Hey everyone,
Forgive me if I didn't do a good enough search to find this answer, but I've got a teeny problem. My '72 shift lever shaft is twisting at the ball base, causing the shift knob to migrate closer to my leg and making it damn near impossible to shift into first or reverse, due to having to overcome the spring pressure and as a result the loose shaft will twist toward my leg and change the lever angle. I tore down the shifter assembly today hoping to find a loose bolt or something, but it appears that the shaft is pressed into the ball base? I didn't find any type of fastener that holds these two parts together. I saw on ebay that someone is selling just the ball base (lower shift lever), so I must assume these parts can come apart. Anyone have any ideas on tightening it back up or am I off to the auctioners to find a replacement shifter assembly, or worse spend $500+ on a shifter kit that I really don't want? Any advice would be great. Thanks!

There are plastic bushings in each of the places where the shifter and linkage move. Each one contributes to a loosey-goosey shifter.

When I bought my 71 914, the PO has replaced all the bushings except the one at the base of the shifter. Check that one out too. It fits in the little cup that the shifter fits into.

Oh, and by the way,



And lets see some pics of your car because:

Is it a side or tail? I have a good One for a tail shift that was shorten. Let me know if you need it

$500 bucks? . You must a been looking at the wrAAng website.

Here's da scoop. Stock levers were held together with epoxy. Aftermarket ones were welded. You should be able to get some epoxy, better yet, JB Weld and get yours back together. Make sure you let it dry for the 24 hour period.

If you don't want to hassle, McMark has a shift lever assembly (console freshly powder coated and shaft freshly plated) of mine you can have for $40 clams without the knob.

After replacing all the linkage bushings I thought of at the time, my failure came from the bushings at the firewall, could have been the original bushings. Mine is a 74 I'm not sure if the 71 has a different set-up. Mike

I missed this detail. I have a stock tail shift shifter that you can have for the cost of shipping.

No, the shift bushings are not the issue. I've replaced those FWIW. This is specifically the shift lever assembly in the cabin. The shift lever shaft is attached to the shift lever lower portion that looks like a ball joint. As far as I can tell these parts are not bolted together, but in the case of my lever the shaft twists at the joint between the lever shaft and the lower "ball joint". My shift system is a '72 tail shifter, so it uses the small ball joint with the cylinder plastic coupler type bushing. As stated in a few replies, it seems that these pieces were epoxied. I don't know why I'm surprised, but that does seem like a cheesy way of joining these parts that get such abuse. I may have to try that. I'll have to devise a way to get the rest of the epoxy to break inside so I can get the shaft out.
In regard to the $500 replacement, Pelican sells a Rennshift Performance shifter assembly for approx. that much, and in my opinion that's WAAAAY overkill for what I need. But they also sell a "Short Shift Kit" by Weltmeister that appears to replace the shift lever upper and lower as a single unit, and advertises a reduction of throw by 35%, and sells for approx. $100. Has anyone tried using this part and know of its quality? According to Pelican reviews, the only gripe about it seems to be the black paint is getting scratched during shipment but nothing else is mentioned. That's still a bit much more than I'd want to pay but if it's a one piece (not likely), or welded or bolted together, that may be a better way to go rather than having to deal with epoxy or a future failure.
Those who replied to giving up an extra shifter of yours thanks a bunch! I'm gonna weigh my options just a bit and will let you know if I'm interested. Thanks to everyone who replied on advice, I really appreciate it!
I'll post a few pics ASAP. These pics are of the parts Pelican offers.Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Heat. Propane or MAPP torch.

I have the Weltmeister for reduced throw and original appearance (handles the stock 914-6 handthrottle as well) and all of the Rennshift level III stuff hidden underneath for precision.

I'm not sure if it was the metallurgy on the Weltmeister piece but, mine required a fix. The reverse plate eventually wore into the shaft. Also, I had mine plated to have a stock appearance:







Here it is after the shaft repair and after the plating. You can clearly see the welding on this one:

Hmm, interesting. How long did it take to wear through like that? Is the shaft and lower unit welded together from the vendor or did you do that prior to plating?
I managed to get my pieces apart (just a little bit o' hammerin' and no, those marks are NOT from me) and lo and behold, glued together. And it's grey in appearance so I wonder if this hasn't happened to the PO and he JB welded it back together? I think I may follow suit at least to get it back on the road and continue to weigh options. Is it worth it to have it welded, or will it lose value due to modifying an original piece? Or should I even worry about such a thing?
Thanks again to all my 'teener buddies with the help!
Click to view attachment

For a stock shift lever... CLEAN that one really well (soda blast?) and JB Weld it back together.

$500 for a Rennshifter is more than worth it but, it doesn't look like that's in the cards for you. It's the finest consoule available for these cars.

A good epoxy should last a lifetime. Most stock teeners out there are running around with factory epoxy. I'm not sure why yours failed but, it does look like someone's been in there.

The welding you see on mine is how Weltmeister puts theirs together. How long did it take? Not sure As I believe that shifter came with my car.

Edit: I don't see why a competent weld repair would be detrimental to the value of the car. If you can find someone to do it like you see on the Weltmeister arm, go for it. Never worry again.

Have it welded or pick up a used one. Pretty simple.

Yours is the first I've heard of that failed in this manner, so it's probably something you'll never have to worry about again unless you JBWeld it or some other hack-fix.

Why would JB Weld be a hack fix? They're epoxied from the factory and JB Weld is one of the strongest epoxies I've worked with lately.

I had all the same problens and never got a good shift replaced all bushings etc. not much help? Bought a short shift kit on e-bay (someones loss $ 10.00 Great deal) out of desperation installed Like a new car never thought a 914 could have good shift! all the bad stuff about short shift is over rated ! Worked for my car!!

Because it's already failed at least once. If the factory epoxy failed where most others haven't then there is a reason. Why mess with a failed-n-fixed part when you can get new (or weld)?

Done properly... there won't be issues. I'd do it to my car and I'm pretty damn picky.

Someone had been in that shift lever before. On a factory piece. you can see a bead of expoxy around the joint. None showing in those first pictures and evidence of a screwdriver used to pound off the ball. They obviously did a shitty job and I doubt they used the proper adhesive.

A trip to Home Depot, $5.00 from your wallet and you can be putting it back together tomorrow evening.

That said, if you know a good welder who will work on a Sunday, you can be putting it back together this evening.

Yup, I agree JB weld is damn good stuff. A good cleaning, slather that stuff in, and make sure the epoxy oozes out of the joint. Good quick fix. I definitely think someone tried really hard to get these parts to separate in the past with a screwdriver or chisel and a big hammer. It didn't take much but a few taps with a small ball peen and a punch for me to separate them. I still may however have my buddy put a good weld to it as well. I was only worried about if I should decide to sell the car or the part to someone who wants to use it for a concourse car whether it would lessen the value of it. Hate to modify original parts, as rare as they are now.

I'm guessing the CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN part of the instructions would be the most important thing, with either epoxy or with welding. Metal doesn't weld very well to dirt, rust, or partly-failed epoxy. Epoxy bonds with dirt and rust and partly-failed epoxy, but that just means it brings that stuff with it when the joint fails again...

Don't worry about value unless your car is a time-capsule concours winner that is kept in a climate-controlled garage at all times and never driven. Even if it is, a well-repaired original part that is not visible without disassembling the car is not exactly going to hurt the value.

--DD

Thanks everyone for the help! JB weld has been schmooed on and parts put back together. We'll see this time tomorrow.

I am all Rennshifted out. So, I have a good stock one around these parts somewhere.