'73 won't shift into first or second...
 

I've never personally done any bushing adjustments but this car had the bushings and coupler replaced just a few months back when it did the same thing. Rather than take it back to the shop I'd like to give it a go myself. With your help of course..

I took the cover plate off the rear coupler and by turning the rod that goes thru the tunnel I can get it to engage first and second no problem but there is a lot of "play" in the rod that seems to prevent moving the shifter far enough to the left to engage first and second.

Where to start?

Is the bushing on the bottom of the shifter rod (the ball cup bushing) broken? The bushings in the coupler last a good long time if not abused. My guess is that there is a different problem. Which rod are you talking about; to the shifter or the transaxle?

It could be the rear shifter coupler out of adjustment/alignment. The access plate is under the carpet in front of the rear seats. See below from the tech articles:
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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

Flieger,

The rod from the coupler to the shifter is where there is plenty of play. It definitely seems to be sloppier at the shifter end from the coupler to the rear of the car seems tight.

My recollection is that the ball cup bushing at the bottom of the shifter rod was replaced but in all honesty I can't be sure.

I'll try the adjustment process thanks!

Just an FYI, but my shift linkage from the shifter to the coupler has some play in it; more than in the rod from the coupler to the transaxle. It has problems shifting into 4th when its cold, though.