Shifter bushings on an 85 Carrera

[GH85Carrera]

I suddenly have a lot of slop in my shifter and I suspect the plastic cup and the bushings. It has never been apart. I installed the Wevo shift coupler and that helped a lot but it did not cure the excess slop.

My car has the leather interior so it has a leather boot on top of the rubber shift boot. My real question is it a viable option to remove the center console without removing the knob? Can I get the shifter out without removing the knob? I am not looking forward to this repair.

I did a search and never did find a thread that covered console removal without removing the knob. Is removing the knob without damage that difficult?

[NewfieMZ3]

Just roll up the leather boot, you can let go the shift knob with a set screw(s), it is not that complicated. Then remove the console..........the fix is well worth the effort, mine shifts like butter with new bushings........kit is only about $20

[zippy_gg]

I tried unsuccessfully to remove my shift knob with the shifter in the car.
I then tried with the shifter in a vise and after hammering really hard with an open wrench the plastic gave in and the knob broke off. I had a heck of a time removing the compression ring afterward; everything was so tight...
You can remove the center console with the knob and boot still on the shifter.
Don't remove the knob if you don't need to replace it.
My leather boot almost disintegrated as i was removing it. Old leather not well cared for I suppose. At the time I only had the car for a few months.

[GH85Carrera]

[QUOTE=zippy_gg;5454122]

[QUOTE] You can remove the center console with the knob and boot still on the shifter.
Don't remove the knob if you don't need to replace it.
[QUOTE]

That is what I wanted to see. My knob is just fine and I did not want to mess with the knob. Now I just have to get the air conditioning switches off of the console so I can get the console out of the way. Then real fun begins, swapping the bushings.

[zippy_gg]

[QUOTE=GH85Carrera;5454166][QUOTE=zippy_gg;5454122]

[QUOTE] You can remove the center console with the knob and boot still on the shifter.
Don't remove the knob if you don't need to replace it.

That is what I wanted to see. My knob is just fine and I did not want to mess with the knob. Now I just have to get the air conditioning switches off of the console so I can get the console out of the way. Then real fun begins, swapping the bushings.

A sharp file or a dremel tool will come in handy as you need to enlarge the opening in the back of the console to allow the A/C switch to go through.

[pete3799]

Compared to R&R your spingplate bushings this is a piece of cake.
No need to remove the shift knob.
Removing the driver seat will ease the job.

[DG624]

I have tried to improve my shifter (86 Carrera) but it is still very difficult to use quickly. I replaced the shifter with a factory short shift kit and replaced the bushings. It still is hard to go from 3rd to 2nd. I also had the transmission 2nd gear and 1st and 2nd syncros replaced. I was thinking of going to the WEVO gate shift.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by pete3799

Compared to R&R your spingplate bushings this is a piece of cake.
No need to remove the shift knob.
Removing the driver seat will ease the job.

Yea, I suspect it will be a bit easier than spring plate bushings, but still a pain to do. I may just double my fun and do the pedal bushings as well.

[jlex]

I'd like to replace the bushings on my '85 next summer. Hope you keep this thread alive by explaining just how the job goes w/ hints on dos & don'ts....

[GH85Carrera]

This is the cause of my shifting problem.



When I pulled my shifter off and looked at the bracket that holds the shifter bushing I saw the bushing was in two pieces. Both pieces were broken as well. It pretty much exploded. The new bushing is the black thing next to the broken one in the photo. Some people soak the new bushing in HOT water to soften it up. Mine took only moderate hand pressure to pop it into place. I used a wooden dowel to push it into position. I loosened the rear shift coupler to allow the shift rod to rotate 90 degrees. That way I could get the set screw out of the front shift coupler. I replaced my shifter ball cup since it was right there and 25 years old.

The entire process is not horrible to do but it is time consuming and tedious. The manual shows the process for a car newer than mine. My car is a very late 85 model, but it only has the door lock button, speaker fader, and the air conditioning fan speed and temperature knob in the console. After you get everything loosened up you can pull the wire connectors out of the tunnel. The connector for the door locks is easy to pull apart and the wires are color coded so it is easy to get them back together. The wire bundle for the speakers is a flat wide multi wire connector that was wrapped in a big block of foam rubber. I just peeled the foam off and wiggled the connector and it came apart. I just glued the foam back on when I was re-assembling. I have no idea what the foam is supposed to do but if the factory decided it needed to be there I will put it back.

The connector to the back of the fan speed is a round multi connector that just pulls off of the back of the switch. I marked the top of the connector & the switch with a dab of white paint to make alignment and reassembly easy. The temperature switch is tricky. Just unscrew the retaining ring and the switch will push out the back of the switch plate. Just remove the screws on the side of the console that hold the entire switch plate housing in place and remove it as a unit leaving behind just the temp switch. The temp switch is carefully pulled out the back of the console and the entire console lifts off of the floor. Be very careful with the white tube from the temp switch, it is full of a gas and if you bend the tube too much the gas will leak and the compressor will not work. A new switch is very spendy, treat it like it is made of brittle plastic.

I did not remove my shift knob. I have the leather boot that goes all the way to the bottom of the shift knob. I just turned the leather boot inside out and pulled up the rubber boot to see the 5 bolts that hold the shifter in place. The console just lifts right over the shifter.

Getting the shifter back on is tricky. The two little bolts that hold the bracket in place have to go on first. There is not much room under the carpet so I cut a 4 or 5 inch slit in the carpet in FRONT of the shifter to allow me to have room to maneuver the shifter into position to get the cup back into the end of the shift rod, and then get the two screws to grab the shifter bushing bracket into place. Once that is finger tight it will not fall apart and I placed the shifter on the floor and put in the three bolts. Torque all 5 bolts and that part is done. Getting the center console back together is “just the reverse of removal” according to the manual. I hate that phrase, it may be true but getting the one rear screw back in that holds the console to the floor took me over an hour. Like I said, not overly hard, just tedious. The slit I cut in the carpet is under the console so it does not show at all.

One final step is the adjustment of the shifter coupler in the back seat area. The instructions are once again the lift the boot and look at the shifter. You can see when the shifter is nearly vertical coming out of the floor. There are two fingers on the right side and a tab that should be centered between the two fingers. That is the reverse and 5th gear lockout. With my leather boot in the way there is no way to see that. I aligned everything and then took this picture. This is just a good start point for those of you that can’t see the shaft of the shift lever. 2.75 inches is a good base point to start.




The final results of replacing by bushing were wonderful. The car is fun to drive again. Before I had to fight to get into 1st or second, now it shifts like a 911 should. It shifts so nice I drove it to work today.

[jlex]

Glen:
Great write-up. I'm printing it out & will keep it in my Bentley manual for reference. Will be one of next summer's projects.
Thanks again.

[7thPorsch]

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread... I just replaced the front and rear bushings on my 1985 911 and thought I would share a few pictures.
I took the advise of not removing the shifter knob and took a picture of what it looks like with the console and carpet out to the way. Note, I also remove the AC temp and fan switch from the console ( via the round threaded nut which holds them in place). You will see the AC temp and Fan switch in the background.
Thanks again to EVERYONE !

Here are pictures from the job..

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