today i figured i would take the teener out for a drive to meet my girl for a few hours of rock climbing at our local indoor gym. I've noticed over the last week or so the transmission was shifting differently. i was having trouble finding 2nd and it was getting progressively worse. about half-way there i lost first and reverse at a stop light. flat out couldn't find it.
i put it in second and let the clutch slide out slow and figured i would take a look at the shift linkage when i got to my destination. next stop light the the connection just completely went out while i was pulling it out of 4th gear slowing down for the light. luckily there was a gas station to my right.
so i pull over and take a look. just as you might suspect, the rear linkage has come off and the cone screw has worked itself loose.
so, i i shove the shift rod back into the linkage as far as i can. it's a little greasy under there (need new pushrod seals) and i couldn't for the life of me get it much past 2/3's the way into the linkage being that i didn't have a hammer or another set of hands.
so, i decide it would have to do and tightened down the cone screw (which was still half-way out once tightened to at least 30 ft/lbs).
i get back in the car-and this is the crazy part: it shifts like a new car.
no grinding into first. it's easy to find all the gears. the only thing that tells me something is slightly off is the internal springs which helps guide the shifter seem like they are a little off center and push the shifter in weird directions when shifting (if that makes any sense).
anyway, could the shifter have been misaligned before? i was having to do the "half-way into second then into first" thing to get it to go into first without grinding. secondly, 4th gear was tricky to get it to slide in without effort.
all that's gone now...it's weird. i'm considering messing with the shift rod position, but i might leave well enough alone if you all think it's kosher.
sorry for the long post
what do you guys think?

do not overtorque the cone screw into the shift coupler near teh firewall!

its a pot metal, ands strips way too easily

aaron,
this is the other cone screw-the one under the transmission

Don't know if this would work with the 'conehead' screws ... but I had an allen screw that kept coming loose no matter how tight I got it (in a door handle on me electric cart at work).

I was just about ready to glue it with red 'lock-tite' when a co-worker said to wrap the threads with ordinary white teflon tape.

It worked

The cone screws are cheap and have a nylon insert in them to keep them from coming loose. The screws also sit in a hole in the shift rod and needs to do this so your rod or screw doesnt work its way out. To adjust the dimension you are fooling with correctly you need to mess with the adjustment in the shift tunnel at the bottom of the shifter.

30 Ft lbs....?????

What... you think it's a lug nut for your wheel....????????????

Ya must a meant inch lbs........ (FT lbs divided by 12)

Hey... what is the right torque..????

I just don't want anyone trying 30 ft lbs....

To me they are a snug up and a bit of a twist. All feel. No torque wrench.

Clayton

awesome, that's what i figured. so there is a way to adjust this. is this accessed from inside the car? the haynes manual doesn't talk about this to my knowledge
thanks everybody

Side-shift set-ups will be a new learning experience for me ... never had one before.

I'm planing on converting the 'BB' back to a side-shifter in the near future (long story) ... and hope the adjustments are a whole lot easier than tail-shifters. I spent hours getting my wife's car to shift into all gears after I replaced all the bushings.

If the cone screws have a nylon 'insert' to keep 'em from backing out, why do I keep hearing about them coming loose on folks? ... worn inserts? or worn threads in the coupler?

Inquiring minds want to know ...

Why? Because they're CSOBs and they would rather whine than spend the 10 bucks for 2 cone screws. It's not just 914 owners, it's a societal plague. "It's not MY fault!"

The Cap'n

The nylon buttons in the cone screw are not designed to be reused many times. I'd guess that about every other time would be appropriate to replace the screw. Very cheap insurance.

If you don't keep the couplers clean, or you overtorque the cone screw, then you will damage the coupler.

Ohh Boy!!!
I could not agree more.

The adjustment is done via a pinch bolt accessed by unbolting the shifter inside the car. I may be able to get some pics for this.