new 911 owner w/ clutch questions.

[jdawg]

I just purchased a 1983 911 SC. My question is, is there a way I can smooth out the shifting & clutch. It seems very choppy & the gears are hard to engage. The previous owner has records where he had the tranny rebuilt approx. 5000 miles ago.

[Rot 911]

The clutch helper spring may be broken. 915 trannys don't shift like any other car. You need to be precise. When shifting from 1st to 2nd hesitate just a half second between gears. The rest of the upshifts you can go into smoothly. Same with down shifting except don't down shift to 1st until you are almost stopped.

Get Waynes 101 projects for you 911 book to show how to replace the helper spring and many other projects!

[schoward]

Proper clutch adjustment is important and makes a big difference in shifting, although the 915 is just unique.

Make sure clutch is adjusted and springs ok, run Swepco 201 fluid and take your time to get to know the trans. Took me a year to learn to drive my 81 properly.

[3.2 CAB]

Check your clutch adjustment first, if you find it OK, you can then move on to other items that will have a major influence on how you transmission will be able to be shifted through the gears. The next would be to check the shift coupler. If you have never adjusted a 915 shift coupler, take the time to read as much info about it, before you attempt to make any adjustments. It will almost appear to be totally backwards, from how one would think they should be. That is because they are, sort of. It is more like a mirror image of what your shifter is doing, compared to what the actual shift coupler and shift rod are actually doing. When adjusting, follow the Bentley Manual, or 101 book for guidance. It may take you several attempts to get it adjusted exactly how it should or need to be. Also, the coupler bushings may be toast, which would also cause major shifting problems. The R+R for these are in the manuals also. If the bushings are bad, all of the adjusting won't help much at all. Then you could also have some bad shifter or shift rod bushings. If all is well with these items, it might indicate internal, transmission problems. Good luck!! Tony.

[DaddyGlenn]

+1 on the adjustments before anything else.

Also take a look at this: Little Maintenance – Big Improvement: Shift Linkage Bushings, made a big difference for me.

[Paul K]

Jdawg:

Where are you located? Please add your location to your profile. You might need to replace/upgrade the shifter linkage bushings- but as was mentioned, check the helper spring and clutch adjustment first. Also, please post pics of your car!

Cheers,

Paul.

[DRACO A5OG]

Welcome aboard!

+1 on making certain the Clutch Helper Spring is not Broken as well as the entire linkage then proper adjustment. Do you know if it is a Known Good Shop that did the work?

Anyways, posting your location will help to see if there are Pelicans in your area that could be kind enough to help out.