Your "while you're in there" list - shifter bushing replacement
 

I've finally had my fill of crappy shifting. The 915 shifter is junk. It's stiff into 1st and scratches reverse. I've replaced just about every item on this car except the shifter bushings.
I plan to buy the Pelican shifter and coupler bushings. Thought I would tap the mass Porsche tech brain that is this forum and see what other little helpful hints and useful tidbits might be found for aiding the arguably worst engineered part of the fabulous 911.

(Don't say WEVO, this ain't the gold plated Porsche)

- add 1985 shifter w/tower

- ball cup bushing

- ring bushing for the shifter tube

- your car probably has a bunch of noise isolation junk back there -- an was in Excellence a few years ago on redoing that stuff

- shop vac out all the crud back in the tunnel

- clean tunnel surface and paint Quiet Coat all over the surfaces on bottom & rear; then put some clear over it to protect it

- inspect & replace all the cruddy rubber gaskets you'll find back there

-- if you think that is the worst part of the car, wait until your dash catches on fire...

This month's excellence has a tech article and picture-by-picture guide for replacing the shifter bushings.

I replaced all of the bushings and changed the fluid recently and the difference is almost unbelievable!

The whole job was pretty easy. The ball cup bushing and shifter tube bushings are easy enough; the coupler bushings are a little tricky, but not bad. I remember reading some people had broke their shift coupler while trying to remove the pin by hammering on it. I used my drill press as a makeshift press and the pin pushed right out - I also used it to reinstall the pin. Remember to mark the position of the coupler on the shift rod to give yourself a reference point when you put it back together.

There's also a good article on how to blueprint your shifter on Seine System's website (www.seinesystems.com) - it's easy and can't hurt.

If you're "scratching reverse", maybe your clutch needs adjusting?

This is the path most people have taken, each step offering incremental improvments.

First, replace the bushings, they'er cheap and a sensible first step to improved shifting. If you like DIY stuff it's actually fun.

There is a cup bushing at the end of you shifter, a ring bushing a few inches back and a shift coupler bushing in front of the rear seats. Getting the bushings out of the coupler is a little tricky, do a search, lots of info here or just buy the entire coupler new, it's much easier, but it's $100.

Or Stomski makes a nice solid coupler with no free play in it that is also very nice for about the same money. I know you said not to but Wevo does happen to make one also for about the same money, also very nice.

Then try changing the tranny fluid to Swepco, I found this also helps a little as well.

Then you could try new motor and trans mounts, a little more costly but the thinking is if the mounts are in good shape the drive train won't missalign under stress making shifting easier.

That's about all you can do without getting spendy. After that it's rebuilt transmission and swanky shifters of the Wevo type.

I've done all these and each one did help a little. Still, I'm putting in a rebuilt trans this week but that would be my last move because it's the priciest. If a cheaper step along the way solves the problem, hey, your done.

I've heard people say that the 915 just doesn't shift well, I wouldn't know, mine has always had worn syncros.

Next week I will report on how well a 915 can shift when rebuilt. The rebuild is costing $2,500 but I'm single and I hear that a wife or wife/children are much more expensive. Perhaps those with wives can offer a cost comparison for me.

Let us know how you make out with the bushings.

I just did this a few weeks ago on my SC,the only thing I would add to the advice already given here is I went with the Pelican bronze shift coupler bushings and it really tightened it up.

Replacing the coupler bushings is trouble free if you remember you have to remove a press-fit steel pin from a steel block without putting any force on the alloy yoke which is located by the pin. The solution is to capture the steel block in a vice, without touching the yoke. Then, simply start the pin with a punch. You can push it out with your fingers, after it is started.
(You might want to clean up the edges of the yoke before you insert the new bushings. The soft material catches on sharp edges.)
Once the pesky little bushings are in place, hold the yoke in position, (you left the block in the vice, remember) and re-insert the pin. Re-seat the pin with the help of your punch and a small hammer.
Les

Rarly, I made new bushings this past year and it DID make a substantial difference.

Here is my post on it, if you are into the DIY thing
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207567&highlight=diy+sh ift+bushing

That's all good Tim but it might take me a while to carve out a bushing using a butter knife. No lathe here. Ha!

Thanks guys, all good stuff.

My tranny scratches reverse when I down shift from 5th to 4th. I have developed the habbit of smacking it past the gate and then down to 4th. You know it's time to do something repair wise when it gets to that point.
The other anoyance is that it's stiff going into 1st. The shifter gets lost and I have to feel for it an push it in. (That's some sad ***** in any situation Ha!)
The GOOD part is that the tranny was rebuild a few years back and still has good synchros. No issues there.

A few years ago I rebuilt the shifting mechanism in my '73T and had the tranny rebuilt at the same time. The result was nearly modern shifting, very acceptable. These cars could realy have used the $150 gate now offered by the aftermarket.

Any more tips? Picky points?

did you read Bill Verburg's pst about the way he did his? cheap but positive - he wasn't sure if it would cause problems, but found none after XX miles

anyway, that's the Wheaties version - search it up for the real thing