81 - Shifting Problem: 1st is where 3rd was, 3rd is where 5th was, etc

So I lent my car to a friend...

Now the shifting is all messed up!? All the gears work fine, but I have to reach into the passenger glove box to get it in 5th. I'm hoping it's just a problem with the linkage, since all the gears work. How would you trouble shoot this problem? Is there a common point of failure I should check first?

Well, you should check the shift coupler bushings under the cover with four screws on the tunnel ... see if the two bushings are broken into little pieces under the coupler on the tunnel floor.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

You did not say if first and second are in teh same place. If you are saying that you are really physically moving the lever significantly farther to the right, another candidate would be that your shift tower has moved (slight adjustment at the base, the plate on top of the shift tower moved (not sure how this can happen), the bushing at the bottom of the column has disintegrated (but this would put reverse and first closer to your seat because you would have more play), or the other candidate, he applied gorilla like strength and actually bent or rotated the lever above the pins, relative to the base. In any case, if any of the four bushings are destroyed, you will have a significant amount of ambiguity when searching for a gear.

Alan
83SC

[This message has been edited by Alan Herod (edited 01-30-2001).]

You did what???!!!

Bboy, I don't think it's your problem. I think it's your friends problem. anyway do what Warren says.

Thanks for all the input, I'll start with the couplers and base plate and work my way back.

FYI - All the gears follow a normal pattern, everything is just moved to the right.

WRT my friend who borrowed the car, if it's a few screws it's probably not his fault so I'll just fix it myself. If I'm missing a few syncros, I'm going to hang on to his motor cycle