive me…
And there was more bright news, of a sort. With the gearbox stripped down the poorly condition of the selector arm was confirmed and the cost of a replacement with all its associated gubbins was modest by Porsche standards. However, the brass bush where the lever passes through the gearbox casing also needed replacing, and here was a potential stumbling block – Porsche’s spares department doesn’t list the bush on its own, you can only buy a complete casing with the bush in situ for about £1200.
And this is where dealing with a Porsche specialist with PIE’S experience came into its own. Chris deals with a highly skilled, ‘old school’ machine shop nearby, and those guys were able to fabricate a new phosphor bronze alloy bush for a tenth of the cost of the Porsche alternative.
When the time came to collect my Boxster Chris offered a few words of caution to manage my expectations. ‘You’ll immediately notice the improvement with the gearchange,’ he said, ‘but it may not be as brilliant as you’d hoped. That’s because it takes a little while for the new components to bed in, especially where they’re working in tandem with older parts. But with a few miles under the tyres you’ll start to feel everything become more settled, more at home. Then it will feel great.’
And Chris was right. Pulling away from PIE to head home, the clutch pedal was the lightest it has ever been while I’ve owned the car, but while the gearshift was no longer baulking, it remained stiff and slow. Twentyeight miles down the road, though, and the shift was getting noticeably slicker and swifter: another 50-mile trip and it was better still. A couple more longish journeys and I reckon it’ll be in tip-top shape and shifting with the speed and accuracy that has for so long been missing from my Boxster’s dynamic repertoire. I can’t wait.
And finally, a bit of better news to counter the above tail of woe and expense. A few issues ago I reported enthusiastically on Group 4 Wheels, 18in deep dish Fuchs replicas, along with a pic of freshly forged wheel. Well now I've trialled a set on my Boxster, having taken it along to the photo shoot in this very issue (see p38 for the full lowdown, plus prices). I have to say, I wasn't quite prepared for the transformation, but it looks like a different car. The combination of black centre, silver rim, dish and overall stance, give the Boxster a whole new persona and it works so well with the yellow. Sadly I couldn't take them away with me there and then, but I'll be bolting a set on ASAP.