Most of the time my car shifts good, however yesterday I went on a very curvey canyon road and twice I had a hard time downshifting into second gear, when the road straightened out the shifting was fine again. It was suggested to me by another member in this forum in another thread, that it sounds like engine/tranny mounts. Does anyone else agree with that or have any other suggestions?

thank you very much,

Levon

Are you downshifting in the strait sections? What do you mean by a 'hard time' downshifting? Could you find the gear? Did it grind? Were you rev matching or slipping the clutch? Bad mounts can affect the shift linkage, but with the info you gave I couldn't tell you if that's your problem. Get that thing on jackstands and check them out.
Mark D.

Likely it's engine/tranny mounts. Because of the length of the shift rod, any misalignment of things gets amplified. It can also be caused by you physically sliding around in the car and 'misorienting' which direction forward is. I know that sounds funny, but under hard cornering it's conceivable that forward will feel slightly left/right of center. Imagine hanging it out in a hard left hander, because the weight has shifted and your body has shifted and your head is turned, what feels like center might actually be slightly left of center.

Or I'm crazy.

I was downshifting about midway of the turn or coming out of the turn and it just would not go into gear. There was no grinding.

No grinding is a very good thing. Sounds like a motor and/or transaxle mount problem.

('cept for the crazy part...)

i think tranny mounts. it's been happening to me lately. i put my car on stands and grabbed the tranny legs and did a little bench press. i was suprized at how much i could manipulate the back end of the gearbox.

upgraded mounts are on the wish list for sometime this winter's downtime fixing fun.

Those trans mounts are an easy thing to replace, and it will make you say, "oh."

Those trans mounts are an easy thing to replace, and it will make you say, "oh."

anyone know, are there options besides the wevo or stock?

i like the wevo, but didn't really wat to spend ~$200.

You might also try doing your downshifting while you are brakeing before the corner, and accelerating through the corner.
Think "slow in fast out"...

I always try to get the car set up prior to entering the corner. Just select a gear that will put you somewhere in the middle of your power and torque. Will give you less to do while in the corner and you can concentrate on your line better.
Could be wrong, but it works for me.
Tom

That's really proper technique for most corners. Still, the thing should be able to get into gear mid-corner. Have you gotten under the car and checked your mounts? I know 'stock' is an ugly word to us weekend canyon 'racers' (I'm one too), but the stock tranny mounts work just fine if they're in good shape and you're not putting too much torque to them.
If your syncros in the gearbox are REALLY worn out, it won't go into gear at all on a downshift (I had a box like that once). However, if they were that bad you'd probably have some grind or noticeable problem up-shifting as well. If you don't have that, then I'd say get under there and check your mounts, and just replace them with stock for now if necessary. In the meantime, work on getting your car settled before the corner (Uninvited advice). Also, McMark has a point. Be mindful of your body position when under lateral G-load.
Mark D.

Before the Wevo 914 mounts, a lot of people who wanted a stiffer, but not solid mount, went with early 911 engine mounts, which are almost identical in size and shape to the 914 tranny mounts. Still rubber type, but stiffer. Check the Pelican catalog/web site. They list them with 914 tranny mounts. A few years ago I bought a pair for I think around $60 each.

Then there are the old Weltmeister solid poly mounts. They were pretty inexpensive, but I don't know about the performance.