transmission repair

[rich roush]

My 70E has a bad 1st gear synchro and perhaps needs some repair to reverse. I had an estimate for $900 parts and $500 labor. All gears shift as they should with the exception of 1st. I must almost be at a stop to get into 1st gear . I'm good at most all other repair but know nothing about the rebuilds of these transmissions. Is this reasonable? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Rich

[roblav]

I have two recommendations:

1) Make sure the clutch pedal is adjusted correctly

2) For that money, you can alter your driving habits and live with it. What I mean here is that if your 1st synchro is that bad, you should shift into 1st at stoplights and stopsigns BEFORE you come to a dead stop. By shifting when the gear rpm (axle) matches the engine rpm, you actually don't need a synchro at all. I drove one of my early cars that way for years and actually still do it today.

[kenikh]

Buy 101 Projects for your Porsche 911; it has do it yourself instructions for fixing 1st gear in a 901.

[Eric911S]

Hello: What I would do first is check all the shift linkage bushings and the shift rod to make sure everything is correct. The bushings get loose or just crumble away. The shift rod ends can come loose at the welds. The set screws also can be loose. Check all of these then adjust your clutch. Lastly try some different trans fluid like Swepco,Redline. This may make the difference as well. Thanks Eric

[Henry Schmidt]

Whether you DIY or not, repair it before you ruin the first reverse slider. The part alone is over $500 and if the gears a grinding you are damaging that part. All of the suggestions are good except the one that doesn't repair the problem.
Try the simple items like clutch cable and linkage problems but my guess is that your syncro is shoot. first reverse sliders are damaged so often that it is getting hard to find a good used one. We have over 100 901 transmissions in stock and very few have good used sliders in them.
Good luck