915 First Gear Survey

[david lipman]

I'm just getting the hang of the double clutch downshift into first after a year. If you've got a 915, please post the year of trans, miles on trans (since rebuild if applicable), and whether you need to double clutch to get into first on the roll. Also whether any other synchros are bad.

1977 (magnesium?) 208K bad first synchro, rest OK.

[Dantilla]

No need to double clutch here. My '73 has about 100 miles since rebuild.

[zymurgist]

My tranny is a 915 out of an SC, about 30,000 miles on it. I don't even try to put it into first gear on a roll... if I'm rolling, my engine has enough torque to get me going.

[david lipman]

Ken- My car can definitely go in 2nd from 5 MPH, or even from a start, but it doesn't like it (chugging etc until at least 1500 RPM). 2.7 CIS

Will your car pull away smoothly?

[k9handler]

my 915 shifts very well...no problems with the tranny in the two years I have owned the car, not sure when rebuild was done.

[David E. Clark]

No downshifting to first for me either. The early cars are pretty light so I haven't had any lugging problems in second -- even at 5mph. But to answer your question, I have about 138,000 miles on my 915 transmission and the first gear syncros are definately showing their age. I sometimes have to "double-clutch" from a standstill. It's nothing I worry about however.

David
'73 911E Targa (MFI)

[Siena911]

I don't even try to shift into 1st without being at a complete standstill. On the to do list, I tried double clutching once, and just could not get it right, never tried since then. SC with 136000 miles on it, motor upgrade to 3.2 about 15000 miles ago, all other synchro's seem fine, i.e. no grating or jumping out of gears

Cheers Jakes

[david lipman]

I could be wrong, but I think that the pre '75 cars also benefitted from a lower overall second gear than the later cars due to the R&P change?

Lightweight plus lower gears = : )

[magilla]

I have an '83 SC with no rebuilds and 102k on the clock. I can rarely get into first while rolling, and second is pretty worn, as well. I will address this this winter, I hope.

[jhugh]

I have an '84. The 915 has about 1500 miles on a rebuild. I always double-clutch when downshifting, no matter what gear. But I rarely go down into first on a roll. It will go into first on a roll now, though, whereas before the rebuild it definitely would not.

I don't know much about transmissions, but it seems the syncros in a 915 are barely adequate by design.

[n8marx]

'86 Carrera, 915 rebuilt at 87,000 miles, currently at 100,800 miles. If I so desire I can shift into first at anything less than about 10 mph. I usually don't desire though. Better to wait until I'm stopped. I don't wish to rebuild this thing any sooner than neccesary.

[1fastredsc]

In the middle of rebuilding trans and top end on motor at 140,000 (really stupid ***** was the cause). Trans had problems shifting into first while rolling but as long as it wasn't cold, it was possible. Upshifting into second was terrible though.

[911Brian]

Mine is an 80 and has about 30k mi since rebuild. First gear is flawless on a roll. I have some minor probs shifting into 2nd from 1st, a little hard at times, no grinding. I installed shift bushings and that made a difference. I plan on changing the gear oil to Swepco soon as well as adjusting the clutch and possibly adjusting the linkage. So far so good

Brian

[Sonic dB]

Mine is 86, 65000 miles original tranny. I can sometimes get it into first on a small 3-5 mph roll...but I dont even bother. From a stand still, I have to depress the clutch and wait a good full second before attempting to put it into first...OR, more likely due to drivers waiting behind me, I "tap" it into 2nd then go into first. If I dont do either of those things and shift into 1st too quickly from a stop, then I get Crunch.

2nd gear is fine as all the rest.

[old_skul]

I've put about 40,000 on my car since I had a rebuilt tranny put in. No problems downshifting into first from a 20mph roll. No double clutch required.

[Hetmann]

Mine has about 500 since its rebuild. It is shifting well with no double clutching required. I can downshift into 1st, if done gingerly, but as a general habit I never do when I'm rolling.

[JavaBrewer]

1986 with 40K miles on rebuilt transmission. No problems going into 1st when fully stopped, 2nd can be difficult if I rush it. The only time the car's in 1st is when pulling away from a full stop. Rush hour traffic and it stays in 2nd - pulls nicely from just rolling speeds and up.

[zymurgist]

Originally posted by david lipman
Ken- My car can definitely go in 2nd from 5 MPH, or even from a start, but it doesn't like it (chugging etc until at least 1500 RPM). 2.7 CIS

Will your car pull away smoothly?

Honestly, I'll have to check. I've only owned it since December (my first Porsche!) and I only drive it on weekends.

When I am stopped at a traffic light, I normally put the transmission in neutral and let out the clutch. Before I have to start out, I shift into 2nd and then back to 1st. Otherwise it crunches a little bit going into first. I think I may have a clutch cable issue here.

[jmohn]

'78 SC, 98K miles, no tranny rebuild that I'm aware of. Down shifting into first (at anything less than 20 MPH, I haven't tried at any faster speed, no need to) takes some technique but is not difficult. Shift to neutral, begin to move shifter to first gear position, blip the throttle (amount of rev. depends on how fast your going) and the shifter slips right into first. I could (I did when I first got it and still do occasionly) double-clutch, but it's not necessary and the result is the same. But you must "feel" with the shift lever when it's about to move into first (just before it "grinds") and if you blip the throttle right it feels like it just sucks the shifter into first.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[CHILI]

I changed all 5 syncros on my 74 915 tranny about 5K miles ago. Can't go into 1st on a roll either. Going to second before first helps since both gears are on the same clog. At least it gets the clog moving. I just use second gear like the others, esp since I have the low ring-an-pinion. More than enough torque. Check out Wayne's 101 projects. If I remember correctly he has a section on rebuilding first gear. I figured I'd just do all 5 since the syncros aren't expensive.