newbie shifting concern

[onebad911]

new 1984 911 owner here, i have a question, it seems when i want to shift into first gear at a stoplight sometimes she wants to grind not all the time..she also does it in reverse sometimes am i doing something wrong or is that just the nature of a 915. i noticed if i pause a couple of seconds and shift easy she don't do it................opinions? thanks for everybodys help

Phil

[GSpreeman]

Could be a throw out bearing on it's way out. Or, maybe the clutch needs some adjusting. It may not be completely disengaging.

Just my $.02

Greg

[Greek55]

Welcome,
You need to adjust your coupler that is in the hump, behind the seats and see if that helps. If you do a search you can find tips on doing this. You can also get instructions from the technical articles on this website. Best thing to do is order the 101 Projects For Your Porsche 911, book from our host. Great instruction, with pictures, for doing it yourself stuff.

[Zef]

May be a good starting point to check your clutch cable...may be elongated with time...readjust and re-check...

[bkreigsr]

it helps to poke the lever into first before shifting into reverse. with enough seat time, you will be able to eliminate the crunch.

[Grady Clay]

All of the above are very worthwhile suggestions.

One issue with shifting into first gear at a stop is the asymmetrical syncro of first gear. Most don’t have any “servo” effect when “up-shifting” into first gear. That occurs when you are at a stop in neutral with your foot off the clutch pedal. The light changes, you depress the clutch and put it into first. That is an “up-shift” and it can grind.

You can cure this at a transmission rebuild by installing a 2nd gear syncro, servo parts and dogs. You will need the NLA symmetrical 1-2 sliding sleve. The down-side is you will have slightly less effective servo-syncro downshift from 2nd into 1st.

Best,
Grady

[CharlesJones]

Hi Phil,

I think this is quite a common problem with 915s and I doubt is the cause for too much concern. I had problems getting into first at traffic lights - it wasn't grinding in my case but it was just reluctant to actually go into gear. I found changing the shift bushings helped. Like others suggested above, adjusting the clutch cable and the shift coupler might help too, as might renewing the shift coupler bushings. Try doing a search for these things. I do think this is quite typical behviour of a 915 though - ideally if it's all set up correct and not too worn it shouldn't do it, but many do.

[911pcars]

Double clutch anytime you downshift. This preserves the synchros as much as possible.

Sherwood

[bigchillcar]

in the meantime, if it hasn't been suggested, you can always 'touch second gear' and then shift immediately into 1st. you'd shift all the way into 2nd, just touch down into it to stop the spin and then you'll shift right into first without a grind. i'd definitely check my clutch cable condition (good for roughly 10k miles..how old does your records indicate it is?) and then i'd check the shift coupler lastly.