Shift rod seal gone bad???

While I was inspecting underneath my car, I noticed a lot of oil/sludge at the very front of my tranny, even some spots forward of that. I'm suspecting it's the shift rod seal. Is it possible/normal for oil to seep up the shift rod and into the tunnel? Is there anything else at the front of the tranny that might be leaking oil?

I've read the Pelican tech article on how to replace the seal, does anyone have any further advice?

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

Bill,

Yes, you will probably find, depending on the condition of the dust boots, a pretty good mess on the tunnel floor! I would suggest getting new inner & outer rubber boots, in addition to a new seal. Be sure to mark the position of the coupler before you remove it!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

I have same thing. I have put off doing seal change for approx. a year, refilling with fluid as I go, hence put off Swepco. Please email me when you do it as I want to ask questions regarding removing the old seal. Thanks, Joe

remove the tunnel cover plate and remove the set screw only, and move the coupler out of the way. a small screwdriver will easily pop out the seal. slip on the new seal, and gently tap it in with a very small ball peen hammer. swab up mess.

John -- you make it sound pretty easy. The tech article mentions covering the seal with "non-hardening gasket sealer". Do you use this when you replace this seal?

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

I used John Walker's technique on my '73 915 gearbox awhile ago to change the selector shaft seal. I hear that there are some that this technique cannot be used on, because of a different nosecone design. Which years of tranny do you have to remove the whole thing to get to the seal from the inside?

I opened up the access panel and verified that it's the shift rod seal leaking. There is quite a bit of oil in there. What a mess. The dust boots don't look bad, but the rear one wasn't attached correctly, and was just flopping around. I took a look at the existing seal and it didn't look much like the tech article. The seal looks like it was pushed in too far or collapsed in too far. I'm not sure if I can get a screwdriver in to pry it out, but I'll find something to use. I'm sure there are worse places to be leaking oil from!

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

Harbor Freight sells (am I am sure others do too) a set of picks that are hooked. These things are just the greatest for getting small seals out.



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Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HOLD ON!

i suppose gasket sealer wouldn't hurt, never used any personally. the seal that requires trans teardown is the early 915 mainshaft seal. up to 74 i think. what a fine engineering idea.