I have a 74 1.8 and I'm having some trouble with 1st gear. About half of the time it will grind shifting into 1st. I know this is bad for the gears and it's also very embarassing. It seems to help the longer you are stopped, but not always. Does this mean the Synchro band is shot? Are there any easy adjustments I can check first? Just bought the car and know nothing about 914's.

Thanks,

Phil

It's very normal... I don't know if there's a 914 that doesn't.
Sometimes it helps to slide it in first on a slow roll before stopping. What I do is put it in 2nd or 3rd before going into 1st. works for me.

I'll try those tips. So this is a normal problem that most people just live with instead of fixing or it can't be fixed?

In 1975 I sold a beautiful 1973 V6 Capri and bought a 1971 914. The only thing wrong with the Capri was it needed brakes and tires and back in college, it didn't take much to trigger the sale of any vehicle!

Much to my dismay the 914 ground BIG TIME each and every time I shifted into first. I was totally, incredibly bummed and use a variation of the "shift into another gear" theory.

BTW, if your clutch is grabbing when the pedal is fully depressed, you will need to adjust the cable. I just found out today that the 914 has a spring loaded clutch pedal of sorts and you should be able to pull UP on the resting pedal about 1/2" when it's properly adjusted???? Anyway,

You can shift into second gear before first but I much prefer "touching" third gear to prevent grinding into first. Just bring the shift left in neutral to the spring loaded point where the shifter will go down into third. Then, go down into third a bit, maybe two inches, go back up to neutral, move left over the stiff first gear spring and down into first. Depending upon your car, you may have to go more or less into third gear to stop the grind. Typically I have not had to go all the way down into third to stop grinding.

My new car doesn't seem to grind but I've become so habituated into this routine that I got right back into it as soon as I got it (after not driving a 914 since 1986!).

Also, check the shift bushings; if they are worn sloppy shifting won't help first gear engagement. Obviously, YMMV but best of luck!

Paul

Phil,
It could be as simple as replacing the shift rod bushings. Besides eliminating the 1st gear grinding, new bushings make gear selection easier and more positive.
Or maybe the syncro is shot.....
Or maybe the clutch has gone south..

How's the clutch cable/pulley assembly at the rear of the car, by the tranny look?

Paul

It may be common to grind into first but it is not "natural" to the car.
First, adjust the clutch cable. As mentioned above it should have about 3/4" of slack at the top when you pull the pedal up with your hand. There could be other clutch tube/cable problems, but start with the correct adjustment.
Then look at the cup bushing back at the tranny, under the plastic cover on the side and the plastic ring bushing also visible under the cover.
Last, adjust the shift linkage. The Haynes manual describes the process for all of the above. If you have a 914 and don't have a Haynes manual, start by buying it.

Phil,

The answer is that it depends. Its hard to tell if yours is normal or worse. Check my link for tranny rebuilds in my sig line below for some things to look at and some links on how to change the 1st gear synchro. My advise is to make sure that everything is good and if it is change the synchro band. They are the cheapest part of the system and the first to degrade and give symptoms. If people listen to those symptoms then the repair is cheap and easy, if not the cost of the parts alone is $700+ (slider, teeth, band).

Thanks for all the helpful tips. I do have a couple repair manuals, so I'll try to locate all that has been mentioned and see if it's something simple. It seems like the clutch disengages when the pedal is almost all the way to the floor, but I wasn't familiar with the car so didn't know if it is normal or not.

Have you tried double clutching or rev-matching when going into first from a higher gear? With a modern tranny, its kind of a lost art (although rev matching will make your synchros last longer).

Or are you talking about grinding into first from a dead stop?

Zach

I'm talking about from a dead stop at a stop sign or traffic light. If the car is rolling at all I start in 2nd gear to avoid the possible grind.

Your clutch sounds like it is too loose. Perhaps if you tighten the cable it will shift better. I would also see if your clutch tube is still in place or if it is flexing with the cable.

I'll check out the clutch cable/tube tomorrow. I just ran out and pulled on the pedal, it pulled back about an inch. Didn't seem too sloppy, but maybe a little tightening is all it needs.

Your clutch should disengage in the first 1/3 of pedal travel, not the last bit. I hope it is an easy fix too

All it needed was the clutch cable adjusted!!! The car shifts absolutely 200 times better!!! Here I thought it was just a tricky trans to get used to, but the darn clutch wasn't disengaging completely. I took it for a test drive and I can now bang through the gears like nothing, where before I had to fight a little to get each gear.

I'm so happy! I can drive this thing like a sports car now!

Thanks for the help everyone! I can tell this is a great forum that doesn't mind helping the newbie out. Some forums would of thought they were too good to help out with a simple problem. Anyways, thanks again!

That's great. I shoulda remembered to mention it might be your clutch cable