Ok, it seems like every day is opposites day for me when working on the 914! Just
replaced my shift bushings in my side-shifter; the one at the firewall is what seems to strike fear into everyone and it was the easiest for me. Oh sure, it was a bit tight, but it being made of softer plastic allowed me to manipulate it enough to get it in within a few minutes. Tools used were a flatblade screwdriver and my thumbs. The other two bushings, the "easy" ones, are hard plastic and were MUCH more difficult. I had to use a vise to get them in.

So with that done, I go to re-install the shift selector. Went in easily, re-installed the rear shift bar, no problem. Go to test the shifter from inside and I can't engage any gears!! Upon further inspection, there is a great deal of up and down play along the shaft of the selector (the part that sits up into the tranny). Is this normal? I tried again to install the selector, but the shaft remains free to move up and down. I can't seem to install the selector in such a way that the shaft stays "up". Tranny is in neutral, shift rod head is perpendicular to the length of the car. I've never heard of anyone having difficulty with this

You probably need to let us know what trans type you have , side shifter or tail shifter and maybe some pictures ?

Jim
Oops missed the "side shifter" in your text.

Well maybe it is just me or all the beer at the brewfest last night but I don't understand what you are trying to describe with "I can't seem to install the selector in such a way that the shaft stays "up"".

It just doesn't work in my head


There is a bushing in the shift console that supports the shift rod?

Jim

he did let us know, side shift. is the selector shaft in the trans moving around? may not be a bushing problem

When I say the selector shaft won't stay "up", I mean the shaft (the one with the shift head on one end and the selector "rake" on the other) has lengthwise play inside the mounting plate (the plate which bolts to the transmission). When you remove this piece from the transmission, you can see that the shaft is obviously longer than it's mounting bore, which means it is free to move "up and down". Looking at the assembly diagrams of this piece, there is no bushing or other piece to restrict this movement.

I just don't know if this up and down play should be present when the whole piece is installed and engaging the internals of the tranny. I should have noticed whether this play was present or not before I removed the selector to begin with. Does this "play" have something to do with why I can't select gears, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

It has play but that is parts of the shifting.
It is not adjustable

Ok, so when it's in neutral, I should be able to grab the shift rod head and move it (and the shift shaft) up and down?

Yup, u
That is how it actually functions.
As you move it up and down it goes into the three different gates to line it up to shift those gear pairs.

At the transmission shifter console there is no indication you are in a gate....no click or feel to it, it just goes up and down.
The feel is at the shifter itself in the car.

Ah, I see. Still don't know why it feels as if I'm not engaging any gears via the shift lever in the car. I never loosened the bolt that holds the shifter to the front shift rod, just the cone screws in order to remove the rear half of the rod. I made sure it was in neutral first. It shifted into every gear just fine yesterday before I tore into it

Under the car, with no shifter rod attached to the transmission shifter console, can you push it up then turn it forwards or backwards to shift it into gear?

So, up, turn (forwards is one gear, backwards is another gear, middle is no gear.)

I'll give that a try and report back. Might be a couple of days until I can get under the car again, though.

Is it possible that the firewall bushing could change the relationship between the shifter in the interior and shifting at the transmission? I know it sounds like a strange question, but my old firewall bushing was completely missing

I think it must have been deliberately removed at some point because there's no trace of it! Maybe the previous owner was having trouble engaging gears and took out the bushing in an attempt to fix?

Ok, maybe I should stop typing now. My brain doesn't typically function at it's best late on a Saturday night.

Yes, the whole setup pivots on that bushing....you have to watch it to see.

What you need to do is go through and replace all th bushings...they are really cheap and do an aweful lot to make things right.

Rich

Silly question: When you say "reinstall the selector" you dont mean that you removed the selector mechanism from the trans did you?
Because if you did, oil should have poured out and you do not need to remove that to replace all of the bushings.

When you say that the shift bushing at the firewall was "but it being made of softer plastic " ....was it black rubber? You didnt buy it from Automobile Atlanta did you?

Years ago I replaced my "broken in pieces" OEM bushing at the firewall with a brand new one from AA. after about TWO WEEKs it wore so badly that I glued my old broken one back together in the firewall and used IT because that was better than the POS I got from AA.

No, I got the firewall bushing from Pelican. It's a whitish translucent plastic. I did remove the selector mechanism, but only because I replaced a couple of seals on it at the same time. I drained the oil before.

So it looks like these new bushings may necessitate a linkage adjustment, huh? I haven't heard of that and it was something I was trying to avoid

Well, it's simple enough.
Loosen the bolt at the front shifter, pull Rod out.
Remove cone screw at joint just next to firewall, seperate the two rods.
Pull the front Rod out of the car.
Install bushing.
Reverse everything.

Notes.
Boil the bushing, press in hot, use a big flat screw driver to bend over the edges to snap it in place, all while hot...so wear gloves.

Mark the front shifter connection with nail polish or paint to make lining it back up exactly as it was initially setup a breeze.

I already have the bushing in the firewall. For me, it was one of the easier aspects of this whole job. I didn't boil anything and managed to press it in with the aid of a screwdriver in just a few minutes. Maybe I just got lucky this time

Good tip on the nail polish. I had to shine a light in the hole for the cone screw to line up everything. Would have been easier your way.

You don't mention having to adjust the linkage upon re-installing the front bar. It's my understanding that you have to do this in order to be able to engage each gear smoothly, which is why I removed the rear bar instead by taking out the two cone screws. I haven't touched the front bar/interior shifter junction bolt. This way, at least according to the article on Pelican, I can merely re-attach the rear bar with the cone screws after replacing the bushings and everything should line up perfectly with no adjustment needed.

That's what I did, which is why I'm confused that my shifting is off now.

You lost me.
Did you replace the firewall bushing already or is it missing as you stated above?
Happy to help but maybe you should tell us the problem you are trying to solve.

In my first post, I mentioned that I already replaced the firewall bushing. In a later post, I said my original was missing.

The problem I am trying to solve is my inability to engage gears from the interior shifter, despite never having touched the adjustment screw at the front bar/shifter. Car shifted into every gear before I removed the rear bar and shifting mechanism (at the tranny) in order to replace all the bushings and shifter shaft seal.

I realize now that I did install the shifting mechanism back correctly into the transmission. It's behaving as it should. I need to get under the car again (might not be able to for a couple days), but I think the problem is that I might not have the cone screw at the firewall installed correctly into the hole in the front bar. The screw did tighten in the threads (in the rear bar where it mates to the front bar), but not very far. Maybe the tip of the cone is merely pressing into the front bar in a place other than the hole

I'll have to get underneath and report back.

If the cone screw only goes in a few threads, it is not in the hole.
The threads of the CS should almost completely disappear.

That is one of your problems.
And you will almost always need to readjust the linkage if you disturb any component especially if you replace the bushings.

and what r_towle is referring to with the marking is:
Before you loosen the front shifter adjusting mechanism (directly below the shifter) you should mark it somehow. I use whiteout, wait for that to dry, then mark the interface with a pencil. You could use fingernail polish, etc.

That way while you are learning how to make the adjustments you will be able to get back to a known position.

You cannot be afraid to learn how to adjust the shifter in these cars.
I even set it while stationary to get it close, then I take my needle nose pliers and 13 mm socket with me on a drive to do the fine adjustment.
You cant really tell if it is shifting right unless you are driving it.