successful install, but i swear it's noisier now...

just got done replacing my ball cup socket, shift tunnel bushing, and shift coupler bushings. the car is shifting even better now, but now i'd swear i'm hearing some tranny noise i wasn't hearing before. is this a possible result of my bushing replacement? it's not loud at all, but i first noticed it test driving the car without putting any of the carpet, console, shift boot, etc. back in. it's like a low volume 'whirring' type noise i hear only while the car is in gear. maybe i just noticed it there with the lack of soundproofing and now i hear it more, but i sure don't remember it before.

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Adam Nitti
ajnitti@mindspring.com
www.adamnitti.com
'85 911 Carrera Coupe

Adam,

Yes, once the bushings have been replaced, I believe the shift rod conducts noise and vibration better than before. The tunnel, shift rod, and shifter becomes a source of transaxle noise and vibration that was more insulated, before, when the shift linkage was not is such good contact with the shift rods in the transaxle!

At the same time, I don't think it is anything to worry about. Porsche, however, did worry about it all through the late seventies and eighties, and went through several iterations of rubber-centered clutch disk, not all of which were reliable or satisfactory! I'll take a reliable spring-centered clutch that passes along messages about what the engine and transaxle are doing any day!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Now that I have dedicated a good portion of my life and my wallet to the shift linkage, selector rod and guide fork, shift forks, etc. of my 915, I can speak on this one...

I heard alot more whining/noise from the tranny when I would test drive with the coverplate and carpet out. Put it back, betcha it sounds the same as before.

Nick.

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Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe

Please excuse me if I state the obvious but I'm speaking from experience . . . did you remember to replace the rubber bellows on the inside and outside of the shift coupling?

Apart from that, having replaced all the bushings in the shifter of my 1970 911E I'd have to agree with Warren that there is a little more audible feedback from the transmission.

If you look at your old coupler bushings you'll see that the hole in them is not round but oblong. That was engineered in there to transmit less noise through the shift rod. The new ones are round holed and reduce the longitudinal slop that was engineered in to reduce the noise. It's a trade-off but worth it. Like Warren says, it's better than an unreliable rubber centered clutch and sloppy shifter. Turn up the radio and don't worry about it.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet

thanks, everyone for easing my anxiety on this one. all this feedback makes logical sense to me now that i think about it. (yes, i did also replace the coupling boots, allan. thanks-)

the shifting improvement is indeed worth it, and i'm enjoying driving the car even more now.

brainiac, you are correct. i was very curious about the differences in appearances between old and new bushings.

i just want to thank warren and everyone else who offered feedback on this project. i couldn't have done it successfully the first time without you guys.

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Adam Nitti
ajnitti@mindspring.com
www.adamnitti.com
'85 911 Carrera Coupe

I must second that thank you. I just did exactly the same thing as Adam, and came across the same noise. I was getting ready to pull the CV joints for an inspection. Well, now that I'm not freaking out about the noise - onto the pedal cluster. Wow - just a few simple things are making the 85' feel like a "new" car.

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Bill Atkins
william.atkins@oracle.com
1985 Carrera Coupe

When I pulled out my old bushings, they had an oblong hole too, but I thought that was how they had worn from use. Don't they all start out round and tight? or did I just miss the joke?

No they don't start out round and tight. The factory piece is tight in the twisting direction but forward-backward there was built in slop for noise isolation. Porsche does not sell replacement bushings for the coupler. Those are Weltmeister replacement bushings, I believe. They are designed to eliminate all slop and as a byproduct, conduct more noise. If you buy the factory original complete shift coupler, you get the oblong bushings in it.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet

I'm gonna report exactly the same experience. Old oblong bushings (that were not partucularly worn), and new round ones. Much noise upon test drive. I had left the carpet and console off because I was going to also replace the clutch and add a fire extinguisher bracket to the tunnel.

Now the bracket is in and the console and carpet are mostly replaced and it is MUCH quieter. With the rest of the floor panels and carpet installed, the noise will probably be inaudible. I'm disappointed. She was starting to sound more like a race car. I truly love music, friends, used to play bass guitar in bands, etc., but I seldom turn on my car CD/radio.

And finally, my old clutch cable was working pretty smoothly - Tyson was impressed, but I can tell you the clutch got a whole lot smoother when the new cable went in last night.

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'83 SC