amet

Hi all,

After using a Schnell SS for a 3-4 months I went back to stock, and here are the reasons

1. The hole for the attaching the SSS to the shift rod (A in the picture) is not center and the whole gear lever is leaning to the left.

2. the joint(B in picture) has developed quite a bit of play in it.

For $130 I expected a bit more I guess.
Has anyone had any bad (or good) experiences with it?

I read somewhere that someone has modified a stock unit by extending a part that goes to the top of the gearbox and shortening the one that goes to the shift rod on the gearbox but i cannot find that post or the picture with the dimensions.

Apex944

I had the same problem with mine.
I drilled another hole and elongated it as much as I could to make the shift handle stand straight up.
Works perfect now, I love it.

There were rumors that a bad batch of schnell shifters got out a while ago that were put together incorrectly.
And I know that there are other people who had no trouble what so ever when putting there's on. So you must have been one of the unlucky one's like me, that got a bad one.

amet

thats what I was thinking of doing, but what worries me more is the play on the joint.

did you weld up the old hole and drill the new one?

badcoupe

Mine kept coming loose since the hole is a hole not D-shaped like the shaft. I had a new block wire machined with the hole d-shaped, it's perfectly tight now, not like that piece of crap it was

UncleMaz

I had to drill another hole in mine to get it to sit right. It lasted 4 days in my car. Big waste.

Riff

Couple of questions:

1. Leaning to the left, side to side postion? The upper connection is slotted to account for "A" being offcenter, yes? Or does even adjusting that slot to the max leave the shifter leaning?

2. The heim joint has play in it? How? The ball to housing?

Good Luck,

amet

yes, even adjusting it on the slotted connection on top leaves it leaning to the left.
as for the play in the joint, it is between ball and the housing. I can feel it on the shifter, it sort of has a 1 mm play in it by the trans, which translates to about 5-6 mm by the shift lever.

ninefofo, I agree that that's $130 wasted.

does anyone else make ss kits, besides Schnell?

Keithr726

6 months installed and no problems with mine. Then again mine is a year or two old.

Riff

Interesting...I have a short shifter, but it was from Autothority, I think theirs was the only one around way back, though it is the same design.

How is the rod connected through the heim joint? Any chance to adjust the rotational relationship there?

You could easily/sheaply source another heim joint and just replace yours if it is bad. Then again, depending on how the "A" rod is connnected thorough it, that could be the source of your sloppiness.

Good Luck!

Techno Duck

The Autothority shifter was a great part but i am pretty sure they are still discontinued. I have one of the same exact design from 944Online when they were still around, no issues to report after 30k miles almost. Weltmeister used to make a very nice adjustable shift linkage but i believe they discontinued it also.

Is the Schnell linkage the same one sold by Paragon?

I need to buy another one..i forgot how absurdly long the throws are before i drove the 951. Even with the shortened shift rod its ridiculous!

Tom R.

dont toss the shift rod. it's brand new.

2BWise

After buying the Weltmeister shift linkage two yrs ago and driving on it since I still don't like it. I've never really trusted it. The rod end they use to connect to the transmission uses Loctite as the sole locking mechanism. I spent the first yr of having it, having to weekly get under the car and tighten the bolt. Luckily, now it has started to rust in place so I don't have to worry about it backin out anymore, but still religiously check it. I've had this idea to make my own that would incorporate a better locking mechanism but have never gotten around to completing it. Maybe this winter.

billthe3

Interesting. I'll have to watch that on mine.

Have you tried using safe wire or anything yet?

badcoupe

I wonder if my buddy still has the program on his wire machine. My gave me problems on a monthly basis until I reworked it. They're a piece of cake to make, maybe sharky or laust could make some better ones

2BWise

You could use safety wire and I even thought to do so, but it would be a pain to use in that location as there isn't much room or visibility. The other big issue I have is that once the rod end begins to deteriorate then you've got no option but to replace the entire linkage, which is why I had to replace mine in the first place. It'd be simpler to to put a spherical in the bar and use a snap ring as a retainer. The spherical is then replacable without having to replace the entire linkage and you can use a thru bolt and lock nut.