Shifter breakdown - Not going into 1st and 2nd

[NeedSpace]

Just yesterday, my car decided it no longer wanted me to go into 1st and 2nd. It made for an interesting drive home. Just prior to it breaking, I had to push quite hard to the left to get it into 1st or 2nd before it gave way. When I took it apart, there are some scratches on the shift rod on the left where it was rubbing against the assembly. I am going to do some investigative work as I am hoping it is either linkage or my clutch cable.

Having done some research and detailed read of tech article Pelican Technical Article: Shifting Improvements - 911 (1965-86) - 930 Turbo (1975-86), I am left with a dilemma.

In the tech article it says " The shifter is bolted down to the floor with hex socket cap screws. Simply place the car into first gear, unbolt the shifter from the floor, and remove it from the chassis." The problem is, I cannot get it into 1st or 2nd. My plan was to put in 3rd. Can this be done? Any other suggestions getting it back into 1st somehow? What are the potential consequences of putting it in 3rd, I suspect some readjustment after the job is complete?

[wolds]

It doesn't matter what gear the gearbox is in when you pull the shifter. If the car was shifting well before this incident you shouldn't need to adjust your coupler. It should be a simple install the shifter and your good to go situation. If you were having issues, you already have the article on adjusting the shifter so you are all set.

[pete3799]

Doesn't need to be in any gear. Just unbolt it.

[schumicat]

if you think driving home without 1st and 2nd is bad, try it with only 4th and 5th.... not fun. like others said it doesn't matter what gear it is in when you remove shifter. i've done with car in every gear plus neutral.

[Alan Lindquist]

I lost first gear. Didn't hear anything or sense anything ususual, so I limped home using second. Second failed just before I got home.

I removed the 915 tranny and took it to a mechanic I use for difficult projects that I don't want to try to work on.

He chastised me for driving the car once I lost first gear. "When stuff breaks there's a lot of loose metal rolling around and you're lucky that you didn't do more damage."

As it was, I got away with $600 in parts and $300 in labor for a partial re-fresh of first and second gear assemblies.

I'm an Auto Club member. It just doesn't make sense to drive these cars when they are clearly telling you something is wrong. It could be a very expensive mistake. So these days I just call for a tow if I'm stranded.

Flat tire on the side of a busy road? Towed. Expired coil? Towed. Expired CD Ignition box? Towed. Clutch fork bending? Towed.

It just makes sense.

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by wolds

If the car was shifting well before this incident you shouldn't need to adjust your coupler.

Actually, my money is on the coupler being the problem. I'd start there, unless the coupler bushings have been replaced in recent memory.

[89Coupe]

Thought I would post up a pretty simple potential issue. I lost 1st, 2nd and reverse the other night and had visions of a transmission pull in my head. Please just look at the shifter mechanism for anything obvious if you haven't pulled the boot and done so already. I got all my tools ready for some serious wrenching, but when I actually looked at the shifter mechanism all I needed was one wrench to tighten the bolt that holds the shifter to the selector rod. Took me about 2.5 minutes and I had all gears again and it shifted better than ever. 1st, 2nd and reverse had been getting progressively harder to find until the bolt backed out enough to prevent any shifting, period.

[tirwin]

I was just going to add that I recently had a problem with 1st and 2nd. Turned out the ball cup on the end of the shift run that the shifter sits in came loose. Not the ball cup bushing, but the conical screw holding the metal ball cup. I must've changed the position slightly in the process of tightening it because I had to adjust the coupler in the rear end of the tunnel. Even made the shifting feel better when I was done.

[911pcars]

That conical screw should be secured so it doesn't back out on its own. The early screw heads were drilled for safety wire. If yours doesn't have a hole, install one, then wire in place after installation.

Sherwood

[NeedSpace]

Thanks for all the responses, I'll let you know how it goes. I was tempted to do it tonite, but I wanted to finish my CIS work and have other duties calling me.

Here's the latest success for those interested.

1976 911S – from garage find to on the road

[ivangene]

Old car
Your coupler bushings could have failed and fell out
Your tunnel ring could have done the same thing
The conical screw finally got loose enough to allow the cup to rotate

3 places to start with
Easiest is to look at the coupler, hold it steady and move the shifter...if the shifter moves and the aluminum of the coupler doesn't ...that's one thing....then hold the rod (tunnel side) and repeat...if the shifter moves and the rod doesn't, that's another thing see...easy to isolate

[NeedSpace]

Originally Posted by ivangene

Old car
Your coupler bushings could have failed and fell out
Your tunnel ring could have done the same thing
The conical screw finally got loose enough to allow the cup to rotate

3 places to start with
Easiest is to look at the coupler, hold it steady and move the shifter...if the shifter moves and the aluminum of the coupler doesn't ...that's one thing....then hold the rod (tunnel side) and repeat...if the shifter moves and the rod doesn't, that's another thing see...easy to isolate

ivangene, I was wondering when you would chime in. Thanks! I am going to take a detailed looked either tonite or tomorrow and see what is going on. The tunnel coupler appears to be in fine shape, but I really want a better look. A cursory look suggests that the problem is on the shifter itself, it is VERY loose. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures this evening.

[timmy2]

Have you looked at the information about his stealth shifter mod?
Be careful,, you know you want it!

[tirwin]

That conical screw should be secured so it doesn't back out on its own. The early screw heads were drilled for safety wire. If yours doesn't have a hole, install one, then wire in place after installation.



Sherwood

No security wire on there. Good to know! I'll definitely look into that. I'll have to double-check the screw to see if it has a hole but I'm almost positive it doesn't. Is there even a part number for that?

[timmy2]

A little blue locktite will do the same thing if the parts are clean and grease free.

[NeedSpace]

took apart my shifter, sure enough the bushing after the shifter at the tunnel is toast. I should have pre-emptively just purchased the bushings, now I have to wait for them to arrive. Rats.

[NeedSpace]

Here is the play by play....

I took a look at my rear coupling, it seems really solid and in good shape. I tried to rotate it and there was no slack.


I took off the boot and lifted up my rug. Here you can see some of the metal shavings from the shifter shaft rubbing against the side of the assembly.


I took off the 3 bolts to detach from the floor. It took a minute or so to figure out that I had to also remove the 2 other bolts that held the support bracket. Once i did this it became VERY obvious what the problem was. The shifting has been poor at best, quite the difference from my Audi (albeit 30 years newer) but I am hoping this will make a big difference.

[Arne2]

Yay! Simple, cheap fix.

[911pcars]

Yep. When I heard about your loss of 1st and 2nd, I suspected something like this:



... or this:


I'm glad it's only a <$10 repair.

Sherwood

[dicklague]

Why not replace the coupling too? cheap insurance that everything is right.