jimcabc

1) Put about 120 top down miles on my '87 911 Cabrio yesterday in sunny and reasonably warm Indiana. Went to back out of my parking spot midway through the trip and found it would not go into reverse. Played around with the shifter a bit, running it through the "H" pattern, etc., and it finally did slide into gear normally. Once home, I tried reverse again and no luck. No gear crunching or anything like that, it is as though there is no gate for the shifter to go into. I have not had the first indication of a problem with the transaxle to date - as a matter of fact, I was marveling early in the trip how smooth the shifting was, once everything was thoroughly warmed up. I'm guessing that the shift linkage is out of alignment? Other opinions?

2) This problem came up a few weeks ago, once it got cold enough to use the heat. I have the "auto" heat control - a dial on a box between the seats. The situation is that I am not getting any heat or virtually any airflow through the vents, even with the dial turned all the way clockwise. Both footwell blowers are working (I took them out, lubed the motor shafts and checked the fuses) and I hear a fan at the back of the car operating as well. I did check the rear fan fuse by the engine, and it is ok. In the past, when the heat was working, the passenger footwell blower would sometimes make that "squirrel caught in the cage" squeaking sound until it spooled up. Ideas here?

The car is due for a 15k service so if either or both of these items are beyond my somewhat limited mechanical ability - I'll just have to add them to the li$t!

Thanks!
Jim
'87 911 Cabrio
3 X Black

Amber Gramps

I can help on the heat issue. My car always give plenty of heat. It is most likely the flapper boxes above the transaxle. they must be frozen shut. If it isn't that then somewhere the airflow is blocked or disconnected. I'd bet it's the flapper boxes stuck in the closed position. If you jack up the car you can find them easy. do a search on "flapper boxes" .

UberXY

Sometimes the flapper boxes respond well to penetrant oil.

Another possibility is that the hoses on the flapper boxes have deteriorated. They can be replace easily with some very high quality ones from Pelican. 15 minutes, tops.


Steve
84 Carrera

madmmac

A lot of times for the tranny woes you may have you just need to do as you did, engage another gear and then try again. Put it in 1st, move just an inch or 2 and then try reverse again.

Actually the flapper boxes would be stuck open not closed.

When you turn the **** to activate the heat you should hear the actuators humming to close the flappers, even with the engine not running. It could also be in your control box where you switch the heat on that may need adjustment or repair.

3.2SLANTNOSE

The shift coupler bushings might be bad, along with adjustment needed, or just needs adjusting. ditto on the heater remarks! Good luck!

imcarthur

For your heat issue, see Trouble Shooting Auto Heat

The 1st thing to check is the actuator rod inside the console between the seats. This has a plastic end which is prone to breaking. As you turn on the heat, a servo pulls the rod which opens the heat valves via a cable.

Ian

Jay H

I agree completely with Ian on checking the actuator rod inside the heater console between the seats as a first step. It seems to be a weak point in that automatic heat system. Once those cables and boxes get rusty and offer more resistance to the actuator, I bet that plastic end breaks easily...

I can feel the actuator rod move inside the heater control console with my finger if I remove the rubber boot for the parking brake. The actuator moves very slowly, so there is little risk of pinching your finger if you want to fish around and see if that actuator lever is still connected to the heater box cables.

jimcabc

Way to go Rennlisters - Thanks for all the information. I think I may let the P-shop deal with the reverse gear issue, but I think the heat problem is diagnosed. I removed the e-brake boot (thanks Jay H for that tip) to find the actuator rod had popped off the lever. Rotating the **** on the top of the box caused the rod to start moving, so I reattached it to the lever. Good thing I have small hands and fingers. The only problem is the rod keeps popping off the lever as it moves. Is the ball & socket joint just a press fit, or is there something I'm missing. Maybe I'm not getting the socket to snap on to the ball joint all the way? Or, does it indicate the flapper doors are stuck? Or does it indicate the plastic socket is actually broken?

Jim
'87 911 Cabrio

jimcabc

Sure enough - I got the rod end off the control rod for the heater and it was split. I notice Pelican parts has a new end for very cheap - I'll be oedering one. This I can fix!

Jim
'87 911 Cabrio

Caferacer

Sorry to pull this thread out of the archives but I am experiencing the same issue with my reverse gear. Suddenly, it is as if there is no gate there and it requires a little playing around to finally engage. Not cool in NYC where every parking spot is parallel! Jim, are you still here and was the problem indeed just adjustment or did it require new bushings or something else altogether?

I would be grateful for any input from others as well. I do not think I am prepared to open it up and make it worse at this point so my curiosity is more to learn what the problem is and possibly how much work it will require from a mechanic who (presumably) does these every day. Thank you, in advance.

jimcabc

Caferacer- I guess I never got around to the bad news on repairing the transaxle. Turns out the internal shifting mechanism failed (the shop gave me the remains). This required a partial engine drop and the transmission to come out. Quite an expense - I recall $2k+ just for this, plus the shop did an update to the clutch "as long as we are in there..." I put another 10k on the car before selling it this spring (I can now be found on the 987 forum). I had no further problems with shifting, although after the work, the 1st to 2nd shift was pretty stiff until the first or second action.

I'm afraid this problem, along with other less expensive issues that would come up once or twice a year prompted me to find a car with a warranty. I'm now of a mind that these old 911s are great cars, as long as you can do some bit of maintenance yourself.

Jim
2012 Boxster dk blue metalic
1987 911 Cabrio 3X black (sold)

Caferacer

Ouch. Thanks.

Robey

User 4221

Depending on the gearbox' mileage, I recommend you have all the bearings and races inspected along with replacing the synchros.

I spent $2.5k on a gearbox refresh this winter. I had the output flange bearings replaced, the needle bearings on 4th gear and all synchros.
I also pulled the engine/trans and delivered it to the shop. The update that jimcabc mentions is the shift arm update that installs bushings in place of needle bearings on the shift arm.

The transmission shifts smooth as butter in all temps.

Oh yeah, they refilled the G50 box with Delvac 80-90.

Ed Hughes

Cafe, the odds are in your favor that it is only bushings and/or adjustment. The procedures are well-documented and DIY friendly.

rusnak

^ Yup. Chances are the shift coupler bushings have crumbled, or the cone shaped setscrew that holds the coupler to the input shaft is loose.