Strange Shifter Behavior - '98 Boxster Tip

1998 Boxster Tip with 39,XXX miles. The shifter has been somewhat stiff for the last year or so. I took the car out the other day, and it ran perfect. The transmission works perfectly in all modes. Stopped for gas, and headed back home. I got to the house, put the car in the garage, and could not get the car out of D. After a bit of muscle, I was able to get it into N, but it was frozen in that position. Of course I could only turn the key to the accessory position, so had to disconnect the battery. I tried everything to free it without excessive force to no avail.

It sat for 2 days, and out of curiosity, I reconnected the battery, stepped on the brake pedal, and the shifter moved smoothly into P. I can hear everything properly working related to the shifter lock, etc. It seems this issue went away as the car cooled. When cool, it seems to be working normal. I ran the shifter through its paces with no issue.

I'm now wary to drive it, as I don't want to get stuck somewhere with the transmission stuck in D.

Any idea what might cause this? Could it be the manual valve? I know '97 was the only year they used Bakelite that was prone to swelling/seizing when hot, but the symptom sounds eerily the same.

Thanks!

Its could be a bad shift cable connection on the tranny itself mor a faulty selector switch on the left side of the tranny.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 315,000+ miles: [garage.pca.org]
[www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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