Hello everyone I was hoping someone in this awesome community could help me diagnose and transmission or shifter problem. I recently within the last 24hrs made a deal on a 71 porsche 914 and have yet to get it home but I already know the car is stuck in 1st gear. The previous owner thinks something on the shifter has broke or come loose and doesn't think it's the transmission. I have never worked on a porche 914 so can someone tell me what I need to look for. I have very good mechanical skills and even have a well outfitted personal shop with a two post lift which leads me to my second question. (Is it safe to lift this car with a two post lift? The car appears to be solid and rust free except for the hell hole .) Any help or advice would be much appreciated. I also have a great sense of humor if anyone wants to roast a greenhorn....

That's some classic newbie hoser scammer language. What are you really wanting? Funny how easy it is to spot. The kid is a nice touch. And yet people will fall for it and feed you. Enjoy the fodder.

Ok I'll be the first to say it's spelled Porsche LOL.
congrats on the purchase.

there are three shift couplings to inspect. First under the shifter (pull back the carpet), second at the firewall (behind the rubber boot) and last on the transmission. I would make sure all of those are intact before going any further.

Yeah I'm not sure where you going with this but I assume you are calling me a scammer and I don't appreciate it. I was under the impression that this was a community that helps out others with advice and knowledge. I'm not asking for a handout , I'm not trying to sell anything. I have been into cars as long as I could walk and talk and I always try to help others when they need help. The kid in the car is my 9 yr old son who loves this car and is the reason I'm buying this car. If you don't won't to offer advice then why are you even on this forum. So far I've met nothing but awesome people on this site but RAND is proving to me there is always an asshole in the bunch.
Enjoy the fodder you prick!!

Thank you for your advice, it's nice to have an idea of what to look for . I didn't even realize I was spelling Porsche wrong ,lol thanks for letting me know I feel like an idiot , ha ha. Thanks for helping out a newbie hoser scammer who post a proud picture of the car he just bought that his 9 yr old son is sitting in the seat and the whole reason u bought the car.

That's my sense of humor , before anyone gets mad I'm just kidding. I'm not mad at rand for his comments. If this offended anyone I'm sorry. Retreat to your safe space

I asked to be roasted

Time will tell. I hope you prove me wrong. I care about this community and the quality within.

I understand , every one so far has been nothing but helpful. Seems like a great bunch of people with passion. It's obvious that you care alot about this community and the quality of it, I mean who else would tell someone who "just discovered how cool the Porsche 914s are and wants to get his kids involved with it "that they are a classic newbie hoser scammer, I'll tell you who , you "a cross member since 2005" ENJOY THE FODDER I think I'm going to change my profile name to classic newbie hoser scammer, it just rolls off the tongue. Thanks for keeping this community safe

Buy a Haynes manual. The diagrams are very informative. The tail shift linkage has more areas for shifting issues than the side shift. Be aware of the rolled pin at the rear of the trans above the access plate. You will have to drain the gear lube first to inspect it. Make sure to remove the fill plug before draining.

Thank you, I will definitely do that right now, it's probably a good thing to have. Thank you for your advice

So I'm clear on the problem you're having, is it stuck in 1st gear and the shift handle will move freely or is it stuck in gear and the gear shift handle will not move at all.

A very unfortunate way of showing you care.

The shift handle moves freely and the car is in first gear so I'm told. The story I got was he let a co worker drive it and he wasn't familiar with how to shift it properly. Hopefully it's a simple fix but if not I'm planning on dropping the engine and transaxle anyway to fix the hell hols. But I was hoping to drive the car some just to see if it had any other issues plus my son really wants to be dropped off at school in it. Thanks for your advice, I'm new to this community and to these cars and everyone so far has been super nice and helpful

Yep, follow @jmitro advice "there are three shift couplings to inspect. First under the shifter (pull back the carpet), second at the firewall (behind the rubber boot) and last on the transmission" and I think you'll have a quick fix

Thank you I will definitely start there . I not sure if anyone cares but I'll post pics on what I find.

Dear Ratrod87,

We do not roast Newbies or Greenhorns here. Great people here. Lots of knowledge on these little cars and there is some incredible talent. Rand has an interesting line of humor.

Welcome to the world. In ten more years, you son will be driving and it is great to have a helper in your family. There are more than a few guys that have taught their kids to drive a stick shift on the 914World




Welcome -- Bob B

Thank you Bob every one has been great to me, I am definitely looking forward to getting out in the shop with my two sons and making memories. As for Rand everything is good, I'm not upset about anything and I hope he isn't either, it's just friendly banter.

Has your car been converted to a side shift trans? The shift pattern is on the knob. If the lever moves freely, like wallowing around doing nothing? You should be able to change gears by manipulating the rear shift where it enters the trans.

I'm not sure if it's a side shift or a rear shift, I haven't got the car home yet , hopefully it will be here Wednesday. When I looked at the car I thought I saw the shifter linkage on the very rear of transaxle. I'm going to post pictures of what I find along with better pictures of the entire car. Hopefully someone can tell me whats not correct on the car , I'd like to make the car original and period correct. It's no longer fuel injected so that's probably my biggest challenge. I believe I bought a good car but time will tell. Obviously the hell hole is rotted out but didn't look like there was any rot anywhere else. I pulled the carpets back and everything looked solid. I was told the car has been garage kept for at least the last 15 years not sure about previous owners , thanks for the help
Sincerely, Jerry h

FWIW it seems that adjusting the shift mechanism properly is tedious. I finally took my newly restored 914 to my local indy for him to sort it out. And this is with a rebuilt transmission, Rennshift shifter, and new shift coupler bushings and rings.
I'd bet you just need to put in new bushings and adjust the throw and it will be good

Thank you for your advice, I hope it turns out to be that simple but knowing my luck it will be something major lol

Welcome Ratrod. Very likely to be a loose coupler or loose cone screw or screws. Search for cone screws for lots of info and start there.

Really Rand WTF?

AS Gereed75 stated. This should be a simple proposition.

People will tell you that the early will not shift as well as the late. I have a stock 72 that shifts just as nicely as the 75 I have. It's just more difficult to get it to shift correctly, but can be done.

Get the kid to move the shifter knob while you are looking under the car. I'd bet you can spot the issue. I'd check at the firewall 1st. Your year "should" have the tail shift trans. If so a little more complicated, but doable. If you are lucky it may be converted to a side shift. Post up some picks while you are there.



Hope this helps -

Also let me know if you need anything
-Mark

Wow mark thank you for the diagram, I'm just amazed how nice and helpful everyone has been towards me, I think I'm going to become a 914 addict. I wasn't expecting the car to delivered till Wednesday but I think it will be in my garage tonight. I plan on posting lots of pictures because I'm really excited about this car, I have always been into hotrods and custom trucks and never really new the 914 existed, the more o research and hear from people who own these cars makes me fall in love with these cars even more. Thanks for the help
Sincerely Jerry h

Thank you very much, I should have the car home tonight so I will post pics and updates.
Sincerely Jerry h

Welcome!

Keep us posted, agree almost certainly a linkage problem (May be as simple as a screw backing out).

No problem, lots of good folks here and a few are quite sensitive to scammers, so the initial greeting may have been a bit rough but we are pretty close knit.

You will find most here enablers for your addition.

Post lots of pic when you can

[quote name='Mikey914' date='Sep 9 2019, 02:55 PM' post='2745591']
[quote name='Ratrod87' post='2745540' date='Sep 9 2019, 10:55 AM']
[quote name='Mikey914' post='2745509' date='Sep 9 2019, 10:05 AM']
AS Gereed75 stated. This should be a simple proposition.

People will tell you that the early will not shift as well as the late. I have a stock 72 that shifts just as nicely as the 75 I have. It's just more difficult to get it to shift correctly, but can be done.

Get the kid to move the shifter knob while you are looking under the car. I'd bet you can spot the issue. I'd check at the firewall 1st. Your year "should" have the tail shift trans. If so a little more complicated, but doable. If you are lucky it may be converted to a side shift. Post up some picks while you are there.



Hope this helps -

Also let me know if you need anything
-Mark
[/quote]
Wow mark thank you for the diagram, I'm just amazed how nice and helpful everyone has been towards me, I think I'm going to become a 914 addict. I wasn't expecting the car to delivered till Wednesday but I think it will be in my garage tonight. I plan on posting lots of pictures because I'm really excited about this car, I have always been into hotrods and custom trucks and never really new the 914 existed, the more o research and hear from people who own these cars makes me fall in love with these cars even more. Thanks for the help
Sincerely Jerry h
[/quote]
No problem, lots of good folks here and a few are quite sensitive to scammers, so the initial greeting may have been a bit rough but we are pretty close knit.

You will find most here enablers for your addition.

Post lots of pic when you can
[/quote
Thanks everyone , lots of pics coming soon. I hope this car is as nice as I thought was when I first looked at it. Maybe I can get some advice on what needs to be done to make it a great example of a 914

Rand, What is it that set you off? I don't get it. Maybe an apology is in order.

If that is Rands humor, we could use less of it.

I think these guys have you all set looking for a solution. And welcome.. There is a ton of information here.. Don't be afraid to ask.

Well the car arrived tonight and it appears to be a side shift. I haven't had time to really dig deep into why it's not shifting but it all appears to be working all the way up into the side of transaxle. I thought it's stuck in first but it's actually 3rd.

I suppose this is a side shift transmission. I can grab the shaft coming out of the transmission and move it in and out and back and forth pretty easy ,vi can feel a little click here and there but nothing changes, still stuck in third gear