geoz

i guess a little introduction is in order.
2 months ago i bought my first 911, after years - actually many many years - of wishing i had one. i got myself a little RHD 1988 cabriolet, triple black. my intention is to keep it as close as possible to stock, except for improvements that aid the survival or utility without changing the original look & feel.

the car is in pretty goo shape, and so far i've only gone & done some smaller jobs to repair minor age-related issues.

now my gear lever has suddenly developed quite a lot of play, and i'd like to have a look on the weekend. however, here is my problem:
when i try to take off the middle console i find i have very little possibility to do so. this seems to be because the cables running out the back of it (aircon, warning lights, central lock) are wedged under the hoses going to the evaporator, which interestingly is mounted in front of the passenger seat.

calling all RHD cab owners: how do i get the evaporator out? any tips & tricks?

thanks in advance.

ps: sorry no picture, i can't get the jpg past our firewall, will try from home later.

cheers

georgie

rusnak

Welcome, and it sounds like you have a beautiful car. Wise words as well!

I'm not at home, so I can't look up whether yours has a G-50 or not. I think you do. Bentley Service manual has a procedure (not sure about your '88) of widening the inner console backside plate to get the ac temp control out, if you are going to take the console completely out.

I think it might be easier to take the front seats out first, along with the heater controls and the center tunnel carpet. I don't think you'll have to take the entire console out, just enough to get access to the shifter mounting bolts and then take out the shifter.

You probably need to replace the shifter plastic parts. When I get home I will see if I can post an exploded parts diagram of the shifter.

theiceman

By your use of the words aircon instead of A/C we will assume you are in the UK. This is good as there are not many places a RHD carwould be advantageous

Congrats on the purchase. an 88 should definitely have a g-50 and if your bushings in the centre tunnel are okay check your shift coupler between the rear seats on the floor. there should be a panel you can unscrew under the carpet. There should be coupler that couples the shifter to the transmisiin , check that the plastic bushings in the coupler are okay , you should have very little slop.

geoz

actually ... i'm not in the uk, but in australia. far better as far as i'm concerned.
the car is an aussie delivered 911, hence the RHD.

i had already ordered the shifter bushings becasue i felt a slight notch, especially from 1st to 2nd gear, and i thought it would not hurt to start with the simpler things - turns out things are not so simple because without some slack in the cables to the switches & dials in the console i can't lift the console off the shifter and can't get to the bushings ...

so any tips on how the evaporator is fixed in the car would be highly appreciated.

cheers

georgie

rusnak

well this is interesting. PET lists two types of shifters between '88 and '89, I think. The second is clearly a G-50 shifter, but the first looks like an earlier shifter with a screw on shift ****. Anyway, hope this helps.

Edit: Maybe the 915 shifter from the Turbo?

rusnak

Here's the procedure to cut out the hole in the center console to push the ac control down and out of the console. If you don't already have a Bentley Service Manual, then you might want to try to pick one up on Amazon. It is a good investment.

theiceman

don't forget to check that coupler , could save you some headaches ( item 27 )

geoz

thanks, theiceman, I did check the coupler yesterday night. it has some slack, not sure if it is too much or not. is there any guideline? can it be set, e.g. by tightening the bolts 16B?

the shifter bushing is definitely shot, so that will be my weekend adventure.