As I am doing an almost complete drivetrain overhaul on the daily driver (going from 1.7 to 2056 and tail shift to side shift), I picked up a side shifter recently in unknown condition. Before I put this thing in the car I wanted to crack it open both to learn a little more about how they work, see if there's anything horribly, obviously wrong, and also do some basic maintenance like replacing seals and gaskets. I do have Dr. Evil's DVD (it's kind of like Wizard of Oz for me -- I've never watched it front to back but I've probably seen it a dozen times in 10 minute increments). I was hoping I wouldn't have to completely disassemble the gear stack as I don't have the special tools (jig, synchro hub removal tool, etc.).

After getting the gear stack out I see nothing obviously wrong. I've posted some pics of the first gear slider removed and the brake bands from both 1st gear and 2nd/3rd where I see some possible wear (and a kind of pasty rust). Any thoughts on how serviceable these are? Anything that's obviously crap I will replace, but I'm also not looking to spend money where it's not necessary. I do have another side shifter I can tear apart to see if those pieces are in better shape. If I do go any further on the breakdown I will need to find some of those tools.


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I'm sure the good old Dr. Evil will chime in here but from what I see in your pics the 1 st gear slider & dog teeth are bad. You will need to clean up the bands and inspect them. Is that rust or some type of slime on them? Usually the bands are black or gray in color with a rough surface. It's hard to see the other dog teeth and 2-5 sliders from the pics.

I currently have my brothers trans all apart for a rebuild. What I found was that just by looking at the dog teeth they appeared to look good (nice sharp teeth) but once you get the bands off there was a wear pattern. The teeth being sharp on the most outer part but some teeth had a u shape worn spots towards the inside.

Agree about wear on slider and dog teeth and agree Dr Evil is the guy to talk to.

Isn't the good Dr. Evil down with the gang at Amelia Island this weekend? If so, I won't hold my breath nor do I expect him to stop what he's doing there

Yeah, I don't know what that slimy stuff is on the bands but it seems to be part rust, part gear oil. Didn't expect to see that.

I may have to put a WTB in the classifieds for the hub removal tool and other components. I'll try to break open the other case to compare gears, teeth, and other pieces. My wife will be thrilled to have me bring another tranny into the house.

Wait, that didn't sound right...

The slider looks OK. I can do better for you if you are interested. PM me. The 1st band and teeth are shot. You need to clean that goo off. I would highly recommend that you disassemble, clean, inspect, and reassemble the stack as the bearings and roller bearings will have that crap all in them. It is old oil mixed with dirt that has gotten into the vent. Common if not changing your oil regularly and neglecting the tranz. This is not good as it will wear your bearings out and cause chatter/failure. I would be dubious of using the original main bearings (x 4).

Thanks for weighing in, Dr. Evil. I'll reach out to you as it looks like I do need to tear the stack down now. Gonna have to find me some tools.

Also, I noticed when I was measure the old gaskets I was getting something like .013 inch, trying to do it the way you described in the DVD. Seems the gasket kit I purchased has four new ones each at .010. I would assume I'd just have to go up to .020 with two of them under the assumption they'll compress .

Nope, one gasket. 0.003 less is better than 0.007 more. It will be within speck.

Ok, excellent thanks. I would have bollocksed that all up then.

I disagree with Mike.
You said the old gasket pack was 0.013" which is 0.33mm. Your new gasket set has 0.100" gaskets which are 0.25mm.
If you use one 0.25mm gasket you pinion will be 0.08mm closer to the centerline of the differential than it was before. That is too much variation. You should look for some more gaskets to get something closer to the original thickness. Original Porsche gaskets are 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20mm thick.

The closer you get to where it used to be, the better, I think. It's also very rare that the paper shims in the rebuild kit are sufficient by themselves. With a 0.20mm and a 0.15mm shim, you'll have 0.35mm, which is just under 0.014". That's noticeably closer than just using the single gasket.

This could, of course, be a case of "perfect being the enemy of good"--allowing tiny details to stall the project. But since I don't understand the ways all of the tolerances interact, I'd try to get this one as close as I can.

--DD

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Bad assumption thinking the "kit" would have what I need. I can also purchase a single .1mm and add that to .01 I already have (which, in all likelihood, is actually a .15mm). Basically do just what Dave is suggesting.

Looks like water got in the oil.
Agree that you should take it apart and clean everything really well or more parts will fail, especially the bearings.

Previous po to me cleaned the tranny really well. I'm betting he used a power washer and didn't close off the vent.

Hey Mark! Yeah, that makes sense. The case IS very clean. I'll work with Dr Evil to get the right tools (and collect the parts) to take apart the stack and clean.

Ya, on the gasket thing. I mean, what the fuck do I know. I only do this shit for a living and have done what I recommend over 200 times in 10 yrs. But, hey, that can't be right because the book wrote 40 yrs ago says so. Experience must mean nothing.

You will do fine, if you believe me.

Also, 0.003" is .0762mm. Anyone actually KNOW what the tolerance is? Anyone actually know what will happen if slightly out? I do.

I'm just listening to whoever has the strongest opinion 'cause the only I know for sure is that I DON'T know.

You win

Match what you have now, order them and wait for them to arrive.
Meanwhile, you need to really clean the bearings and order you new gear parts.

I believe mike has a bunch of different gaskets, so get what you need to do it just the way it was, not a variance because you cannot wait...

Seriously though, you have at least a day of really good cleaning ahead of you.

I actually do not have a bunch of different gaskets as the ones in the kit get you close enough if you have not changed anything that effects depth. If other stuff is messed with then the depth has to be reset and that takes tools, time, and work.

You can get away with a lot on R&P adjustment.
A couple of years ago, I opened up a 911 transmission to fix 1st gear synchro problems. I found it had a 914 R&P and some 914 gears which is OK. I measured the pinion depth and it wasn't even close to the set value. Then I found the differential was also VW and had been installed in the case without changing the bearing rings. The bearings on the differential and the rings in the case were different manufacturers. Bottom line was the pinion depth was wrong, the bearing preload on the differential was wrong and the ring gear backlash was wrong but it run just fine and did not sing.
However, it is still best to spend a little time to get the intermediate plate gasket pack as close as possible to the original.

There is a reason the factory had a tolerance range for the pinion depth. It is where things will be best/correct within the tolerance. Sweating over your deviation of 0.003 is not worth the effort, regardless of the opinions here within. You can obsess over this and waste a lot of time, treasure, stress. I would if I didn't know better.

I would recommend readers to clearly scan posts for key word like "opinion" or "I think".

I am in JAX so don't have manual in hand to tell tolerance exactly, but I have no doubt that .08mm is fine.