Missing 4th and 5th gear

[Borris4]

Have recently been given custody for 3 years of my cousin's cherished 1969 912 while he has gone to live in Australia. Was a bit worried when I found out the price of his recent engine rebuild by Andy Prill! Have been enjoying the car around the country roads of southern Ireland where the left hand drive has been very useful for hugging the ditches at the side of the narrow roads.
Last night I got a bit worried as it became impossible to engage 4th and 5th gear. Problem resolved itself immediately I stopped, put the car in 1st gear, then reverse and no further problems on the drive home.
Any suggestions would be helpful and can I reasonably expect to fix this myself?

[jknapp3]

A car that heals itself! I wish my 67 did that, then I wouldn't have to restore it. lol

[Flieger]

Oftentimes the shift linkage bushings deteriorate and allow too much slop, resulting in poor gear selection precision. There is a bushing at the bottom of the shift lever in a ball/socket joint, a bushing in a ring guide just behind the shift lever, and lastly a set of bushings in a U-joint under a cover between the rear seats which connects the shift rod to the transaxle. Bushings number 2 and 3 are the most likely culprits. If you look in the Pelican catalog, you will find a diagram along with the parts. There should also be an article on how to replace them. If you have Wayne's book '101 Projects for Your Porsche 911' you can find the whole thing with photos in there. You may have to re-index the U-joint on its splines and also axially if you replace the bushings.

[Borris4]

Thanks for that, will order the bushes and replace them. Have read the article in Wayne's book, hopefully it will be clearer when the parts are in front of me. Will do the the front bushes first and see if that helps!

[lamaker]

great looking car, you are lucky to be able to look after it.