It's been a quiet few months as I haven't had any time to work on the car. The nice weather is just around the corner, so I thought I would get the last major problem looked at - the transmission.
It had always been difficult to get into 1st or 2nd, sometimes impossible. I'd already replaced everything else in the chain so I figured it was dog teeth or synchros. I'm happy to do a variety of jobs but I draw the line at things that could disable the car for a long time or prove to be unbelievably expensive if I screw it up, so I found a specialist out in the boonies who races Porsches and has all the specialty tools to properly rebuild a 915.
While it was there I decided to have them do the shocks as well, which wasn't much more than the cost of the parts themselves and it saved me the hassle.
All four were completely wiped - one for sure was the original from 1978.
Here's what the mechanic had to say about the 915:
- 1st gear dog teeth show wear as does synchro ring
- 2nd gear dog teeth show wear as does synchro ring
- 1-2 slider shows wear
- 3rd gear dog teeth worn as is synchro ring
- 4th gear dogs and synchros ok
- 3-4 slider ring worn on one side needs to be replaced
- 5th gear dogs and ring ok
- All gears need needle bearings as the cages are cracked
I got all the parts back and had a chance to see for myself.
The cracks in the needle bearings was pretty obvious.
Dog teeth were showing the beginnings of cupping.
The mechanic believed someone had been inside before based on the double peen (heh heh) on the nut - once for original, twice for the visit. But the needle bearings were totally original so who knows what they did in there.
Either way, the car now shifts a bit stiffer than before but it does so on a consistent basis in all gears. Also it no longer bangs over bumps, so now I'm good to drive the car another 160,000 miles.