Shifting

[Semba]

It's me again...tackling the next issue. I am having problems shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. When slowing or stopped, I have to really mess with getting it back into 1st gear, sometimes easy, most times difficult. I printed off the technical article and found that everything (Inside) the car seems perfect, clean, greased, and aligned as it should be. What else do I need to look for as to why this is?
1982 911SC all factory and original as far as I can tell.
Gary

[NY91184]

It sounds like you did the first check already which would be to go over/replace ALL of the shifter bushings. The second check involves removing the small cover with the 4 bolts on the bottom of the tranny to check for shift fork play (search for the DIY). How many miles are on the trans and did these problems just begin happening or have been getting progressively worse over time?

[autobonrun]

It could be synchros but the 915 is balky anyway. Before you go the maintenance route try this. When slowing to a stop in second, rather than going from 2nd to 1st directly, go to neutral, let off the clutch, back in on the clutch then to first. It's easier and faster than it sounds. I find it helps mine shift to 1st smoother when I make this pass through neutral.

[stormcrow]

I had a similar problem with mine - sometimes it would go into 1st with ease, sometimes it woundn't and would grind. I would check your clutch adjustment - that could be where the problem is

I had about 80,000 miles on my clutch when this started happening and I didn't think about a clutch adjustment until I pulled the tranny and replaced it with a rebuild. Of course while I had it out, I replaced the clutch, pressure plate and TO bearing.

I could be wrong but I would try this just to see if that is where the problem is.

SteveKJR

"A Porsche does more then just go fast in a straight line"

[Semba]

I have 98000 on it. I suppose it could be a clutch adjustment, sure can't hurt to try. I have had the car two years now and seems like it is just off somewhere on the tranny end, not getting better or worse. I do not get any grinding noises. I'll look through the DIY's again and see what I can find. If I have to jack it up again, may as well drain and re-fill the trans since I do not know how old the fluid is. The car was well cared for prior to my purchase, it just sat too long without being driven, roughly three years. I'll try your suggestions, so far I have not been let down and always got the right answer.
Gary

[911pcars]

Before you sink any rebuilding funds into the gearbox, remember to start from the recommended baseline first.

Swepco 201 gear lube
Good shift linkage bushings (3 areas)
Clutch adjusted

Still balky after this? Provide some info as to year, mileage, previous owners?, how you drive, shift, etc.

Sherwood

[Jdub]

+1 w/P11Cars. With the cost of rebuilding the 915, you want to be sure all the peripherals are 100%. Think of the trans as halfway between your foot (pedal rack, clutch cable, adjustment @ trans) and your hand (shift bushings X3 at the front; shift coupler bushings & proper adjustment behind the seats). When all of this is in good shape, only then should/can you analyze the behavior of the trans. This assumes fresh trans oil and as pointed out at time of draining pulling the fork plate and ensuring that item is tight to its base.

This is good advice for anyone with a rebuilt trans as well. You really want to give these transmissions all the help they can get. Borg Warner really has the nice design as clever at the 915 is - give your trans plenty of love and never force it.

[midnight911]

Peter Zimmerman wrote this for all of us. and it works for me. worth a try to find a happy medium between you and the 915.

my .02...

Swepco Transmission Fluid Question

[Ruben911]

I just replaced the shifter & coupler bushings as well as fluid (used Swepco 201) on my 1976 915 tranny, which now has 195,000 miles on it. The last time I changed bushings and tranny fluid was at 82,000 miles approximately 10 years ago. I have had the similar problem of difficulty getting into first once in a while (not enough to bother me since it happens very infrequently). Once this happens, and I have experienced this since I bought the car 10 years ago, I press the clutch and quickly put it in second gear and shift up to first from there. This seems to help. One thing that I do to make sure the shifting is the most optimum is once I put everything back together and connect the shift rod to the coupler, I iterate making fine adjustments at the shift rod/coupler interface. I do this over several days/weeks by making very fine adjustments (either rotational or back and forth) at the shift rod/coupler interface. Every time I make the small adjustment, i drive the car for one or two days to determine if there is any improvement over the previous setting. It is important to mark the initial setting so that you can keep track of each adjustment and can go back to reset if no improvement or if worse. It is important to just loosen the shift rod enough to allow slight changes. This takes patience, but I believe that you can get to a sweet spot which is hard to get by just accepting the initial adjustment where all gears engage. Just my 2 cents.

Ruben

[stormcrow]

One other thing to check is the bushing that supports the horizontal shifting rod below the shift lever - it's in the tunnel just below it. I had a problem shifting and found out that the bushing had disentigrated over the years. Installed a new one and it is now shifting great.

SteveKJR

"A Porsche does more then just go fast in a straight line"

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Before you sink any rebuilding funds into the gearbox, remember to start from the recommended baseline first.

Swepco 201 gear lube
Good shift linkage bushings (3 areas)
Clutch adjusted

Still balky after this? Provide some info as to year, mileage, previous owners?, how you drive, shift, etc.

Sherwood

and pause in N when shifting for just a nano-second.

when I first bought a 911, my shifting became a lot easier when I switched shift knobs...

[Semba]

After some reading, I want to be sure I remove the correct plugs...i.e., drain plugs to replace the fluid. Any decent pics out there to share so I do this correctly? 82 911sc 5 speed manual. From what I am reading, I have a 915 transmission? And it likes Swepco? Thanks again.
Gary

[tobluforu]

Originally Posted by RWebb

and pause in N when shifting for just a nano-second.

when I first bought a 911, my shifting became a lot easier when I switched shift knobs...

So true on both counts, and its funny how a shift knob really does help.

[tobluforu]

Originally Posted by Semba

After some reading, I want to be sure I remove the correct plugs...i.e., drain plugs to replace the fluid. Any decent pics out there to share so I do this correctly? 82 911sc 5 speed manual. From what I am reading, I have a 915 transmission? And it likes Swepco? Thanks again.
Gary

Check the pic out in this thread as its the bolt (drain plug) right next to where the numbers are etched into the case. Do not dump fluid until you have checked to see if fill plug will come out.
Clutch Actuation - 1975