I was humming along PCH and stopped at the 7-11. As I left the 7-11; put the car in firs, let outage clutch. I har this sound like the tranny popped out of gear. After that, no selected gear did anything. Engine runs fine, just can't drive.
Tjis was Friday, had the car towed to PCH garage, a couple of blocks away.
Has anyone had this happen to them ?

914Toy,Keith, suggested several possibilities:
1. Cone screws at shifter rods
2. Roll pin in the short shift lever at the rear console
3. Inspect/turn each drive shaft independently and listen
for noises and note motion

The car has a recent Tangerine rear shift console modification.

Any experience and/or suggestions will be appreciated.
@Dr Evil

FWIW I've had something like item 2 happen to me: cone securing screw on the lever inside the (sidseshifter) console. It was close to home so took off the console cover and manually selected 2nd gear (with engine off) and drove home in 2nd .... exciting. On the plus side - if thats the issue - its a cheap fix, and make sure to use threadlock compound.

- Tony

Those are all good suggestions
I’ve had most of them occur
Hopefully it is easy and cheap!

Do you have T1 CV joints? If so, you might have popped one. Should be obvious once you get under there and grab the axle shafts.

Not sure what T1 CVS are; VW ?
The CVS are regular 914 parts. Good news is I have a couple of spares.
Thanks for that.

Ill second the CV joint. I heard a pop, had no movement. Everything seemed fine.. It was 1 of the joints. Almost guarantee that's it.

Jim, since it is at PCH Garage now, for sure they can fix it and probably just minor.

What would it look like, is the damage obvious ?
@Robarabian

As @sirandy said, pull on the axle shafts. You will immediately notice it it broken. Will be alot of slop / free play. When they open it up, it'll be obvious. Usually the cage inside lets loose.

quote name='jim_hoyland' date='Jun 12 2022, 05:21 PM' post='3008236']
[quote name='Robarabian' post='3008227' date='Jun 12 2022, 04:09 PM']
Ill second the CV joint. I heard a pop, had no movement. Everything seemed fine.. It was 1 of the joints. Almost guarantee that's it.
[/quote]
What would it look like, is the damage obvious ?
@Robarabian
[/quote]

Jim,

The way you can tell is if you try to rotate the axle shafts with the car in gear a broken CV will allow the axle to spin somewhat freely. Your mechanic will know for sure. Easy fix if that's what it is. I've broken a couple and the car revs in gear but won't move an inch.

Had a half shaft come loose but had a limited slip so I coat hangered the loose end level and limped home.

Guessing a CV as well, keep us posted!

UPdate: Car is up mon the lift. With car in gea, we turned the passenger side wheel. The driver side does not turn.
The consensus is the pinion gear is broke.....looking for a temp replacement until I can get Dr Evil to repair.

JIm,
I know you have some power, but it's not like you have an LS, weakest link I thought was the CV. I'd love to see pics if it is and this is not a normal mode of failure.

Also if it failed, repack and inspect the CVs while they are out.

Will do. In the meantime, I looking for a replacement…..

The CV is almost always the weakest link. Jim if you get a chance you could start the car, put it in gear, have someone else look underneath and see if one of the axles or inner CV is spinning despite the car not moving. The axle will sometimes also be loose depending on how bad the carnage is. Still sounds like a CV but I'm no @Dr. Evil.

Another weak link is the main shaft snaps back by 1st gear.
Been there done that.

Jim

You said when the one wheel turns the other does not. Did you check to see if the axles were turning? The outboard CV joint can come loose or fail such that it will not transmit any power, but still be in the right location because it rests in the hole through the trailing arm.

Definitely worth taking a minute to check both sides before you tear the transmission apart...

--DD

Good suggestions.....Thanks

I have a ring and pinion in pretty good shape, let me know if you need it.

I’ll look also.
Might have one

Sorry for the troubles

Duplicate

Pinion? or spider gears?

Jim, I have a spare 901 sitting here if you want to borrow it. It's just gathering dust so use it as long as you like. And thanks for the Starbuck's card. You didn't have to do that.

Thanks. I need to see how to approach this still.

Thanks Kent. That would allow me time to repair mine or find a rebuild, plus I have to move my car out of the shop. The shop is a one man operation and space is a premium
Will PM you in the morning
Thanks again !

Today, with the car on the lift, and the tranny in 2nd, the driver side wheel would not turn when the passenger wheel was turned.
Then I was shown how it should have worked using a VW on a second lift

Yes, that's the wheel. What bout the axles? Look at what the axles do. Before you tear the transmission apart...

--DD

Will go back and double check.

Final consensus is the pinion. Dr Evil contacted my mechanic and confirmed the nature of the failure. Dr Evil stated ”They fail for many reasons. 40+ yrs of fatigue, period. I have a shelf of pinion heads from boxes I’ve fixed.‘

Thanks to all who opined on this situation. Plus I learned more about other possible failures as well as ways to test for failure.

So, which pinion failed?

The spider gears inside the differential assembly?

Click to view attachment


Or the actual pinion from the ring and pinion?

Click to view attachment

Clearly different repairs...
That being said, maybe it is time for an overhaul...

That sucks Jim. If it was me, I'd pull just the trans, can even leave the heater boxes on, pull the muffler, slide trans off (motor supported of course) and get the trans gone through. Shortest turnaround time to get back to driving.

Besides, if I pull an engine, it always turns into "while I'm in there..."