[mahonj]

I recently purchased a 1986 911 Carrera w/ 88K miles and am thrilled with the car. I

Previous owner had local Porsche dealer install short-shift kit last February. Seven months later in September 2012, and after driving car for about two thousand miles, previous owner brings car back to dealer complaining of difficulty in going from first gear to second. Dealer "installed" synthetic transmission fluid and advised that gear oil will "need time to get through gears & syncros". That was about 500 miles ago.

During Pre-purchase inspection in December 2012 engaging second gear was noted as a problem area. My mechanic (a Porsche specialist) indicated this might be remedied by replacing the synchros (I'm not a mechanic, so apologies if I did not use term correctly). He also suggested that removing the short shift kit might also have a favorable impact on the difficulty of going from first to second gear. Then he stated that he'd remove the short shift kit anyway, as he believes these kits put unneeded stress on the transmission.

I’ve put about 1200 miles on the car since purchasing it and to some degree have gotten used to the extra bit of muscle required to get the car into second gear. Sometimes it’s not bad at all. Other times yes – a good bit of oomph is required to lock her into second. My mechanic assures that other than the small amount of unneeded stress added by the short shift kit, I’m not doing any damage to the transmission by driving it in its current condition.

Currently I’m thinking that at the next oil change, still about 3000 miles off, I’ll ask mechanic to take out short shift kit – then see how she shifts. However I’d like to get some opinions from the Porsche community. What would you do? Does the short shift kit indeed place unneeded stress on tranny? Might first to second gear shift easier without the kit? Should I go ahead now and have the mechanic replace the synchos?