3 Weeks ago at Okteenerfest my 75-914-4 2.0 started grinding badly when shifting into 1st or Reverse. I was able to nurse it through the weekend by shifting into 1st during slow rolls and not starting car until I had engaged Reverse.
My first thought was that I just needed to tighten up the Clutch Cable as I thought that it was not completed engaging.
I got a myriad of suggestion but most thought it was dog gears or synchro's, after the weekend I put her on the tow dolly and trailered her back the 900 miles to SW Florida.

Now the Build-Off is top priority so I need to park my driver in an alternate garage so that I can go full tilt on the Build-Off Project.
Today I put the right side on Jack stands slid under there with an 11mm open end wrench and a vise grip to hold the square groove on the cable.

About eight turns to tighten the two nuts on the end of the cable and I started her up to check if I could get it into gear without the grind.

BINGO, no problem and smooth acquisition of 1st & Reverse.

Also dealing with a vapor (gas) smell, changed out the charcoal granulars form the cannister with new material from Smith & Foster, we will see if this makes a difference.

I am now having a great Sunday...Hope you are all as well


Vysoc

If it was shifting fine, then didn't, then you tightened it and it works...

The cable stretched and will fail soon. Buy a new cable.

That, or the clutch tube is starting to break lose ...

Yes, I would agree with both of you 8 years ago when we reassembled this project from boxes. We put everything back together and it worked...German Engineering!

There was always a little clatter at release in first and I should have dealt with this earlier, I bought another Clutch Cable and will change over and get a feel for if any play in the weld mounts in the tunnel or if things have come loose.

Thanks for the information!

Vysoc

Pete. Headed your way in a few weeks. Maybe I can keep the pressure on the GT build

pull up center tunnel carpet
there is a hole behind teh shifter to the left. can you see the clutch tube move? you can place your finger on it to detect movement also

I told you that was the most likely senario, I put a new one in last year and due to a bit of stretching following the first 1k miles or so of use had to go back and tighten it up, if you don't tighten the one nut to the other to lock them in place they will also slowly loosen up, ask me how I know!
Good luck on the build. I will be trying to sort thru wiring today on mine and maybe see if it fires up.
, do you have a 1.8 or a 2.0? Trying to figure out what the green wire that comes off under the ecu connects to. ..on my 1.8 l-jet

Dr. Phil and Gary,

Phil mine is a 2.0 D-Jet, in retrospect I don't think the clutch cable was ever set up as tight as it should have been, it feels great now but will be monitoring for the stretch or a clutch cable mount in the tunnel that has come loose.

Gary,

Moving things around so that I can get the Yellow Sub in the middle of the garage and have some good work areas to get this thing moving forward. I am hopeful that by the time you return I will be welding the floor pans in and then the Engman/Inner Long kit etc.

With the White Car sleeping in a garage a couple miles away I can reconfigure the whole garage. Looking forward to Gary's return so that I can have a Pilot/Engineer's help with moving me in the right direction...gotta love 914 World!!!

Call me when you get back!!

Vysoc