Factory Short Shifter welds broke

[450knotOffice]

Sheesh. Last week I changed out my stock, long throw shifter for the Porsche short shift kit. It went together with no special issues and worked great. However, as happens often, when I attempted to re-install the shift knob, I broke the top off and marred up the rest of it pretty badly. No problem, after posting a request today for shift knob ideas I decided on a nice almost stock looking item from (gasp) Pep Boys. Another guy here used one just like it and it looked pretty good in his car.

Soooo...that old knob was on their pretty tight so I decided to twist it off with pliers. Literally as soon as I grabbed the knob with the pliers and twisted, the shift rod popped and then spun around down at the bottom on it's axis. I rolled my eyes and decided it was time to find out what broke.

15 minutes later, with the shifter out of the car, here is what I found. The tack weld that attached the rod to the receptacle just snapped. I guess I need to find a welder to reattach it - better than the factory did.

Moral of the story, do not twist the shift rod with pliers!

[Zeke]

Bring it by...... I'll weld it. I'll PM you my contact info.

BTW, If that were cleaned really well, epxoy will work.

[slodave]

Yikes, Time to lay off of the steroids! That's a bummer, at least you have another Porsche to drive. Good luck with the fix.

Dave

[DW SD]

Scott,
I can weld it too, I'm in Encinitas, if that's any closer.

I also have a '86 915 shifter (factory short) w/ the factory shift knob on it. I'll sell it, if you are interested.

Doug

[450knotOffice]

That explains it. Live and learn, I suppose.

[jbell959]

I bought a brand new short shift kit and the shifter broke loose during shipping. The epoxy they are using is weak.

[DW SD]

You could probably epoxy it together again, successfully, as well.
I'd ensure it is super clean, and also maybe rough it up with 60 grit paper or even a rough grinding stone.

Doug

[450knotOffice]

I may just try that tomorrow. I'm amazed that Porsche is actually putting it's name on these poorly assembled products. As long as they've been making them I can't imagine that they've always been that weak. I'm guessing this is a new production issue.

[scottb]

Properly cleaned surfaces (and the suggestion to rough-up with 60 grit sandpaper is a good one) and JB Weld and you'll be good to go!

[450knotOffice]

Thanks. I'll work on it tomorrow.

[jaydubya]

My factory short shifter broke there too after about 2 years. Epoxied it. That lasted about 3 months. Then I had it welded. Has been fine ever since. Make sure that the welds don't limit the shifter motion. I believe that it was welded at 12:00 and 6:00.

[RV Flyer]

Must be a whole batch of bad ones from Porsche. I ordered one from our host and on the first road trip after installation the shifter lever started rotating, and next thing I know I cannot get 5th gear anymore. Its a long way from Olympia to Hansville in 4th, for sure. I was able to eventually get it into 5th with some delicate angling of the lever and just the right amount of force....

Inspection showed the failed joint (brazed?), and I advised our host of what I felt was poor quality components from Porsche, especially at the price. Our host did not indicate any others having this problem (this was early August 2006). My fix was to reassemble (with plenty of Loctite at the joint, just for whatever value it might add) using a 0.125 diameter roll pin inserted through a match drilled hole in the assembly.

So far, the repair seems fine - but it shouldn't be needed on an expensive item like this, from "the factory" no less....

In addition, the spring loaded triangular piece (on top of the shift aseembly cover) that kicks the lever back into the 3-4 gate when you leave 5th was poorly finished, causing rough operation and a slight hangup as you come out of 5th. When I had things apart to fix the brazed joint I found heavy wear on the shift lever from an unfinished, sharp edge on the triangular piece. A couple minutes with a Dremel to put a smooth radiius on it, and it was much better - but, again, poor quality control on something that ought to be much better.

[wcc]

This thread just talked me out of getting that shift kit.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by wcc
This thread just talked me out of getting that shift kit.

As was pointed out it is not just the factory short shift kit. Many of the 84-89 Carreras have the same problem. The epoxy gets old and lets go. 5 minute weld job solves the problem. Really not a big deal.

[911pcars]

Since one can order just a shift lever over the counter, the factory probably thinks the epoxy is a permanent solution and welding isn't required.

Fully assembled in the shift housing, the shift lever tab/hook must align with the corresponding 5th/reverse tabs on the top carrier plate. If the lever separates, merely removing and welding the two pieces doesn't ensure correct alignment with these tabs. To verify correctly alignment, temporarily glue the two lever pieces (JB Weld or equivalent), then remove and weld. If you trust other alignment methods (e.g. eyeball, marking, etc.) go for it.

A tack weld in two spots is more than sufficient.



Sherwood

[real550A]

Is the moral of the story to weld upon delivery, before it breaks?
Seems as though this would assure proper alignment and avoid further "going in".

[450knotOffice]

Ya know...I had a feeling that this might have been a more common problem. I agree with 550A, this part should have been tack welded by the factory rather than glued.

Oh well, I have to admit I don't mind "tinkering" with the car at all. It gives me something to do with the car, which I enjoy.

[Freybird]

That's odd, the same thing happened to me last night. I've sanded and cleaned the surfaces. The JB is curing now.

[Burt at Pelican Parts]

This isn't the first case of this I've seen. It's happened before. The surfaces aren't properly cleaned before welding and it seems just like it lacks penetration as well.

[450knotOffice]

Fellow Pelican PatrickB just had this happen to him yesterday also. He said he put 90K miles on it though before it broke yesterday. Here's his message from yesterday:

Too bizarre about your shifter... Guess who is having the exact SAME problem... My local wrench will be attempting the weld method on Wednesday... I'll let you know how it goes...

Patrick