Swepco - didnt help

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

... but it was worth a try.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

BTW... my car has only 65,000 original miles on it, and I just had the clutch replaced. The clutch cable was NOT replaced however...

Clutch was done 2 weeks ago, by AutoWorkstatt in Manhattan Beach, CA and Ive had a couple of issues with it since then, including an improper adjustment and a leaking main seal which they had to go back in and replace.

At 65,000 miles it seems a bit early for a tranny rebuild? Anyone know if I should adjust the clutch myself to try and improve things?

Thanks from a 911 newbie...

ChrisBennet · ChrisBennet's Garage

If it grinds going into reverse (which has no synchos BTW) the clutch is not fully disengaging. Get your clutch readjusted or if you are unhappy with the place that did your work, do it yourself. Very easy job.
-Chris

rstoll · 05-13-2003, 01:40 PM

I would try a new clutch cable and re-adjusment. I agree your clutch is not disengaging fully.

kstylianos · 05-13-2003, 01:50 PM

Also, wait 3-4 sec's after depressing the clutch before trying to engage reverse. This gives the tranny some time to stop spinning. If you still have the grind, inproper clutch adjustment.

1fastredsc · 05-13-2003, 02:04 PM

Swepco is not an elixir, but an oil, like any other. The only reason it's highly recommended is that it can take one hell of a beating as an oil when it comes to heat on the track or sustaind high speed on the highway. The problem that your having is mechanical, besides the trans needing to be rebuilt, as these fine gentlemen have already stated, your clutch is not operating right either.

Jdub · 05-13-2003, 02:38 PM

Sonic:

You can adjust that clutch cable yourself. Try that and see what happens - it really is an easy job and you simply double-up your feeler gauge pair to get the 1.2 and 1.0.

However, when you did the Swepco thing did you pull the bottom plate and tighten the shift fork? Probably fine but...again an easy job. The coupler and shift-end bushing may need adjusting/replacement respectively. Do the peripherals and you may save some money.

A new clutch cable may be a very wise investment. It's a bit of a pain to get it hooked to the trunnion pin at the pedal rack end (be SURE to purchase a new trunnion pin with your cable and a bushing as well - do NOT forget to do this).

Best of luck,
John

arcsine · 05-13-2003, 02:41 PM

In addition to the sage advice above, the thing that improved the shifting the most in my car was replacing the engine and transmission mounts. They are pretty cheap and don't take that long to swap out.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to print this page for my reference.

Gary... thats interesting cause I had not heard that before. How does the engine and transmission mounts help?

Jdub · 05-13-2003, 03:33 PM

The mounts keep everything in a single plane. Flexing between the two components or in relation to each other and the body can cause the shifting mechanism to lose its effectiveness.

John

arcsine · 05-13-2003, 03:34 PM

What John said.

david c. · 05-13-2003, 05:34 PM

Until you get it all squared away properly, try putting the car into another gear like third or fourth (with the clutch pedal depressed-of course) for a few seconds right before attempting to get it into reverse.

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

I also switched to Swepco last week-end, and did not notice much improvment either. But I noticed that my gearbox is noiser now. Maybe because it is thinner than what I had before. Anyone else noticed more noise ?

Aurel

rstoll · 05-13-2003, 06:18 PM

Yep, more noise with the thinner swepco. Went back to Valvoline 90-140. Settled her right down.

Joe911 · 05-13-2003, 06:32 PM

Swepco and sport mounts made a noticeable improvement for me. I wish I had done them one at a time! Also noticed more noise. Shifting into second is the change that is difficult for me.

snowman · 05-13-2003, 07:27 PM

Use Red Line MTL. Its specifically designed for the transmission and has the proper coeffecient friction for the syncros to work properly. It is also the BEST lube, period, much better than mobile one or old tech Swepco stuff. All the real racers use Red Line no matter what the stickers say.

Joe911 · 05-13-2003, 08:26 PM

Jack - Red Line is what came out. Rebuilt about 10K ago.

UTKarmann_Ghia · 05-13-2003, 08:47 PM

Just my .02...I had almost the exact same problem of the tranny not going into first without pushing and almost jamming it in. What I wound up doing is replacing the clutch cable and that made a BIG difference. My clutch was engaging like 1" off of the floor and I wound up pushing my seat wayyy forward to compensate. Once the new cable was in and adjusted correctly (man, your clutch will shake really bad if it's loose) the clutch engages towards the top of the pedal, instead of the bottom. Now it goes into first gear 9 out of 10 times fairly easily. Makes it much more fun to drive. But...my tranny kinda sucks still and needs a rebuild (106k on original tranny), so I've learned to double clutch and she likes that alot

Again...just my .02 worth.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

It is not that difficult to replace synchros in the 901 or 915. The most important thing is having the exploded view diagram.

If you are grinding reverse, you are having a problem with the clutch and I'd start there.

There are no magic elixirs. ANY tranny oil is better than none. And replace it every 12,000 miles or once a year. I prefer the Synthetics.

James

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Thanks for the advice everyone. Im becoming more of a DIY person every day.