Question for those who have a Wevo shifter

[markmalin]

Hi all,

I've had my '85 Carrera about 2 months now and have some questions about the Wevo shifter that it came with. For those of you who have Wevos I've got a few questions

1. - Is there any forward/backward slop when you're in 3rd or 4th gear? 1,2,5 and R are dead tight when in gear, but when in gear in 3rd and 4th I can move the lever forward/backward about 1/2". Normal??

2. - Does your Reverse lockout "click" when you shift into 5th? Try as I might, I can't seem to ever go into 5th without the reverse lockout clicking. Is this normal?

3. - Seems like 2nd gear at times is hard to to into. I know all 915 transmissions are going to be like that somewhat, but it's like I have to keep constant pressure on it before it goes in sometimes. Almost like something isn't lined up.

4. - finally, sometimes it doesn't want to come out of 4th. Is that typical?

Thanks for any input, guys. I do like the Wevo (and yes, I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to driving a 911). Love the way it shifts when everything moves smoothly! Most of the time it is just fine, just these few niggling things makes me wonder "is it me?" or is this just the way they are?

Mark.

[rusnak]

You might check the shift coupler for wear. Otherwise, sounds normal.

[ski wagen]

Number 2 happens with mine, but the rest don't sound familiar. Have you tried fine tuning the adjustments? How recently were the shifter bushings replaced?

[Trog]

1. I have no slop at all

2. Yes it clicks.. quite normal

3. Nothing to do with the shifter

4. Nothing to do with the shifter

[markmalin]

Thanks guys.

So to check the shift coupler, how/where do I do that? (These cars are new to me

And regarding "fine tuning the adjustments", is it easy to explain how to do this? I looked on-line and I see I can download the installation instructions from Wevo, but yikes it looks really complicated. I'm guessing an adjustment would be less complicated (yes?).

The previous owner installed this system maybe 5 years ago (maybe 5,000 miles?). I'm not sure how old the bushings are, but I assume new when he installed the Wevo. If you can help me figure out how to check them, that would be great. I've replaced BMW shifter bushings, but I suspect this is whole different animal.

[KTL]

Not all that hard to inspect the bushings. There's three locations where bushings can go bad on the 915 shift linkage:

1 - ball sucket. This is the cup bushing that is installed onto the ball on the bottom of the shift lever. Very easy to inspect. Simply remove the shift housing via the 5 bolts that hold it to the tunnel- three 13mm head bolts on to hold the housing in place, 2 smaller (10mm or allen head) bolts that hold a guide plate to the housing.

2 - guide bushing. This is the ring/circular bushing that the above noted 2-bolt guide plate carries. This bushing allows the main shift rod to rotate in place w/out moving side-to-side. When it wears out, it allows side-to-side slop which results in less effective rotational movement of the shift rod. What this does is it affects the "precision" (that's strong word when talking 915 shifting...... ) of the side-to-side movement of the shifter itself

3 - shift coupler bushings. This coupler is at the rear of the tunnel, right in front of the rear seat area. Peel back the carpet and you'll see an inspection plate held in place with four phillips screws. Take the plate off and you'll see the coupler staring back at you. The coupler has bushings in it which allow for some angular alignment between the shifter rod and the transmission shift rod. Over time these bushings wear out and make for some horrible gear selection. This coupler is notorious for wear and is really worthy of being replaced by a better coupling. Many places make u-jointed couplers that do away with the problematic bushings. The u-joints are much more expensive, but they do a better job and are much more durable than the factory piece.

Having to force it into 2nd sounds like a worn synchronizer ring and guide sleeve. These are inside the transmission and require trans teardown to replace. Most 915s are like this because of people's abusive drag-race like speed shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. A trans with a good synchro will not make coax it into gear by holding it for very long

Difficulty coming out of 4th is internal gearbox issues like a troubled operating hub or guide sleeve that doesn't want to let that gear selection occur cleanly Does 4th ever clash/grind, or does it just stick in gear without any scary noises?

[gtc]

For number 1, there are two other sources of fore-aft slop that I've found.

First - the O.E. Threaded Pin (Part #1 on the wevo exploded diagram) can be loose or worn where it interfaces with the wevo pivot box (Part #7). IMO this is a likely culprit based on the amount of slop you have.

Second - the pressed-in end of the shift rod (inside the tunnel) can work loose from the tubular shift rod shaft. This causes more than 1/2" of slop though.

[markmalin]

I opened up the access panel behind the seats and it's covered by a boot. So I need to remove this to inspect the coupler?? Not sure how it's attached to the back.

For what it's worth I squeezed the boot to hold on to the back part of the shaft (toward back of car) and moved the shift lever in 2nd and 4th, then in 1st. I can feel that whole thing move more in 2nd and 4th, so I'm thinking the source is somewhere between that point and the transmission. I haven't gotten underneath the car yet, though.

I'll check out the diagram re the location of that loose pin. Thanks for the tip!

[markmalin]

Originally Posted by KTL

Difficulty coming out of 4th is internal gearbox issues like a troubled operating hub or guide sleeve that doesn't want to let that gear selection occur cleanly Does 4th ever clash/grind, or does it just stick in gear without any scary noises?

Thanks for all the info! I'm wondering if my car has had one of those u-joint couplers installed? (see post below) Maybe just wishful thinking...

Anyhow, I wanted to answer your question about 4th. It doesn't make any sound, doesn't really grind going in or out. Just kind of "holds on" sometimes. It's intermittent. I wondered if things just kind of got misaligned sometimes? I need to understand the parts in these shifters better so I can ask better quesitons - maybe look at some diagrams (am all too familiar with 80s' BMW shift parts).

Mark.

[KTL]

Porsche has great parts diagrams just like BMW does. Check them out on Porsches site

Porsche Classic Original Parts Catalogue - Classic Genuine Parts & Literature - Porsche Classic - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

That boot in the tunnel just folds back. Push it toward the engine and you can see what kind of coupler connection is there for the shift rod-transmission rod

[markmalin]

I wanted to resurrect this thread to mention that I finally got around to pulling back the boot on the shift coupler. The forward-backward slop seems worse now, about 1". With the car in gear I moved the lever forward/backward the 1" slop and can see the entire shaft moving (i.e. the shift coupler, and the piece in front and back of it). It seems like it's somewhere back from the access panel behind the seats - toward the transmission. Is there something there that can come loose?? Or are we talking inside the transmission??

Thanks for any thoughts, guys.
Mark.

Originally Posted by gtc

For number 1, there are two other sources of fore-aft slop that I've found.

First - the O.E. Threaded Pin (Part #1 on the wevo exploded diagram) can be loose or worn where it interfaces with the wevo pivot box (Part #7). IMO this is a likely culprit based on the amount of slop you have.

Second - the pressed-in end of the shift rod (inside the tunnel) can work loose from the tubular shift rod shaft. This causes more than 1/2" of slop though.