Shannon123

1986 911 Cab ...stock.

OK...so I thought I'd freshen up the shifter coupler bushings (step by step guide).....Waynes book says 3 hour job and I had (past tense now) 3 hours to kill.

I got stuck on the very first darned thing....taking out the center console. I was following these step by step procedures and everything was going great....UNTIL I needed to take the Temp control out. After removing the control **** I pushed/wiggled the the shaft behind the facia and was able to disconnect the evaporator fan motor switch. Now I was looking at how to get the temp control switch thru the existing hole.....it can't be done without enlarging the existing hole ?!

Questions:
1. I'm not really against enlarging the existing hole, but that plastic is quite thick and i'm not really sure what to use to cut it.
2. Are there other options that I'm missing to accomplish my end-run goal of replacing the shifter/coupler bushings ?

Thanks in advance for any tips on this.

rusnak

The Bentley manual has a procedure that includes enlarging the hole. I would recommend buying the Bentley manual, probably on Amazon or something.

Shannon123

That and a cordless Dremel and I guess I'll be set.

Amber Gramps

Having just done this I was gonna crap if you found a way to do it without cutting the hole bigger. Ya, ya gotta cut the hole.

Shannon123

Progress.....hole cut. Now the easy part ? lol

Shannon123

Mission done. Coupler bushings were slightly worn while the bushings under the shifter were in good condition albeit I replaced them.

I should have called this thread console removal / shifter bushing replacement.

Generally a pretty simple job, BUT, in my opinion, if your objective is to freshen up the shifter bushings and you have a center console in your car......DO THE Coupler Bushings FIRST to see if that resolves most of your shifting issues. Why ? 1. Because they most likely are the ones that are your problem 2. They do not require the center console to be removed 3. They are easy to take out and and re-install.

Why do I say the above ? Because if your center console has never been out, its a PITA to get out !!

You may be inclined to do something like this 1/2 way thru taking the console out.

Amber Gramps

No wonder you were having a hard time....your engine is in the wrong place.

Shannon123

I guess thats some kind of app....pretty cool one at that. I would never blow my 911 up, but a shark...maybe !

SiberianDVM

I took my center console out this weekend as part of an A/C delete......and I'm planning on leaving it out. Can't see that I would be using it much for storage, maybe the tape bin would hold CDs now that the A/C controls are removed, so I'll hold onto it.

There is now an area of exposed vinyl with 2 screw holes and a larger hole where the wires were threaded. Anybody put a cover over this? Aluminum or ABS, maybe?

Shannon123

I tell you what......the 27 bucks or so for those shifter bushings....WOW, what a nice difference ! Having in mind that the original bushings were not really in bad shape, the difference is a dream.....can't imagine how tickled I'd be if the bushings had been in bad shape.