Batman 357

Thanks for the info. I'll get the fluid changed ASAP. It does not make any noise or girnd just does not want to go fully in gear. It's usually okay when cold. The other shifts are fine with the excption of occasional difficulty going back into 1st when not quite stopped.

Rick K

Hey Pete,

Quick question - while my clutch is being repaired/replaced in late winter, I'm also going to have my trans worked on. My question is, if none of the dog teeth are broken, can you just replace the syncros and freshen up the shifter bushings? Or is it best to replace the dog teeth as well even if they're not broken - as a precautionary step?

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Pete's advice is "Golden",...

If I may add a bit of advice for anyone with a 915 that wants-expects the transmission to last awhile,............

Don't ask the gearbox to do something that increases wear & tear. This means never selecting 1st gear without first selecting 2nd or 3rd to stop the gearsets and ease the load on 1st gears' syncro,.....then putting it into 1st gear. Next, be VERY careful about one's choice of short shifters; most of them increase wear on syncros, operating sleeves, stop blocks and energizers and that is truly detrimental to the bank account.

Treated nicely, a 915 is a excellent gearbox that can last a VERY long time.

theiceman

That is a great segway Steve and was wondering when someone was going to mention it. This thread should go hand in hand with how to treat your transmision to get maximum life out of it. Some tips I have learned are :

. The "pregnant pause" I think pretty well everyone should do it at least between first and second but I do it every gear, it saved me once when I went from forth to third instead of fifth, because I used the pause I immediately sensed the engine spike as I began to let it out and saved me a " Ed Hughes"job.

When rolling to a stop i put gentle pressure on first and let it fall in while still barely moving. Then it is all ready to go. I would rather sit at a light in first than in Neutral and then struggle. if I do get caught in neutral I always go to reverse then first and it has never failed me.
On really really cold mornings when it will just not go from first to second the first time out of the garage i don't jam it , I let the car slow back down and ramp it up again in first , it always works the second time.

i think these activities have saved me some what , i am sure we all have our prefered methods but these work for me.

flatsixnut

So is it safe to say that this is what I should be putting into my 915 or should I stick with swepco?

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

901-915-930 transmissions should NEVER, ever get a synthetic if you want it to last. Its too slippery for the baulk-ring syncros to operate properly. Swepco 201 is the best product available for those things.

Everything else uses Borg-Warner syncros and all those gearboxes can use a synthetic lubricant.

Peter Zimmermann

Thanks, Steve!

ice: You're right on the money; I've always called your pregnant pause a "two-part" shift. Keep driving it right and you'll be able to keep driving it!

Rick K: It's a judgment call on dog teeth. They can have excessive wear, but still be intact - in those cases they should be replaced. If the points are still sharp and clean, use them again.

GothingNC

That's the way I have always driven my air-cooled VW's and Porsche.

John

Peter Zimmermann

...and that, John, is exactly how to get maximum enjoyment from a 915 (I learned to drive in a 1956 V-dub beetle!).

Ed Hughes

OK, I call foul on this one.

I've always employed the slight pause from 1st to 2nd. IMO, there is no other way to drive a 911. That is one of the reasons I think short shifts are a waste of time.

I also shift slow enough on the street from 3rd to 4th to catch a mis-shift. But exiting a high speed corner at the track that leads to a straight calls for a bit faster shift from 3rd-4th to capitalize on exit speed and the resultant straigtaway speed, and there will not be enough time to catch your mistake, should you make it in the same place as I did.

Lets not mix apples and oranges here, or slander my good reputation.

flatsixnut

Thanks for clarifying this for me. Sometimes while reading forums with so many replies and opinions the facts can get blurry. Is there not a way that we can put "facts" or 'highly respected experience by people like Pete and Steve" on the 911 tech section as a pinned item? You know in some type of easy to get to reference.

I only shift into 1st if the car is not moving. I always pause and slide slowly into second. But I have never had any problems going up or down in the other gears. I have never felt that I was going to miss a shift, but perhaps thats just because I feel the car when I drive it. Thats one thing I love about these older cars, the feel.....and "my" 911 will never feel jealous of another car.

LUCKe27

So, for us G50 guys, any driving tips? Mine is a bit notchy on cold starts in 1st and 2nd. When I'm coming to a stop, I engage the clutch, put the shifter in 3rd, and then slip it into first. When going from 1st to 2nd, I let the rpm's come way down before the shift which seems to lessen the resistance? I was thinking of switching to Delvac to try to help this problem. Is that the right way to go?

Peter Zimmermann

Absolutely, if you're not sure if your transmission is filled with a quality synthetic gear oil, you should definitely change it. I prefer Kendall synthetic, but it can be hard to find. Call around and see if someone near you carries it, if not try to find an alternate fluid favored in this forum. It sounds like you've already figured out how to get along with your transmission, and that's a good thing. We can't expect our transmissions to adapt to us, it can only work the other way around.

theiceman

Sorry Ed, I just meant that if i had power shifted and let off the clutch in a hurry I would be rebuilding my engine. I was not commenting on your driving technique. Mind you if I had ... I would have loved to have an engine like yours when I was done ...

Amber Gramps

Ice, I think Ed knows we all worship him and didn't find falt all those months ago in his driving technique. We have all learned alot from him in the last year, as we have from you and a long list of guys. Some of us will never track our cars, or mod our cars much, or drive off to exotic places with them, but we can enjoy the stories told by others. For me this is one big classroom. I read alot and ask alot of questions. I think I've pissed off just about everyone. At the end of the day we are all in the same club and addicted to the same car.