Here's my gears with the 915 apart...

[silvercar00]

The shop told me that I needed 1-4 new sliders, synchros, and dog teeth. What do you think. I KNOW that 1st is trashed...typical.
It's from my 86 cabriolet with 62K on the odometer.

[livi]

Sorry, not skilled enough to help. Just a thought - 62k and already need for gear repair ? And on all 1-4 gears ? I would have thought they īd last longer than that.. What was the symptoms ? 62k - I thought that was more like the life expectancy of the clutch.

But, hey, I am a rookie.

[john walker's workshop]

teeth, syncro and sleeve, all used up. what's the rest of the stuff look like? the 2nd gear side of the sleeve looks the worst, so how do the 2nd teeth look?

[Motorhead-45]

I'm no expert either (oops, looks like the expert got a reply in above me) but I have rebuilt my 915 transmission and the three photos you have show parts that I would definately replace!

[silvercar00]

These guys are saying that replacing should make it trouble free for the long run , ( with warrantee) and they are reassenbling it right now. They replaced all dog teeth, sliders and synchros for 1, 2, 3 and 4, resurfaced the flywheel new flywheel seal , thermostat o-ring ( the motor's out, after all, new clutch and flywheel bolts, new oil hose from tank "s-hose".for around 4600.00.

[Motorhead-45]

$4600....ouch! Makes me glad I do my own maintenance. About $1600.00 in parts and $3k in labor.

[slotcar]

Why not buy a rebuilt/core exchange? You could probably pick one up for half the amount you've been quoted...Maybe I'm missing something here...?

[john walker's workshop]

damn, i wish i could feel good about charging that much.

[silvercar00]

I keep hearing horror stories about "rebuilt" transmissions....This is MN and we have one shop ( this one) that does all the air-cooled Porsche work for the two dealerships in town. No competition, so they charge book rates at around 95 an hour. They were going to charge me an hour labor to replace my soundpad until I questioned that ( it's almost off by itself) I thhink that I'm getting hit for like 20 hours labor here. I've been buy that shop and I think that they might have actual 7 on the teardown and that allows them about 13 on the reassembly. I'm probably getting gouged here on labor, but the parts prices really weren't out of line. I'll never go to these guys for other stuff. I'd never rebuild a 911 motor, and I certainly would NOT hire them to do it. ( they say completes go to 12K on a 3.2 in their shop).

[Motorhead-45]

Don't get me wrong, quality workmanship often dictates that you pay quality hourly rates especially in a sole-source environment. If the shop you are using has a strong reputation and you are o.k. with writing the check then it's really a non-issue as long as the final product meets your satisfaction. The only guy that needs to be comfortable with the value for the dollars spent is you!

[slotcar]

There use to be a guy that would rebuild your transaxle and return in two days...I can't remember his name, or if he is still running the operation. I agree that you do not want a hack job, but if you can re-install it, I think you could save quite bit. Excellence and Pano always have quite a few reputable rebuilders (advertised)...might be worth checking out.

[silvercar00]

Well , think that I allowed myself to be gouged a bit in exchange for peace of mind and recourse in the event of a botched job for very important, nescessary work on a car that I've wanted for a long time. (Careful for what you wish for....) I did my own work on a 914 motor in the past and consulted every shadetree "i-used-to-work-on-a -lot-of Volkswagens" idiot and got in even deeper and never got the pleasure of driving the intact, properly running car. That experience probably helped me be so amenable to this...

[slotcar]

piece of mind is key....hopefully you can get her up and running soon.

[silvercar00]

Yeah suppposed to be ready tomorrow afternoon.( along with that bill)..I dropped it off Tuesday morning....