As my topic title states I can't get 4th and 5th gear.

A little background:
I have a bone stock 1976 914 with 26000 miles. I'm the original owner.
I had this trouble a couple of months ago and found that the conical screw on the shift rod coupling by the firewall had worked out. While I was at it I discovered the nylon bushing and cup in the shift console by the trans were toast. I replaced them and put everything back together and all was good. Also, the bushing on the firewall was fine. Then I started to have issues grinding reverser going from 1st to 2nd. Then it got to the point that I couldn't get 4 th or 5th. So I put the car back on the lift and checked all the above mentioned items I replaced. They all were tight and intact.

So, I'm thinking it has something to do with the gearshift lever up front?? Maybe the coupling up front is not tight? It does feel like the shifter lever has more slop than before.

I'm pretty sure the trans is okay since it has very low mileage.

Is checking the shift lever up front the most logical place to start the diagnosis of the problem?

Dave

I had the same issue. Check the bushings on the shifter rod that connects to the rod going into the firewall. When I pulled the boot back, pulverized plastic rained down on the floor.

Chris

There is another bushing right at the shifter that may have gone bad, grinding into gear though, may be your clutch cable starting to go bad also. Have someone watch the throw out bearing arm while you push the clutch in and see if the movement matches your pushing in on the pedal.

It's usually these.

https://914rubber.com/shift-knuckle-bushing-1
The OEM nylon ages and they tend to break apart when they get old not failing completely at 1st.

AROSTATWV
Shift rod bushing looks okay

914MELS
Shifts into reverse without grinding so that eliminates the cable as the problem.

MIKEY914
This bushing looks like it's okay

The bottom line is I have to get it back on the lift with someone shifting through all the gears while I'm underneath to check for excessive play in all the above mentioned areas.
I will report back as soon as this is done.

Thanks all for your help.

When I said all the bushings looked okay, I was wrong. I only looked at one side (the good side) of the shift knuckle. Put the car back on the lift today and looked at the OTHER side, and you can see by the picture that it disintegrated. I will proceed to order from 914 Rubber. Thanks Mike!

Dave

Click to view attachment

Yep. I was in the same boat. Thought mine were OK. It started getting harder to hit 4th and 5th then finally I couldn't get them. It started with it cracking then breaking apart.

At 1st it looked ok.

I just ordered the bushing from your company. I found a thread on World showing installation. Once again, the 914 community is the best!

Dave

Remove the shifter dust cover at the transmission.
Using a helper, line it up into the 4-5 gate
Go back and forth while you watch.

If you see nothing hitting, you can remove the shifter rod at the tranny and find a little cup bushing in there, replace it.
Using your bare hand, no tools required, move the shifter rod into every gear.
Forward and backwards it each gate
Move it up and down puts you into a different gate.
It should all move by hand, no tools.

Yup, jist what I suspected. I had that exact same issue a few weeks ago. I haven’t ordered new ones as I jave spare shift rods.

Glad you found it!

Chris

I had the same result with our '75, ordered new factory bushings, but was unhappy with the tolerances with the factory parts. I had my local friendly machinist make a few new bushings from Delrin with tighter tolerances. Shifts perfect now.

Mark (Mikey914),

I just received my bushings. Thanks for the fast service!
They seem to be really hard plastic. Do I have to heat them to press in the coupling and then to press in the pin? The hole for the pin is not perfectly round. I'm assuming that this is to provide tension on the pin so it doesn't fall out?

Also, is the material Delrin? Just curious.

Dave

Good morning, just checking to see if you got this sorted out or if you need any more help.

You do NOT heat the bushings.

As it turns out I did NOT heat the bushings. I chamfered the leading edge and pressed them in using the method posted on World. I actually had to do it twice because the first time peeled back a thin layer of plastic (or whatever the material is) and prevented seating the bushing completely. Removal of that material with a razor blade allowed me to fully seat the bushing and insert the shift rod and pin. I put everything back together any it shifts like new.

Thanks to all World members for your help with this repair. Thanks Mark (MIkey914) for shipping what I needed in a timely fashion.

Dave