shift slop

[ez e]

In the 8 years I've owned this 1971 911T, I've never had issues shifting to 2nd gear. In the past two weeks, I'll occasionally be grinding into what I can only guess is reverse as I'm trying to get into second. There's nothing worse than hearing that god awful sound when you're not expecting it. It has happened while upshifting as well as down shifting. I'm now super careful only because I'd like to not ruin anything in the transmission. I've noticed there is a lot of slop in regards to the shifter. The amount of side to side play while in 2nd or 3rd gear is about the same as the side to side play while in neutral.... is that normal? I took a quick peek at the shift rod coupler to see if the bushings looked like they were in bad shape. I realize there's no real way to know without pulling it out, but it didn't look too shabby. Is that the usual suspect? While I'm at a stop with the engine running, I can't seem to find reverse without diligently placing it there. This only occasionally happens when I definitely don't want it to.

I tried to search this topic, but couldn't find a ton of stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Happy Holidays,

ez

[RSTarga]

Do a search on shift coupler and you'll find plenty. Yo can hold one side of the rod before the coupler and move the other side to see amount of movement. Pretty simple fix. Pull the coupler and press the old bushing out and press the new one in. There is a video on Pelican by the coupler whisperer on how best to do it. Cheap fix. Getting everything aligned afterward, is a bit trickier.

[76911S]

There are two other bushings as well that can contribute to shift problems, #4 & #13 in the picture.

Mark..

[CidTito]

I replaced part #4, #13 and the insides of #9.

When you pull the shift coupler out #9, to put in new bushings, take very good notes of its position to part(s) #5/#1. Its tricky getting it back in at the perfect location. After mine got all done, I had to relearn where the shifting points were. I noticed less slop after changing mine. Go ahead and replace part #12 but that will be on engine bay side.

Keep track of part no. 2!!!

[93nav]

Does #12 act as a bushing also, or is it more of a 'boot' cover? On #2, at least for newer cars, it is available from Pelican for like $4.50. New #2s have a dab of some sort of threadlocker I think. I could also see it on the old one. Just a thought.

I replaced part #4, #13 and the insides of #9.

When you pull the shift coupler out #9, to put in new bushings, take very good notes of its position to part(s) #5/#1. Its tricky getting it back in at the perfect location. After mine got all done, I had to relearn where the shifting points were. I noticed less slop after changing mine. Go ahead and replace part #12 but that will be on engine bay side.

Keep track of part no. 2!!!

[edmayo]

#12 is a BOOT not a bushing. And yes, that is threadlocker since what you get now is a allen head lock screw, what you used to get is shown in the illustration which was a square head bolt with a hole for safety wiring. The new one doesn't have that, hence the loc-tite. Frankly I prefer the old style, a safety wired bolt is NOT coming out!

[37yrold911]

yes, it might come loose, but it won't come out

I forget whether bracket #14 needs to be mounted on top of the tunnel sheet metal or underneath, but I do recall that was an issue requiring lengthy research when I replace the bushing

there are newer materials now for #4 but I dunno if they are really better; white grease is your friend

also, blueprint the shifter as detailed by Sherwood, tho I again forget what user name he has and the website URL

[edmayo]

Shift adjustment is very easy, just loosen pinch bolt at rear coupling, for a 71 (dog leg first) move shift lever to 4th-5th gate, when doing so note which direction the rod rotates at the rear coupler (it will be opposite the lever direction), position the lever so that the lower portion is vertical, now move the coupler (which is connected to the trans shift rod) all the way in the same direction as the shift rod rotated. Now the lever and the trans are both in the 4th-5th gear gate, tighten down the (pinch) clamp bolt.

[Cliff]

Thanks for that lesson, Ed..(post 8 above) I just copied and sent it to my email for future reference............cliff

[Cliff]

Shift adjustment is very easy, just loosen pinch bolt at rear coupling, for a 71 (dog leg first) move shift lever to 4th-5th gate, when doing so note which direction the rod rotates at the rear coupler (it will be opposite the lever direction), position the lever so that the lower portion is vertical, now move the coupler (which is connected to the trans shift rod) all the way in the same direction as the shift rod rotated. Now the lever and the trans are both in the 4th-5th gear gate, tighten down the (pinch) clamp bolt.

I need to do a 4 speed.....?