Problems shifting into second

[jkrystowski]

I am a fairly new owner of a 1986 930 turbo. I was having problems shifting into Reverse and second. reverse was just plain difficult, second I had to shift slowly to avoid grinding the gears. All other gears were just fine. I took it to a local Porsche specialist who replaced the broken and re-welded shifter and then readjusted the linkage.

It shifts much better into reverse now with only an occasional issue. Second was a little better but is now back to where it was before. The mechanics answer now is to rebuild the transmission for about $4k including the synchro's. Looking through the repair records I see that the former owner had the syncronizers, 2nd gear dog teeth, 3rd/4th operating sleeve and all gaskets and seals replaced 11,000 miles ago.

Any thoughts on where I should go from here? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[klefroid]

That's a lot! I had the same and paid $1400...

[Porschephd]

Sounds like the opp sleeve for 1/2 is buggered up. Why they didn't replace that at the same time is beyond me. That was standard when I went through a trans. Who wants to go back in there? It also may have been fine but if they didn't set the rods correctly it could have worn it to the point it is uneven. Grinding is an indicator the dogteeth and syncro are bad. At this point I would recheck the alignment and see if the linkage is good and if all of that is fine you will need to pull the trans and tear it apart.

[icemann427]

Before you get into the expensive stuff, you should make sure the shift rod coupler is not loose; is not worn out; or just doesn't need adjustment. The location is under a plate on the floor just in front of the back seat. I had the same problem after I put in a new coupler. I just had to adjust it until it worked, correctly.

[MikeD930]

It can be a number of things that can contribute to the problem. It's best to start with something simple then go from there. So the PO had a shifter welded? Which part of a shifter was welded? Just need to rule out reasons for having problems in the first place.

Is your current mechanic familiar with air cooled 911's? If yes then we can assume that he properly set the shift linkage (it is very sensitive to adjustment). If he is not then you need to take your car to a knowledgeable mechanic or you can do it if you are mechanically inclined.

I agree with Stephen...sounds as if the PO's mechanic did not replace everything or did not reset the shift forks correctly.

[jkrystowski]

Thanks everyone for your help!

The shift lever was welded just above were it enters the transmission itself.The mechanic does nothing but work on 911's and old porsche's but I am starting to wonder a bit.

Two different people have told me that you can't shift a 930 quickly into 2nd. Does that make sense?

[Alan L]

They are ponderous - and for good reason. If you try and force them thru the shift you will quickly damage the synchros on an expensive box. Every owner of an earlier era 911/930 needs to accomodate this if you want a long life out of the box. My SC has done about 50,000 miles since I have had it. Box still perfect, and not newly built when I got it. My 930 I rebuilt a torn up box when I got the car. It has survived about 7 seasons on the track - but 2nd is starting to complain. I could push th shifts harder, and simply rebuild the box each year, for a few split seconds potentially saved in lap time. 2nd is the most common synchro to go first it seems. But basically you do the transition on downshifts with a slight hesitation at the neutral point before hitting the lower gear. Say $s and cents and then shift to lower gear.
+1 on above advice - the rear linkage coupling can come loose on a tapered allen screw. My 930 seems intent on this even with loctite.
Regards
Alan

[quattrorunner]

Originally Posted by Alan L

the rear linkage coupling can come loose on a tapered allen screw. My 930 seems intent on this even with loctite.
Regards
Alan

Same here. Check the coupler and Allen screw. Not saying that's it but it was for me.

[jkrystowski]

Thanks gents. This is very important advice for. We will need to be very careful after its fixed!I just hope it doesn't run the full $4k