Shift Lever Alignment
 

I recently had my 72 914 upgraded to a side
shift transmission. For the most part things went well, but I am having problems with the
shift rod rubbing in the tunnel as well as
nicking reverse and various other misalignment problems. I read Wayne's tech article on how to properly align the transmission lever. It's clear enough, however on my 914, when I shift to reverse, the M8 bolt is then under the tunnel metal.
How am I supposed to loosen it to follow
the rest of the procedure? Just loosening it
while in the hole opening of the plate allows me to rotate the shift rod left and right, but getting things setup right this way has
been frustrating and fruitless. So what is the proper way to align the lever and rod?
If Wayne's procedure is the way to go, how do
I loosen the M8 screw and then re-tighten
it when it's under the tunnel?
Thanks for any advice!
-Wayne Namerow

If the conversion was just done by a shop, I would get them to fix it. If you did it, then you need to fix it. I adjust the shifter on both our cars a little different from the procedure as I have the same trouble as you have. This method will put the clamp bolt in the opening so you can get a socket or wrench on it. Here's what I do: Get new bushings and set screws (2) if not new, jack up car level on stands, remove the cover over the ball- socket joint at the trans, while at the rear watch someone shift into 1st gear, second gear etc and see what happens with the trans mechanism, loosen the clamp bolt at the shifter, at the trans manually move the linkage into 1st gear and have someone hold it tightly so it will not move, inside pull the handle into a good position for 1st gear, tighten the clamp bolt, release the trans linkage at the rear and then shift through all gears. You should be able to feel each gear cleanly. While the car is up, adjust the clutch to get 3/8 inch or so of pedal play and when shifting make sure you push the pedal all the way to the floor board, lots of people don't do this? Finally, check the bushings, especailly at the fire wall, if there is more than miniscule free play the bushings need replacement, so take it all apart, put in the new ones you have and reassemble and adjust. The conversion should have replaced all shift rod parts and bushings as part of the upgrade? Good luck.

John,
Thanks! I'll give it a try this weekend.
I just have to hope that the bolt is visible
through the hole so I can tighten it while
the trans in in first gear. I can't recall
whether it is/was of not.
-Wayne

I have converted my '72 to a side shifter and found that adjusting the shifter differently from the tech articles worked better.

First put the tranny in 5th gear as the article says, then tighten the nut. Move lever into position for 4th. Is this where you would like 4th to be? (I mean forward/rear orientation. 4th is the longest reach and you don't want to have to 'lean' to engage it.) If you would like the position closer or further away, adjust the clamping collar until you like it. Now move the lever back into 5th and mark the location of the collar on the shift lever rod with a pencil.

Next, move the lever into the 2nd/3rd shift plane. Ideally you would like for the lever to 'ride' along the left side of the shift gate pattern. The spring plate should prevent the lever from shifting into 1st/Reverse. Loosen the clamping nut again and 'draw' the lever along the left of the 2nd/3rd part of the pattern. Now line it up with you pencil mark and tighten in.

If it all went well, the spring plate should kick the lever to the right as you go from 1st to second, without nicking reverse and you should be able to reach 4th without having to move your right shoulder off the backrest.

If your shift plate springs are very weak that may contribute to 'nicking' reverse, but try all adjustments first. (it may be helpful to remove the tunnel plate by the firewall, this will allow you to get a grip on the shiftrod to hold it still.)

Motor on!

------------------
Herb
'72 1.7 Tangerine 'Teen
'74 2.0 Red Rustmobile

Hi Herb, good point about checking where the 4th gear position is where you want it to be. I set mine so I have 1st just about as far to the left and back as it can get and it works well since I am strapped tightly into that bucket seat and can't move forward any! FABCAR is making a 935 style shifter for 914s shortly and I plan to get one and I think it will move the shifter back several inches and the handle up several inches closer to the steering wheel as in the 935. They have made several one-offs for Brumos, etc and they work fantastic.

Followup: Thanks for the great advise. Things
are now working perfectly! :-)
It turns out my problem was a bit more insidious thank just misalignment. I would align the shift lever perfectly in the garage tnen go drive a bit and the linkage would work it's way out of alignment again(!) Careful tracing of the linkage from the lever back revealed that the small hex key/screw which hold the first linkage rod to the second linkage rod, right behind the firewall had come out. The joint was working purely on friction and (of course) was working it's way out of alignment. I'm very lucky I didn't end up stranded on the road while it was in this condition. I found the hex screw on the floor of my garage, installed it, re-aligned and it
works perfectly now.
Thinking about the above a bit, what happens if that screw is lost on a tail shifter with a solid engine mount bar? It seems to me that if the rear shift rod came loose it would fall to the ground with (when driving) catastrophic results!!! If my thinking is correct, all tail shift owners should install a tiewrap loop around the rear shift rod just
in case.
Anyway, thanks again for the great advise!
-Wayne Namerow

It is a good idea to have several spare lock screws on hand and Every Time you need to loosen one of them, put in a new one. They have a small amount of sealant to lock them in place and it is only good for one tightening! Take some time to get exactly how the shifter feels now when new and then as soon as there is a change, something has gone wrong. A large tie wrap would be a good idea as you noted. Glad you fixed it.