no more first gear...WTF happened?

[jfw834]

Well,

after 2 days of driving my 79 sc I have no first gear left. I had driven only 50 miles, mostly city under 40mph, and on my second trip to work, first gear stopped working.

the trans got a good PPI and had no grinding or slipping at all, 2nd gear was a bit tough to find but not bad, it sortof squeaked into third, and overall it seemed like it might have needed a little lubrication if anything. The syncros was great, I could downshift into first while rolling to a stop without problem......HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!

I was rolling up to a red light ....stopped......put it in first.....and when i let out the clutch the shifter violently popped back into neutral. Did this about three times thinking I didn't quite have it in gear, and then drove the rest of the way in 2nd-5th gear. Took it straight to the shop and they provided me with the HORRIBLE news that first gear was gone. mechanic found shredded dog teeth in the tranny...

I handled this tranny like it was a fu$#ing newborn baby since i picked up the car......I never missed a shift, or heard any grinding at all. only abnormaility that occured was I stalled the engine once not giving enough gas.....other than that, I cannot imagine what caused this complete failure of the first gear....ESPECIALLY without hearing any massive grinding noise at all....

please help me out here....is this possible? could this be something that happened before i got the car and the damage got worse with time?

believe me, if i screwed up my car from my own stupidity I would just say "OH SH$%, i'm an idiot" and pull out the checkbook. But this is the FURTHEST from what I expected after getting a great PPI and having no trouble with the car and driving it with care. I learned how to drive a manual tranny when I was 11 years old....WTF happend?

HELP!

-jeff

[Paulporsche]

What was the condition of the trans fluid? How many miles on the car/trans?

You probably didn't do anything to cause the failure.

My guess is that every 25 years or so things like dog teeth break.

[Zeke]

I don't think this is anything you did. The description you gave of the shifting doesn't sound like everything was in perfect working order no matter what the PPI said. First gears like to give up on burnouts and other abuse; doesn't sound like you're guilty of that either.

I hope you don't get too discouraged because of this. I know I'd have a hard time not to, but keep your chin up and come join us on a canyon run when you get it back. A little fun with the boys will make all your trouble here seem like hardly anything.

[jfw834]

well.....i am pretty bent out of shape......

Thing is that I got a well respected and positive PPI on the tranny. My mechanic is in enough words calling me a liar that I most definately am at fault. This really is SO difficult for me to believe.....

I'm really interested to hear if others have had suprising tranny failures that they didn't expect to go so suddenly.

I hadn't even gotten to the canyons yet! I was on 6th street downtown!!!

[bkrygier]

Just curious. What did your PPI set you back?

[Zeke]

I wouldn't be too happy with any mechanic calling me a liar. Maybe the PO was babying the car more than your definition of babying so he could get by until it sold. Who knows?

The only thing I know is that mechanic would be on my ***** list. There's just too many good shops around. Over the hill from you, you've got TRE and in Venice you've got Otto's, who is a tranny guru.

[JP911]

Perhaps you should consider another mechanic. I'm sure that others here could make a recommendation.

[jfw834]

talked to Otto,

he confirmed that it may have been an act of god and that first gear goes out all the time. he thinks the tranny wasn't fully in gear and my 1700 rpm rev took the tired dog teeth off more easily and quietly than I could have imagined. between a rock and a hard place......

gonna get estimates on rebuild ......any ballpark figures I should look for? 1800-2500 I have heard....

[N11Porsche]

I had a PPI done when I purchased my 1979 911SC. The car did fine with the exception of a small oil leak.

I drove the Porsche for 6 weeks, drove it hard on occasion but no speed shifts or missed shifts. On the way home from a ride out to the ocean with my wife I had the same problem. The transmission would not shift into 1st. By the time I got home, both 1st and 2nd were gone. Like others have already posted, after 25 years things wear out or break.

When a PPI is done, they don't open the tranny. They just drive the car, upshifting and downshifting to check for problems. I didn't blame the mechanic for not picking up the fact that the tranny decided to die 6 weeks later.

Little sidenote: While the tranny was out I had them fix the "while your in there" stuff. $5,000. total tab. 5 years of absolutely trouble-free ownership since than. Great car - stuff happens.

[Neilk]

You can probably save about $500 if you drop the engine and bring them the transmission. You are a member of this board now, time to get your hands dirty...

Sorry to hear about your troubles. While you are there, you should replace the bushings under the gear shift tower. That's a real easy job that you can do yourself.

[john walker's workshop]

act of god. happens all the time. be sure to replace the 2nd gear syncro teeth regardless of what they look like. they're old and can shed teeth just like 1st.

[rcecale]

Originally posted by jfw834
gonna get estimates on rebuild ......any ballpark figures I should look for? 1800-2500 I have heard....

If you have access to the tools you'll need, you can rebuild 1st & 2nd for well under $1000. And probably get 1 through 4 for under $1500. Do it yourself, man. You'll love the experience!

Randy

[Zeke]

Originally posted by jfw834

gonna get estimates on rebuild ......any ballpark figures I should look for? 1800-2500 I have heard....

Sounds fair. Sliders (dogteeth) are roughly $150 each and synchros add up fast. Figure a min of $500 in parts and and min of $500 in bench labor. Bare minimum I'm saying and nothing ever gets away being bare minimum. Then you have the R & R part, another min of $500. Your $1800 would be best senario. Better plan on spending a little more.

$5000? Man, that sounds like a new tranny. Yeah, you can buy a good used tranny for a grand.

[djmcmath]

I had almost exactly the same symptoms and failure. Turns out 1st gear synchro had utterly died on me. I'd like to recommend that if you're halfway mechanically inclined, you can rebuild a 915 on your own. The money that you save on labor can be put towards parts that you wouldn't have been able to afford to replace. Heck, I'm halfway through my rebuild, and I've only had to spend $60 on other people's labor.

Dan

[N11Porsche]

Originally posted by N11Porsche
Little sidenote: While the tranny was out I had them fix the "while your in there" stuff. $5,000. total tab. 5 years of absolutely trouble-free ownership since than. Great car - stuff happens.

I should have made that a little clearer. The 5k included a full rebuild of the tranny. Syncros, gears, bearings. Plus a new clutch, motor mounts, engine sound pad, fix the oil leak, factory short-shift kit & more.

[SpeedracerIndy]

$1800+ is what I was quoted for a first and second rebuild. I then did it myself for $1250 which included a new clutch, resurfaced flywheel, rebuilt alternator and a very large list of "while your in there" stuff. Do it yourself, it's not that hard, you will save money, and it's a very satisfing job.

[Sonic dB]

Wayne from Pelican is working on a Tranny Rebuild book....

[Doug Steinel]

Here is a plan. On this Board put a WTB ad for a used 915. I am sure you can pick up a used, working 915 for $1,000. Get some Pelicans over for an engine drop, and put the used 915 in. Over the next year you will use the tranny you bought while you rebuild the one that is shot. Wayne is now working on a tranny rebuild book, due next year.

[rcecale]

Here's another plan...

Invite those same Pelicans over and have an Engine/Tranny dropping party. Once out, you can replace the parts for 1st and 2nd for under $1000.00. Ask me how I know.

Then, when it's all put back together, have another party to put the thing back together.

Beer & Burgers: $100.00
Replacement Parts: under $1000.00
Learning Experience and meeting local Pelicans: PRICELESS!!!

Randy

[wrx paul]

Just to cover all your bases, 1st thing to do is pull the tunnel cover off behind the front seats and check the shift coupler. When the bushings go on that you might no be able to get it into the gear properly. If this is the problem you might have a $20 fix.