is the super shift bushing kit all i need

[rice_killer]

my dad has a 914. sence he is not good with computers i do all of the web related stuff for him, such as research and ordering.

his 74 914 has horrible shifting. 1st is impossible to find, as are 4th and 5th. oddly, reverse is quite easy to find, espically when trying to find second.

we know the transmission is good because when the car was parked some years ago, all of the gears were easy enough to find. but sence it has been in storage, the shifter bushings have rotten apart. some of them literally crumble in youre hands.

we want this thing to shift as good as possible. is the super shift kit all we need? or is there other parts to replace.

i have the almighty plastic card in my hand waiting on advise.

thanks.

[rice_killer]

and i did read that shifting improvment tech article. but it didnt reaqlly answer my question "is this all we need".

[Alfred1]

If the internals of your transmission are good and you have replaced all of the shift linkage bushings etc. and the shifting is still poor, then you can try James Adam's Rennshifter.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Yup to all of that.

The shifting in a 914 will never (short of really $$$$ mods) be as good as in a modern Honda or Miata. But you can get it pretty good by making sure that all of the linkage is in good shape. And you can get it even better, once that is done, by installing a Rennshifter. Every single person I know who has installed one has simply raved about how great it was.

--DD

[rice_killer]

HAHAHA $400 for a shifter!
thanks for the laugh. my dad would crush the car before he spent $400 on a shifter.

ill be buying that super shift bushing kit from you guys now then.

i am sure the transmissions internals are good. well atleast good for a 914 anyways.
we will probably cut the shift handle in half to shorten it. i know that will give less "resolution" in terms of shifting, but this isnt a track car. its a weekend toy. its just that with the huge throw of a 914 shifter, it feels like shifting a mack dump truck. thats not very sportscarish.

thanks.

[red-beard]

Reprinted with permission...from me...

Here's the end of my article on transmission rebuilding. I've moved to Texas and I haven't setup the new website yet...

You need to change all of the shift bushing for the car. For you, that means firewall and rear shift console. I also recommend you add lead solder to the shift rod and then sand it down so the fit is tighter than the regular fit. Finally, you should spend the $45 to rebuild the shifter bushings in the shifter itself. There is usually a lot of slop in the shifter itself.

Here ya go: Last pages of the article




While you are at it…You should change at least the tranny end shift rod bushings. My personal feeling is you should change them all (They are cheap), all the way up through to the gearshift in the car. Look at the shift rod tech articles on this web site.


I want to add a few things to those articles:


#1. You should remove the entire shifter assemble and clean and disassemble it. The assembly has 3 springs, a shift lock out plate, 4 c-clips, 2 rods, a top bushing and a spring seat, along with the shifter-shaft and the housing. In finding the final slop in my gearshift assembly, the spring seat was broken and the top bushing was worn. Some of these parts are only available through a Porsche dealer, although I did find the upper bushing and the spring at a major Pelican competitor (Are you listening Wayne?). The spring seats are available only direct from Porsche!


Upper Bushing: 914 424 131/00

Spring: 901 424 132/00

Spring seat (70-72) 901 424 135/00

Spring seat (73-76) 914 424 343/00


The lockout plate can also get damaged/worn out. If it doesn’t look like this, you need to replace it.

(Picture is missing from post, but a picture is in the Pelican catalog)


Reassemble with some good grease.




#2. I can’t speak for the side shifter, yet, (Well, I can now since I converted the 914/6 tranny to sideshift) but my tail shifter shift rod and the rear shift bushing, were not the same size. I ended up buying some MAPP gas and a couple of brazing rods from my local hardware store. I heated up the rod to way red hot and melted brazing material onto the rod. I to smoothed it out as much as possible while still molten. After cooling, I used a grinder to rough round it, then strips of emery cloth to smooth and round out the rod. It now is a much tighter fitting rod in the bushings. Brass brazing compound works fine. It’s riding in a plastic bushing! You probably could do this with copper pipe solder as well. And the smoothing would be easier (Softer material). You could weld it, but the smoothing will be much more difficult. You might want to check the rod in all places it rides in a bushing.


As in the first article on helping the tail shifter, make sure the final links do not have much slop in them. If they do, use the brazing material to repair them and a file and emery cloth to smooth them out. You do not want any slop in the linkage!


#3. Aligning the shift rod. I spent a great deal of time aligning my shift rod on my 914/6, which is an original tail shifter. What I’ve found is that the best way to align the shifter is to put the car in 3rd gear, then align the shifter so that 3rd gear is selected when shifter is riding up against the lockout plate with no pressure. This gives you a "slot" for 2nd and 3rd. 1st and reverse will then require a significant effort against the lockout springs to select.


Adjust the forward/backward position of 3rd so that it is in a comfortable spot, but not too far back. Lock the shaft down by tightening the locking collar nut. Shift it into 2nd. If it’s too far forward, loosen and slide the shift selector back. Repeat the 3rd and 2nd alignment until it where you want it forward and back.

(On a side shift, you do this in 2nd gear, not 3rd gear)

A note on the locking nut/bolt. On the side shifter, this is a no-brainer! It’s right under the shifter with easy access. On the tail shifter, it’s under the center armrest, under the access plate. There is a hole in the center tunnel on the driver side (move the driver seat all the way forward for access) big enough for the 13 mm box end wrench (an open end will not fit!). I had to change the position of my locking collar so that the bolt was on the passenger side of the shift rod and the nut is on top. You can then fit a box end wrench through the access hole to the bolt head and a ratchet to the top. And you are holding all of these while holding the gear selector steady and turning the ratchet. No one said owning a Porsche was easy!


Also, use a high temp grease (I prefer synthetic) on all the working parts and plastic bushings. Get the covers and put them in place. Dirt/grit in the grease will help ruin the bushing and/or the shift rods!

[ratwell]

Originally posted by red-beard
Also, use a high temp grease (I prefer synthetic) on all the working parts and plastic bushings.

Why not a MoS2 based grease?