Reverse Lockout Plate, Instl

[Kevin Lewis]

Help me, I can't stand the gear grinding noise down shifting into 2nd gear and nicking reverse. I have added the Weltmeister HD spring kit, new shift bushings throughout the linkage and I am still nicking reverse. My vehicle is a 1973 1.7L with 901 side shifter. I just purchased a new reverse lockout plate from PP and I am getting ready to instl it in hopes of remedying the problem once and for all. I searched this site and found one thread, but it didn't answer my question. I don't remember how the reverse lockout plate is held in place under the shifter. Can someone help with some user friendly installation instructions? Is there anything else I can physically do to the car to help eliminate this problem?

[John Rogers]

I would be surprised if the plate wore very much as it is pretty hard steel? If I remember correctly, the lockout plate floats on the two pins that go through it and the outer stamped steel mount and those wonderful springs that come with the Weltmeister kit force it to one side. I did ours about 4 years ago so I might be a little wrong here? The best cure for the 1->2 shift is: practice, practice, practice, practice and do not try to do it like you can in a 996! Good luck.

[Zeke]

The lock out plate is tough to get to. I believe you have to take the roll pin out of the bottom piece and work from there. Most likely you can re-align the shift rod. Put the trans in 2nd and take the shift lever off the rod and move the lever, now free of the rod, over to the left but not pushing the spring plate. Just running snuggly against it. Re-insert the lever to the rod in this position. You are now lined up to hit second right on the nose. This info from Red Beard. For more, look up his posts.

[campbellcj]

I'm just lusting after a WEVO shifter for the 914/901... supposedly will be released Real Soon Now.

[red-beard]

First, go to my article on tranny rebuilding. The last couple of pages are on the shifter and the aligning of the shifter and shift rod so you don't nick reverse.

There is a picture of the lockout plate and some advice on what it should look like.

John: I have a shifter with a worn lockout plate. There is a worn bulge where the plate should have a straight run.

To change the lockout plate:

Remove the shifter from the car (3 13mm bolts and 2 10 mm bolts).

If you have a tailshifter, just pull hard. If you have a side shifter, loosen the shiftrod connection to the shifter and slide the rod out.

Now comes the dangerous part! The springs are under a lot of tension. They are held in place by small rods that run through the middle of the spring. The rods are held in place with little c-clips at each end. Pull one c-clips off and then push the rod out with a phillips screwdrive. The spring "should" stay in place, but I'd cover the whole thing with a thick cloth or towel. If you get the rod out without the spring flying off, you now need to pry the spring out with a screwdriver. Keep it covered.

Do the second spring the same way as the first.

You now have access to the lockout plate. I highly reccomend you look at the end of the tranny article and go to your local Porsche dealer and order the spring and 2 bushings and rebuild the shifter. It will cost you $45, but you will have a shifter that seriously reduces slop. Pelican does not stock these parts.

Installation is trickier, since you have to get those damn springs compressed. Notice that the springs are ground flat at the ends. I usually put the ends in the right places and then squeeze the spring down. Insert the rod and this should help line up the spring. Wiggle it around a bit to get the rod to line up with the other hold and then ram it in. This may take a hammer to tap it into place (Both the rod and the spring!). Once installed, put the c-clip on. Repeat with the 2nd spring. When you're done, grease everything up. Press the shifter all the way over and get grease under the lockout plate.

Re-install in the car and follow the directions on lining up your shifter and shiftrod.

my homepage:

http://home.san.rr.com/pb914/

James

[red-beard]

John: If you line up the shifter and shiftlinkage the way I suggest in my article, it is next to impossible to nick reverse. It also gives you a wonderful "gate" for 2nd/3rd, since you are using the lockout plate as a guide.

The 1st to 2nd shift become a complete no brainer, since the spring puts the shifter into the right place. You just push the shifter "forward" and it goes into 2nd.

James

[John Rogers]

James is right, those springs are under some compression! I looked last night and found the tool I made for installing the springs which is an old screwdriver that has each side of the end notched so it fits into the spring opening. It made the task of compressing the spring much easier. Good luck.

[4x4loyr]

I was struggling to re-install the 2 springs, until I came up with this idea:
I used a long 10mm socket with a finger racket (something to push down with my palm), and compressed the spring onto the rod, then once compressed, I caught the lip of the spring and pushed it into place. Then the rod just popped through the hole.

(I was going to post a picture, but I can't attache for some reason.)

Ty

[red-beard]

4x4loyr: If you need the article, I can e-mail it to you. The website listed above has been gone for about 10 years. Send me a private message.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You can also find it on the Internet Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20050212113437/http://home.san.rr.com/pb914/

--DD