Help troubleshooting 915, weird drive home

[kwm]

I had a rough drive home tonight. This morning I noticed I was having a little trouble getting the car in gear but didn't think too much of it. The coming home in the rain and traffic it was worse. At first I thought I had lost my knack of driving a 915 b/c it was like I could not find the gears. It would act like I was trying to take off in 3rd and at first I thought I was but now I am pretty sure it was 1st and at times 2nd would act like 4th. Then I got to my off ramp and rolled to close to a stop in 1st then tried to gas it to go and once again it acted like it was in 3rd and died. Which was almost bad b/c it almost put me out into on-coming traffic. I coasted to the shoulder and restarted it. Then on the side I am sure I was in 1st but it was still acting like I was trying to go from a stop in 3rd and the engine would bog way down like it needed more revs. I took it back out of gear, hunted for 1st and it then drove off. I thought I was stranded for a sec. Then I got into my neighborhood and found a slight hill. I would let if roll backward down the hill, ease the clutch out w/o gas to see if it would grab then hold and it did and the engine also held its RPM. Then I gased it and it seems to pull fine. I even reved it up pretty high and eased the clutch out (which I never do) and it seemed to pull fine. Could the clutch have just gotten to hot in the bumper to bumper? Although it never has before. I just turned over my 11,000 commuter miles in it tonight too so I am pretty familiar with the car. She now has 147k I have no service records so not sure if the clutch was ever changed. Plus this is my first ever non-hydralic clutch but so far this car has never felt like this before. I am kind of afraid to drive her to work tomorrow. Any thoughts?

[efhughes3]

Shifter bushings gave way or coupler got loose on the shaft could be the culprits...

[kwm]

efhughe3....very interesting? Can you tell me how to check/fix that?

[efhughes3]

Well, the first thing I'd ask is how does the shifter feel? Any looser than it did before? My guess would be that one of the coupler bushings (at the rear of the tunnel under the carpet and trapezoid-shaped cover) may have disintegrated, based on your description. Or, as I mentioned before, the same coupler has a pinch clamp on one end, and an Allen set screw on the other that affix it to the tranny shift shaft and the linkage up to your shifter. I think that this area could cause you the inability to find a gear.

There's another bushing setup at the bottom of the shifter itself, but based on my experience, would be as drastic of a loss of shifting if you had a problem there.

Pop the cover up at the rear of the tunnel-4 Phillips screws- and while looking at the coupler, move the shifter. It should be readily apparent if something is amiss there.

[kwm]

thanks efhughes3 I think you are right. Especially since it was like hunting for gears that no longer seems to be there. I was looking at my Porsche 101 book and think that I may need to get in there this weekend. I guess I wont be able to drive it tomorrow. I just got a alignment, balance, and new tires two weeks ago too and she was driving so well I almost thought it was a new car. The book says I should have the same reaction to new bushings, I hope it is correct. Now that I have a 4 month old I need to keep these repair cost to a minimum too or it is going to be hard to justify keeping her.

[efhughes3]

Bushings are as low cost a fix as you'll find on these cars...I've not checked in a while, but maybe all of them can be had for $30 or 40? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[jeff1hughes]

Get the whole shift bushing kit from our fine sponsor, it's only $24.00. Not that difficult of a repair either. You'll need a vice, and a pot of boiling water.

Shift Bushing kit

[dentist90]

Not a clutch overheating/glazing problem. This would present as slipping, ie. would rev without going anywhere rather than lugging. I suspect, as others have mentioned, that you may actually have been in the wrong gear. Time to check your shift linkage adjustments and bushings. It may only take a minor adjustment at your shift coupler to remedy the problems.

[911pcars]

Here's a minimal effort way to confirm if the shift bushings are the culprit. Remove the tunnel access plate at the rear of the tunnel (back seat area). While observing the shift tube, move the shift lever around. The shift tube should move back and forth when the lever shifts into/out of gear and rotate slightly when moving the lever left and right in neutral. It doesn't take much bushing wear to prevent the shift tube from transferring motion to the gearbox.

To access the front bushings, remove the console, then remove the shift housing mount bolts (5). Lift the shift housing assy. upward and remove. The toughest part of this job might be removing the console. Replacing the shift coupling bushings under the access plate will require a bench vise and some basic tools. The archives have lots of threads on this subject.

Sherwood

[kwm]

I ordered the bushing kit from the sponsor. While waiting on it I started tear down last night. However, I gotta tell ya guys the bushings in there didn't look too bad. I expected them to be in real bad shape. The cup type one that is at the end of the shifter was a bit worn and it had a crack in one side but I can not see that makings such a diff. that I could not find gears and was getting in 4th instead of 2nd and 3rd instead of 1st which is what it was doing. The bushing that the connecting rod is supported by in the center of the tunnel looks to be in real good shape. I did not pull the coupler in the back seat out yet but I gave it a once over and it seems real tight not too much play. Are we still sure that this bushing thing is the problem? Any other idea that wont cost me $1500? Thanks guys

[kwm]

I ordered the bushing kit from the sponsor. While waiting on it I started tear down last night. However, I gotta tell ya guys the bushings in there didn't look too bad. I expected them to be in real bad shape. The cup type one that is at the end of the shifter was a bit worn and it had a crack in one side but I can not see that makings such a diff. that I could not find gears and was getting in 4th instead of 2nd and 3rd instead of 1st which is what it was doing. The bushing that the connecting rod is supported by in the center of the tunnel looks to be in real good shape. I did not pull the coupler in the back seat out yet but I gave it a once over and it seems real tight not too much play. Are we still sure that this bushing thing is the problem? Any other idea that wont cost me $1500? Thanks guys

[jeff1hughes]

It's the coupler at the back seat that causes the most problems. There is a lot of play that develops in the two bushings in there. That is probably it.

[Flieger]

The bushings make a big improvement if they were previously worn/broken/deteriorated/sticky,etc.

Make sure they have structural integrity and proper lubrication. Then adjust the coupler as needed using the clamp bolt and two 14mm (IIRC) wrenches on the nut and bolt head.

[kwm]

What does IIRC stand for? I was reading another thread of a fellow in IN who is having problems finding all his gears after doing his own bushing replace and I am getting pretty nervous. THe 101 book says to mark the rotational and lateral position of the set up at the rear coupler with a marker. Can someone translate that? Would that just consist of a mark from the coupler onto the shaft to line them up after I take it off or is it more than that? Thanks

[Flieger]

IIRC= If I remember correctly

Have you opened up the shift coupler access cover yet?

When I did the bushings, I tried to mark the coupler per Wayne's advice but the mark (Sharpie) was hard to see and did not mark well on the surface. A center punch didn't do much, either.

I had already started to move the coupler and shifter so I could not align it the way he said. I tried to do the bushings without undoing the coupler(these bushings were fine) but found how you cannot manuever the shifter to install the bushings. I then proceeded to de-couple the shift rod by loosening the 14 mm pinch bolt, which Wayne said not to. I now know why. It was a PITA (I won't translate that) to re-index the coupler by hooking up, puting it in a gear that I could feel was correct, trying to guess the proper alignmen, adjusting, tightening, repeating.

I eventually got the best shifter I ever had and love it but it was very frustrating. It took me a couple hours and about 10 test runs to get the coupler just right on the shaft. The bushing replacement took less time.

If I had to do it again, I would undo the coupler at the set screw instead and keep the adjustment the same. I now have a pretty good feel and understanding for how the shifter works, though, so if I had to do it again or adjust it for another reason, it should be pretty quick and painless.

It was a positive experience overall and I learned a lot.

[kwm]

Flieger thanks of the post. I only wish you lived within range where a half case of beer was motivation enough for you to pop in. Speaking of which I took my driver seat out for more room while doing this and got a little too comfy. I had a couple beers in there kicked back streched out flipping through the 101 book and spilled one behind the pass. seat....GREAT!

[Flieger]

Maybe try some blue painters tape wrapped around the splines where the coupler and shift rod splines meet. This gives axial alignment marks. You can then mark with a Sharpie where the coupler is in the rotational axis.

[efhughes3]

A sharp metal scribe works well for marking too...you just pick up the bright scratches.

[Wayne 962]

Start with the replacement of all of the shifter bushings, and then go from there...

-Wayne

[kwm]

Well after just over 1 week my parts finally came in and I continued work tonight. After I took the 13mm bolts off that hold the shift connecting rod that runs through the tunnel into the coupler I was taking the set cone out and noticed it was very loose. Basically I put the long end of the allen wrench in the cone screw and easily turned it with the little end like you would turn a key to the front door of your house. The cone and the hole it sets in were very stripped. The 101 Book that has been my holly grail says that a new coupler is $50 and suggests maybe just getting a new one but I can not find one for even double that price (more like 120). Should I pony up the cash or attempt to clean up the thread or poss. retap it (of which I would need to buy a tap and die). I think that this stripped cone might have been my problem though. Thanks