Problem shifting
 

My 1976 911S is hard to shift into 1st and 2nd; 3rd and 4th is no problem; 5th can sometimes give me problems. My frustrations come when I come to a complete stop and try to find 1st gear, I have noticed that if it shifts easy into the 1st gear position I automatically know it's in 3rd gear. I then have to pull back to neutral and reshift until I feel a "moderate drag" - for lack of better terms - then I can somewhat have a sence that I am in 1st gear. So 1st and 3rd are in the same position. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should start looking and adjusting. I have the haynes manual and I do my own work. Thanks in advance for any Help.

Lou

The haynes manual is really not very good. You should invest in the bentley as well as the 101 projects book from our host.

For the shifter you need to replace all the appropriate bushings in the shifter tunnel.

Being new here the best friend you can have is the search button up to your top right.

You can search the archives. There are many threads on this.
Welcome to the forum. You have found one of the best resources available on the web for your car.

may be time to replace the coupler bushings

put it in 2nd when stopped before going into 1st

Ditto on all the bushings. I'd also suggest that you check the coupling at the transmission and replace it as well. Take a good look at the the base at the shifter/collar. It wears as well and the collar can actually separate at the ball......mine did.

Dirty Marty
Fallbrook, Ca

If you're a new 911 owner... they don't shift as smooth as other cars, even when things are perfect. They do require a little finese. Very difficult to quick shift. I have replaced all my bushings and things got a little better. But my 86 toyota pickup shifts like silk compared to my 911. I always get the car in first before I stop rolling. Occasionally double clutch is necessary to get things moving. Swepco trans fluid will help you out a little too.

-Troy
86 Carrera

The 915 tranny is infamous for being a little stodgy going into first and second, make sure the clutch cable and linkage at the tranny are adjusted correctly and inspect those shifter bushings. Wayne's 101 projects book covers the replacement and adjustment, it's available through this site. Other than that, clutch fully and pause a little between first and second gears. Do a search for 'hard shifting', pull up a chair and read through the thousands of posts on this issue. You can make it operate smoother, but it will always be a 915, and they just do that.
Welcome to the Pelican BBS, a lot of your questions can be answered here!

Regards,

This post ROCKS!
 

Jerry, Randy, Marty, Troy and Joe

Thanks to all you Kool dudes! I'm new to this post and already I feel like Family. You fellas are the best! I'm getting right on it!


Thanks again!
Lou

Try going to the Tech Info center on this site and you will get all the info you need to check your shifting problem out. There are two articles that I know of in this area that will help as the problem may not be as bad as you think. I had a problem similar to yours after my engine was refitted and all it needed was adjustment. A bit of fiddling around and it was fixed.

Richard.

Lou - here's a simple version, from cheapest & easiest to most spendy:

1. replace 3 bushings in shifter & coupler; adjust shifter
2. replace shifter with a used 1986 unit (has more adjustments) & do #1
3. buy Sherwood's shifter 'guide plate' item
4. buy various other aftermarket shifters
5. buy the Wevo shifter & their coupler (getting close to burning thru $1k)

A factory short-shifter could also be used in conjunction with 1-3 above.

Good Luck

Hi
I don't want to be a negative gay.
My gearbox was hard to shift specially
first to second gear.
I tray the first steps and no improvements.
When i take my gear box apart, so i could se the parts.
The syncro rings and hubs where poor and more.
What i want to say is even with bad parts in the gearbox you still can drive the car.
I am think that there are many gearbox which have poor parts but still running.
If you want good shifting you need to rebuild your gearbox.

/tom

Try the bushings first... it's cheap and easy, this was the first thing I did and it made a difference. The car still doesn't shift like my Audi, but hey, I'm getting used to it.

Give it time to learn how to drive the car... start with a grandma style and evolve from there.

The shift speed on these original, non upgraded 915s is limited... very limited compared to new cars.

Welcome and good luck...

Sorry to hijack, but I just noticed that we have another Pelican family member in Sweden - Welcome to the club Tom, where are you located??

Thanks guys, I can't believe the great help I'm getting...great post! Hey KROGGERS "nice Icon, hot girl" good taste!! The more suggestions the better!

Lou

I would add Swepco 201 oil to the top of the list when it comes to the 915 box. It made a world of difference to my gearbox.

And welcome Tom, nice too see more Swede's here.

It sounds like your shift coupler bushing in the tunnel between the seats might be worn out. You can pull up the carpet in the back seats between the front seats and you will see an access panel that you can remove.

I had the same problem, but didn't need the bushing...only an adjustment. Its not rocket science to adjust. It just takes a lot of time and trial and error.

The is a write up in the tech section. read it a couple times. Its frustrating, but eventually, you'll get it right.

Gary

Lou,

This is from the tech article section. Hope it helps.

Gary


Guest Technical Article:
911 Shifting Improvements
Dennis Kalma & Bob Tindel

Foreward by Wayne:
Here is some information on improving your shifting and shift linkage in your 911. Thanks to Dennis Kalma and Bob Tindel for donating their tips on adjustment and tweaking.


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So for those who have trouble with type 915 transmissions and shifting, based on a broad statistical sample of 1....I conclude the following which is of no validity nor supportability.

Given that the synchro’s are in good shape and they are adjusted right....the suckers are not hard to shift at all. Yes they baulk on forced shifts....but that is what they are supposed to do. If you shift smoothly and crisply there are no problems...no need to run it through other gears at stop lights etc. The key is proper shift linkage adjustment.

So for those who are having problems, here is the "trick"

1. Check the bushings in your shift linkage. This includes the 2 at the coupler between the rear seats, the one under the housing which is in the hoop retained by the 2 smaller bolts on the shift housing and the cup at the bottom of the shift rod. Make sure they are in good shape, they are cheap and easy to replace.

2. Make sure that if you have a later housing, that the longitudinal pivot pin is nicely snug, not too loose. You can tell if you have this housing as it will have a lock nut on the front (visible when you peel back the rubber boot around the shift lever. Consider upgrading to the later (post ‘78) housing and factory short shift kit if you haven’t already.

3. Make sure your clutch is adjusted right. It should engage about ¼ to 1/3 up from the floor board (IMHO) and have about 20mm of free play, measured by pulling the clutch pedal back...as there is a spring which is pressing it towards the floor board, hence the bit of tension.

4. Follow the factory shifter adjustment procedure. It is as follows:

a) Take off the cover between the rear seats which exposes the shift coupler. Pull up the shifter boot, particularly so you can see the lower part of the shifter lever where it bends from "angled back" to more vertical.

b) Loosen the retaining bolt which pinches the shift rod on to the spline on the shift coupler. Let it be very loose.

c) WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN NEUTRAL, rotate the shift coupler clockwise when viewed towards the front of the car. You should be able to feel the coupler rub against the various shift stops as you rotate it back and forth. Rotate it to the furthest clockwise position, as seen when you are facing forward. Don’t pretend you are Tarzan and turn it with huge force....lightly is all that is necessary..

d) Keep your hand on it and hold it there. Don’t let it wiggle, if it does, turn it back to the furthest clockwise position.

e) Move the shift lever so that the more vertical part of the lever is vertical (ie 90 degrees to the level...sticking straight up so to speak). Move it so that it lightly touches the side of the shifter housing which is on the 1st/2nd gear side.....closest to the driver. Again, gently.

f) They should now be properly aligned.....lever closest to the driver with bottom part vertical, coupler clockwise in the neutral plane.

g) Carefully tighten the pinch bolt. Make sure it is quite tight.

h) Check things out. You must be able to engage reverse clash free (give the gear a little bit of time to stop after you stomp on the clutch), shifting should get to all the gears easily when driving.....things don’t work as smoothly when stopped and lastly, there must be a little bit of rotational play when 5th gear is selected. This is checked by shifting into 5th, and feeling whether you can wiggle the shift coupler with your hand. It should just click back and forth slightly...not much, but clearly discernable play.

i) Assuming all is well, put all the covers back. If it is not well....my fervent suggestion is that you START OVER at b. ....I have never had any luck fiddling with the linkage.

Drive and be happy.

Dennis Kalma
kalmad@cadvision.com
‘75 911S with Kremer 3.2


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Shift Linkage - Adjustment

1. Remove the cover plate on the tunnel, behind the front seats.

2. Place gearshift in neutral.

3. Loosen the shift rod clamp. Turn the shift rod (by grasping the coupler) to the right, as seen in the direction of driving.

4. Move gearshift lever to the left until it touches the stop, and move it fore-and-aft until the lower section is vertical when viewed from the side (the fore-and-aft adjustment can be modified to suit the driver, provided sufficient length of the shifter rod remains inside the clamp).

5. Lightly tighten the clamp.

6. Check if equally long travel is evident in gears 1-4, and that 5th and reverse can be easily engaged. Correct as necessary.

7. Tighten the clamp securely.

8. Shift into 5th gear, and check the shift rod for rotational play.

A definite (slight) amount of play must be evident.

This is also a good time to inspect the shift coupler bushings. Be aware that some fore-and-aft play in the coupler bushings is required.

Bob Tindel
btindel@gte.net

You might have it adjusted so 1st, 3rd, and 5th shift nice, but 4th is difficult. You just have to keep adjusting. It takes a few tries and a bit of time to get it right.

Gary