Trouble getting into gear still..., Side Shift Linkage Issues ? Options

[1adam12]

Well, the last time I drove my 914 was May of last year to the DMV and a week later I lost all gears. I converted my 72 1.7 to a side shift a couple years ago and I've gone through a few shift adjustments especially after replacing all the bushings. The curved shift rod was bent pretty bad from the donor car I originally installed so I took it to Bruce Stone's shop and he got it pretty spot on using his jig. He also replaced my newish coupler bushings because they were beginning to "oval-out" creating a little play around the pin. Still no luck...

I went ahead and purchased Chris's precision shift adjuster but even after installing it and doing the shift alignment tips from these forums still nothing. I know I need to spend more time fiddling with this upgrade after I get everything correctly aligned.

After multiple alignment attempts, I would grind Reverse and 1st but if I pushed far enough I could get 2nd but would have to hold it in place.

So this past weekend, I took apart the shift linkage. By hand, I can fully get into all gears with a solid 'clunk' sound by manually positioning the gear selector at the shift counsel. I fired the car up, and with the rear off the ground *car on jack stands* I can shift the selector into gear and the wheels spin. So this has to be something upstream up to the shifter itself.

The only visual cues I see are that the ball cup on the shift selector is pretty loose inside the connector to the shift rod. The other thing I noticed as I installed the precision adjuster is that my shifter inside the car is not aligned. The top of the shifter is clocked a little towards 7 o'clock.

Any advice with help guys. Been thinking if I should just get the full Tangerine Racing shift rod kit but I want to give this one more shot... heck it's been years already.

[1adam12]

I actually just read on Pelican thread from owners with the same exact problem on the selector rod connection pin. I'll have to do some inspection but may have to replace the roll pin with a double or triple rolled version.

[ChrisFoley]

I actually just read on Pelican thread from owners with the same exact problem on the selector rod connection pin. I'll have to do some inspection but may have to replace the roll pin with a double or triple rolled version.

Yes, the original pins were nearly solid but the replacements have a hole thru the middle. I bought a 5 pack of 6 x 35 Medium Duty spiral pins from McMaster that have a center hole. A piece of drill rod the right diameter pressed thru makes it strong enough for long term.