Hello all,

I have been having difficulty finding first and reverse intermittently on my past few drives.

Let me start at the beginning, I bought the car 2 years ago without being able to put it into 4th or 5th gear. Being new to this and really just wanting to get the car on the road, I drove it promptly (and screaming in 3rd) to a mechanic who specialized primarily in older british and newer german/Japanese stuff. He told me I needed to repair the linkage. He did that and the thing shifted like a (914) dream for the next year and change.

Four months ago I noticed new (and pretty significant) play in the linkage. I thought it was the mechanic's work coming undone though it seemed pretty soon. I drove it like that for another 3 months because there was no real problem hitting all the gears, it just felt a little sloppy.

Two weeks ago after a decent hour and half drive at hwy speeds with no problems and returning home to stop and go traffic, I wasn't able to put the car in first gear. If I double clutched it would slip in with a little bit of protest. Since then it has been spotty acting up at times and other times no problem. Bad synchros? just the linage ? shift tube? worse? I live in the city so I haven't had space to get it up in the air and take a look for myself. Plus Im not well versed enough to take a trans apart and inspect. long winded I know. Any ideas?

Thanks for the help

check the bushings - firewall and at the end of the shift rod - and the cup bushing on the shift rod (on the tranny itself)

Check a couple other things: (first....side shift??) If so..
1) the cone screws at the coupler near the firewall, and the one back at the end of the rod that holds the cup bushing. if they back out even a mm, everything goes to hell
2) check the roll pin and bushings at the coupler at the firewall. If there's play there or it's backing out, same issue
3) check that the 13mm bolt that attaches the shfter to the shift rod is tight. There is a small access hole at the base of the shifter. If that comes loose at all, the rod can turn in the shifter coupler.

Basically...start at the shifter, follow everythign front to back, and make sure everything is tight, and the rods move very little in the bushings. Tighten everything that's loose, and replace any worn looking bushings..

Hope that helps!

Sounds similar to my experience years ago.

My firewall bushing was wearing out, so I ordered new bushings from AA and replaced all of them.

Within ~2 months, the AA bushings wore out so badly, that I put the 20 year old original, cracked, bushings back in with some JB weld to hold them together, and they worked BETTER than the crappy aftermarket bushings.

SO dont use the cheap aftermarket bushings (AA) and get the bronze bushings if possible, and the tangerine racing (or patrick motorsports) firewall bushings.

Cool will do this weekend. where is the access point for trans fluid?

thanks a lot guys. does this mean what I have described (on the surface) looks more like bushings than trans problems? The mechanic had replaced the bushings when it was last in the shop for this issue. Doesn't surprise me he might use suspect aftermarket stuff. will dive into it this weekend.

And it is a side shift yes.

Side shift bushing (trans end):
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=PORS...Id=380631223466

And shift rod bearing (upper right):
http://www.tangerineracing.com/transmission.htm

Then PP has the shifter bushings that go in the shaft itself (Shift Coupler Bushing Set ):
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperC...T_pg2.htm#item4

Replace all of those (or verify that your mechanic did that) and it will be better than new

Just make sure you check the cone screws. The screws and the couplers they're in are 40+ years old....all the in and out, they tend to fit very loosely. Put a dab of glue or loctite (whichever the one is that will eventually let go with force, not permanent)

We've had this problem through the years (worst was a Targa Newfoundland when one backed out completely and the shift rod separated from the coupler on the highway). If your guy didn't tighten all the way, or glue them in (new cones have a dab of glue on them already), they can easily back out over time

Just because the bushings are aftermarket doesn't mean they're "suspect". The look and feel just like the ones you might get from Porsche because they probably ARE the ones you get from the dealer, except for the coupler bushings, which are BETTER than the originals because Porsche doesn't even sell them as separate parts (and the OE ones were junk, anyway). (I can't comment on the bushings sold by AA because I have always sourced mine from the same people GPR gets theirs, and I've NEVER had a problem with them.) My first inspection point would be the cone screws, because a lot of people, including professional techs, don't bother to change them. They are a SINGLE USE item! No glue, JB Weld, Loctite, or anything else is necessary. In a pinch, a used one in the coupler is OK if you wrap the coupler in electrical tape to assure the screw doesn't fall out, but it should be replaced at the earliest opportunity. Can't do that in the back.

Good luck! The Cap'n

^^what he said.
The problem we have and I keep forgetting that everybody doesn't do this, is that we end up taking our engine and/or transmission out so often that I don't think to replace the cone screws each time

thats why the ones james (vendor JWest) offers with the tapered screw and lock nut are so handy.

+1