915 Shifter Maintenance and the Perils of Procrastination

[RarlyL8]

Had an unscheduled project thrust upon me by my own procrastination.
Some time ago my 915 started slowly degrading in the shifting department. I wrote on my "to do board" that it was time to renew the shifter bushings (I had done that 10 years ago but it sure didn't seem like that much time had passed).

Long story short, I ordered the parts and put them to the side for "a rainy day". Well least week it poured. I went to back the car out of the garage and a HUGE grinding sound followed by a POP cemented the car in place. The tranny was stuck between gears and would not budge.

I pulled the shifter and rear coupler and this is what I found. The slop is unreal.
So if your 915 is giving you fits with poor shifting do not ignore it, you could be stranded.
I was lucky.
The date on that Pelican Invoice? July of '05

[autobonrun]

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

Had an unscheduled project thrust upon me by my own procrastination.
Some time ago my 915 started slowly degrading in the shifting department. I wrote on my "to do board" that it was time to renew the shifter bushings (I had done that 10 years ago but it sure didn't seem like that much time had passed).

Long story short, I ordered the parts and put them to the side for "a rainy day". Well least week it poured. I went to back the car out of the garage and a HUGE grinding sound followed by a POP cemented the car in place. The tranny was stuck between gears and would not budge.

I pulled the shifter and rear coupler and this is what I found. The slop is unreal.
So if your 915 is giving you fits with poor shifting do not ignore it, you could be stranded.
I was lucky.
The date on that Pelican Invoice? July of '05

Wow. You've been sitting on the parts 3 years. I think you just broke my record. Glad it broke in your garage and not on the street.. Our 911's really seem to look out for us. When my clutch pedal shot craps, I was able to coast into my garage.

My 915 has a lot of slop as well, and maybe this is something I should do. Since you've done it before, how difficult a DIY project do you consider this?

[LakeCleElum]

I've put the Pelican bushing kit in both my '73.5 and '69.......Amazing fix for what I thought would be a 1.5K rebuild!!!!!!!!! Get 'er done now!!

[ventana]

Ok, warning is officially well heeded. While driving yesterday my transmission was giving me fits, missed shifts, shifter was popping out of my hand and difficult to move into gear while at a stop. I will order parts tomorrow and get 'er done before I take her out again. The parts have only been sitting on my Project List for about a year now so I guess I'm still a procrastination newbie by current standards. Thanks for the warning and the photos.

Later;
Ventana

[RarlyL8]

Wayne's 101 Projects Book has a section on changing these bushings. It's a pretty easy job over-all with one bugger which is the shifter rod bushing. If you look closely at my photo you will see I cut it to make it easier to replace. The standard fit of this bushing is loose so the smaller diameter created by cutting out a tiny section actually helped a little.
I'd say it took me 30 minutes to remove the passenger's seat, console and carpet. Probably an hour replacing all the bushings and another hour or so putting it all back and adjusting the coupler. About 15 minutes to then put the interior back in.
It's an afternoon job.

I had to drive the car around the block a half dozen times before the shifter started to loosten up and I felt confident to drive it normally again. The shifting now feels very mechanical and raw now that the slop is gone. Will take some getting used to.

[dickepoohp]

Three or four year delay??? Why that hardly qualifies you as a journeyman procrastinator.
Last week I dug through some VW gaskets and found a set I had cubbyholed "for next time I have a spare couple of hours" found a new set of gaskets,, washers and
feeler guages, unused along with several other goodies, all purchased in 1981.

On a non-automotive packrat tack, my son, now an Army helicopter pilot, noted I had 'almost' emptied a bottle of Yukon Jack which I had brought into the marrriage several years before he was born.

Guarantee: If you toss it today, motivated by sosme mis-directed neatness imperative...you WILL need it tomorrow.

Feed the Pelican and insure it is there when you need it!

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by dickepoohp

Three or four year delay??? Why that hardly qualifies you as a journeyman procrastinator.
Last week I dug through some VW gaskets and found a set I had cubbyholed "for next time I have a spare couple of hours" found a new set of gaskets,, washers and
feeler guages, unused along with several other goodies, all purchased in 1981. ...{snip}

Too funny! I have close ratio 3rd and 4th gear set for an old VW IRS tranny, still in the box purchased the same year you bought your gaskets...

Back on topic... I see the the shift coupler bushings you have are the OEM material. I was hoping to replace mine with brass




But our host has them as "temporarily unavailable" (for several months now) Anyone know where these can be purchased?

[RarlyL8]

Unfortunately I have an entire garage wall FULL of parts purchased over the years to put on my car. Pop-out windows, Carrera Oil Cooler, RS door pannels, various exhaust systems, turbos, a completely finished and ready to mount duck tail painted to match the car, various other painted body parts, turbo tie rods, adjustable shocks, 965 BOV, boost controller, various gages, cool collar (not); the list goes on ...
Guess that will become my retirement "wall of dreams", ha!

I coinsidered the brass coupler bushing but decided it would likely transmit too much vibration through the shifter. Definitely would stiffen up the shifting!

I had the tranny rebuilt a decade ago at the same time I renewed the bushings. Now that the bushings are again fresh I can tell the tranny is getting sloppy. I also have a spare tranny 1/2 taken apart on my bech that was slated for a rebuild and install LAST year.
I really need to quit my day job ...

[safe]

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

Hey, you cheated and cut that bushing!

[3.2 CAB]

Was the ear on the one side already broken, or did that happen when removing them? Tony.

[ncseahawk]

Did you have any trouble getting the hex cone nut out of the coupler.

Mine is causing me to question the sizes of my hex heads. One is too big the other just a tiny bit small. or perhaps the damn thing is stripped in which case I am clueless on how to proceed

[RarlyL8]

One of the "ears" on the old coupler bushing had broken off and was found laying in the boot. The bushings were disintegrating.

The conical insert female hex nut in the coupler was not a problem, screwed right out using a standard L shaped hex wrench. I did cut it down to fit in the tunnel.

Re-adjusting the shifter afterward was a real PITA. It was soooooo finicky. One tooth either way on the shaft spline and it would loose 1/2 or 3/4. I believe the old shifter is worn out as well. The combination of worn parts in this system makes it a wonder that it works at all. No doubt as to why everyone complains about the 915. Try as you might you cannot make the entire system shift new again without brand new tight aftermarket shifters and couplers and a fully rebuilt tranny.

[ncseahawk]

R8,

Thanks, your are right. I replaced all the bushings up front when I rebuild my pedal assembly last year. I finally got one of the WEVO Precision Shift Joint and I'm am going to install it but the damn conical nut will not unscrew.

I finally took the passenger seat out to get a better look. In fact the "hex" inner portion of the nut more closely resembles an "O".

Stripped badly in fact. Which now means I have to not only figure out how to get this one out, but I need to get a new one.

I guess our sponsor sells them...

thanks

[RarlyL8]

Are you talking about the coupler between the rear seats or the shifter cup/rod assembly, located right under the shifter? Both have the conical end locating nut. It had been so long sense I messed with a shifter that I forgot how the shifter cup assembly was put together. I used a dental mirror to see the female hex head locating nut. Could be your nut is full of gunk, mine sure was. I used a thin length of wire to dig all the gunk out before I could unscrew it.

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by dickepoohp

On a non-automotive packrat tack, my son, now an Army helicopter pilot, noted I had 'almost' emptied a bottle of Yukon Jack which I had brought into the marrriage several years before he was born.

Can't beat ice cold Yukon Jack, leave the bottle in the snow bank for a few hours....mmmmm.