My friend has a 9:30 cut off. He figures all his bonehead moves and accidents happen after 9:30 PM when he's tired, so he won't work past that time.

Personally, I do stupid things at all hours...

Q: is it better to make a premptive strike at worn synchros or just wait until the tranny needs a full rebuild? My 915 shifts fine except I can't get first while I'm moving. The mechanic said it was a worn first gear synchro but nothing to worry about. I'm sure I could easily drive it this way for years and years.

I'm just wondering is there's any cost benefit to doing it now rather than later.

I'd say drive it till it dies.

If you open it up now, you'll replace 1-2-3-4 sliders, synchros, hubs, and some other little bits and pieces, on the grounds that they're probably getting old, and it's such a hassle to get in there that waiting until each one fails and reopening the tranny each time is just nuts.

If you wait until it fails, you'll replace 1-2-3-4 sliders, synchros, hubs, and some other little bits and pieces, on the grounds that they're even older than they were when 1st started getting dodgy.

(shrug) MHO, YMMV.

Dan

Alright, time for the Friday update.

Last night, got back from work about 8:30 (yes, at night), to find a bored room-mate with a broken motorcycle. "Dan, I need to use the garage. What can I do to get your Porsche out so I can work on my motorcycle?"

Uh ... Make some coffee, let's go to it!

So we put the engine in last night. I still have a to-do list as long as my arm, but the big part -- the engine installation -- is done. Now it's just the little stuff -- replacing shift linkage bushings, finishing the CV joints, reconnecting clutch linkage, torquing the living goat puckey out of the axle nuts, etc. :) I could be rolling it around to verify transmission correctness as soon as tomorrow (assuming the two of us can be as effective this evening as we were last, given only 4 hours of sleep)!!!! :) :) :)

Crazy.

Dan

GO, DAN, GO!!!!

Posted from my hotel room down in Lacy, WA
Just got into SeaTac today and have to say, this place is beautiful.

No P-Car to drive, but we're cruising around in a Sebring convertible (Cabriolet??? ;) ) The roads are awesome. Nice twisties everywhere we go.

Arrived this morning and was on the freeway around 10:15 or so and saw a sweet looking burgundy 930 cruising southbound on I-5. A little while later, ran across a guards red Targa, also southbound on I-5, but closer to Tacoma. Couple of nice looking cars. Dan, I know you'll be cruising around in yours in no time now.

Well, don't wanna hi-jaqck your thread, just wanted to say "Hey" to any PNW Pelicans. I'll be keeping an eye out for you, so if you see a guy in a white Chrysler Sebring waving, just smile and wave back...it's all good!

Randy

Roger, that, Randy. If you see a _really_happy_ looking guy in a black '86, that's me. :)

I just finished (almost) the last of it.

For the record, if you think you have the engine fully installed, then discover the transmission ground strap in the Pile Of Parts Yet To Be Installed, it is possible to get to that bolt without removing the transmission mount.

Anyhow, I double-checked all of my connections, added oil, reconnected the battery, and turned the key. My room-mate waited apprehensively behind the car, not sure whether to expect open flames, spraying fluids, or Nothing Happens. It turned over about three times, then lit right up. The idle is terrible, and the exhaust is a little thicker, and kind of whitish, but I'm hoping that clears up some once it warms up.

The shift linkage also feels a bit wonky, like it's slightly misaligned. I was smart enough to scribe a mark in the splined part of the shaft when I disconnected it, but it seems I wasn't quite dead-on on replacing it. (sigh) Oh, well.

I would have taken 'er for a roll, but I managed to dork up the clutch linkage. On the side of the differential, there's a couple of mounts, one of which holds the clutch cable. When attempting to tighten the clutch cable bolts down, I managed to snap the end off that little part. It runs about $13 from our host, and takes about 10 days to get here from there. :( Just for testing purposes, I'm attempting to JB Weld said part back together, but I'm hesitant to drive on public roads with a part that critical in reduced capacity, so it'll be next week or so before I can really drive it. Aargh.

Anyhow, enough messing around with the car, I've got to get back to work. Thanks again for all the help and encouragement, everyone. :)

Dan

We've all learned from our mistakes. You seem to be taking the "accelerated learning course" that's all. :D

The shift coupler disconnects at the other end of the coupler. Undo the set screw instead of the clamp. It's jidden by the rubber boot.

A friend broke that same clutch cable bracket on my car. In the interest of science :D I tried the JB Weld. It lasted for one tug of the clutch cable - a few seconds.

-Chris

Yeah, "accelerated learning curve," aka "lots of dumb mistakes." :) To pull the engine, I only disconnected the set-screw. I couldn't figure out how to replace the bushings without pulling the shift coupler all the way out of the car, though. Is there a secret I'm missing?

JB Weld gave you one good tug, eh? You'd think that "the finest cold weld in the world" would be better than that. (sigh) Given my track record for JB Welding stuff, I should probably just give up and wait for the real part. Thanks for the tip; I'd have probably driven into the backside of somebody's Mercedes when the clutch let go on me, too. :)

Dan

Dan,

Looks like you're having the kind of fun I'll be having later this year.

As far as the NR stuff goes - been there, done that, and my first boat was the 730.

Isn't it nice how all the stuff NR requires you to know has no practical application? :) Oh well...

I'm saving parts of this thread for my own destruction and reconstruction project.

BTW, if I had latched onto this thread a little earlier, I might have been able to give you a tip - mechancis at the shop I used to hang out at (before I moved back to AZ) used a hot plate to heat up the parts, then grabbed them with an oven mitt and put them on the shaft. Works fine, no muscle required.

Wow, sounds like I should get started on the transmission rebuild book!

-Wayne

Wayne, if you can get it done and published by the end of the year, I'll buy one. Your book on engine rebuilding has been an absolutely invaluable resource.

We're waiting...

"Get started?" Good heavens, Wayne, I thought you were just putting the finishing touches on that book!!! You absolutely need to "get started" on that book! (You could also use, perhaps, some expedited shipping on a few parts that are known to break often, like that little clutch release cable bracket doodad, but that's just MHO...) :)

In case anyone's still curious, I figured out both of the problems.
Idle difficulties: CHT sensor was loose, only barely plugged in. Seems that CHT makes a pretty big difference in idle control, as I was running so rich I could smell the raw fuel. The neighbors came over to investigate the massive plume of smoke pouring out of my garage. Aargh. Anyhow, it turned out to be nothing -- just a loose CHT sensor. :)

Shift linkage wierdness: I was sure we had marked the position and gotten it right back into place, so I was a bit confused when it didn't shift right. Hmm, well, better double-check that linkage. Turns out we hadn't tightened down the 13mm pinch-bolts on the splined end of the coupler shaft. If you leave those loose, then the shift linkage will wander considerably, and you may find it impossible to shift into some gears. Duh. Sol'n: replaced at the marks, tightened down, retest satisfactory.


This job is all but done; I'm just waiting on Pelican to get me that one stinking silly little part, but it's special order, so it won't even ship for another week. (sigh) Thanks a billion to all the gents who helped on this one: special thanks to John Walker, the Yoda of air-cooled engines, Chris Bennet, who was always ready with a good picture of my problems, and Randy, for his never-ending morale support. I owe each and every one of you big time. :)


Dan

No fifth!
 

Wednesday afternoon update:
The part came in this afternoon (clutch release mounting bracket) from Beverly Hills Porsche. Install, adjust clutch cable, test linkage -- works fine, let's go for a drive.

1-4 and R worked just fine. Couldn't get into 5th to save my life. I stopped and readjusted the coupler twice, to no avail. Still no 5th. The bright side is that all the others work just fine, no grinding, no funny noises, etc. Having 1-4 and R working fine is heavily overshadowed by the possibility at the back of my mind that I may have to redrop the engine to fix a detent. :(

My guesses:
1 - One of the detentes is wrong. I could have sworn I checked, double-checked, and re-checked them, then checked one more time just to be safe, but I'll be the first to admit that I could have gotten it wrong. Despite the confidence that I had in my detente placement up until now, my general lack of understanding of detentes in general may have allowed me to do something stupid. :(
2 - Putting 5th gear back together (replacing both brake bands, the synchro ring, and both blocks), it's possible that I screwed something up to not allow it to engage. I find this possibility unlikely, as I tested 5th with the tranny open, and it worked fine.
3 - Shift linkage? Now I'm reaching, as reverse works great. If I can hit the 5/R slider, the shift linkage probably isn't the problem (but could be, if I push on it hard enough :) ). Not that it's related, but the other 4 feel like they're in exactly the right places, too.
4 - ?????? Please, any other alternatives?


My plan, as of right this instant:
1 - Go through the coupler adjustment/alignment procedure one more time, just to make sure.
2 - Drain the oil, pull the access cover. See if I can find something obviously stupid.
3 - Partial drop, pull the front cover. Theoretically, if there's something wrong with 5th, I should be able to figure it out by pulling the front cover, yes?
4 - Assuming 1-3 failed, do a full drop, re-dismantle the tranny (just removing it down to the diff, not taking apart either shaft), and recheck the detentes.


Thoughts? Questions, comments, concerns? Please please please, any alternatives to dropping my engine and taking my tranny back apart? Thanks again for all the help. You've been an invaluable aid in this project!


Hopeless near Seattle,
Dan

Thursday morning bump?

Is there a way to check the applicable detente without dismantling the tranny? It seems like if I'm really limber under the car, I ought to be able to pull a couple of detente plugs and check for horse pill detentes and sequencing without doing a full drop. Would that help? What other possibilities am I missing that would cause 5th to fail like this?

TIA,

Dan

I would start by pulling the bottom access plate and looking in. I believe beyond that you're pulling the engine.

#!!@#$$#@!. That's what I was afraid of.

It's like another episode of Pinky and The Brain: "Brain, what are we going to do tonight?" "The same thing we do every night, Pinky -- try to make the transmission work!!" (sigh)

Dan

Dan,

This really sucks!!! :(

When you were inside the tranny, did you happen to loosen the shift fork for 5-R? Is it possible that the fork is just not moving onto 5th?

You don't describe very well what happens when you attempt 5th. Does the shifter move to the proper position without engaging 5th, or can you not move the shifter? If the shifter goes to the correct position, I would guess maybe the fork.

Another thing that really kinda stinks is I am flying back to Atlanta tomorrow. If I was staying through the weekend, I would love to swing up and give you a hand!

I haven't had access to the www for a few days. Been staying at my wife's sister's house in Gig Harbor and have been keeping an eye out for you on the freeways. Had a great time yesterday. Swung by and shook the hand of "Yoda". Figured I came this far and owed John Walker a big "Thank You" so I took the opportunity and did just that. What a great guy!!!!

Stay with it, Dan, Perserverance will pay off!

Randy

a detent would not cause your problem. shift coupler adjustment maybe. center the shift handle in the tower and move it all the way left. at this point, the coupler needs to be all the way right.

Randy -- I feel terrible -- you were all the way out here in Gig Harbor, which is like half an hour south of here, and I couldn't be bothered to drive down and buy you a beer. I was just too caught up in getting this stinking transmission working again. :(

Anyhow, the details of the "feel" -- I can get it into 1-4 just fine, no problems. I can get into R every single time. When I shoot for 5, though, it feels like the shift linkage is going all the way over, and I'm pulling on the shift fork, and it just isn't going in. It's like there's some mechanical blockage in the way, like the slider just won't go onto 5th, or like the shift fork won't pull that direction. In my own mind, I've mostly ruled out the coupler, as I can get into the 5-R plane to hit R every time, so I know I'm hitting the 5-R shift fork and pulling on the slider. I didn't loosen any of the shift forks, contrary to the Bentley but IAW all of the Pelican Wisdom, so I doubt that's the problem. The only thing I'm beginning to doubt, as I think about it, is the detents -- it's the only part of the whole thing that I just blindly followed the pictures and didn't fiddle with until I understood fully.

John, thanks for the encouraging reply. If you're sure it's not a detent, that makes me a whole lot happier. Deep down in my heart of hearts, I'm hoping you're right, and that I don't have to re-drop the engine, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself. I'll go at that coupler adjustment a few more times this afternoon or evening.


Dan



PS -- JWW -- what's your favorite beer? I owe you at least a case, at this point...