Hi all,
I recently put a deposit down on an 86 928s 5-speed. It needs a few things (imagine that) and one issue is the shifter. It's pretty loose, and the seller claimed the transaxle needed a 'pressure lever' to fix it. My brother, who ownes an S4, told me there was a recent thread on this forum regarding shifters but I was unable to find it using the seach function. Maybe I can find it by user number if someone points the way?

While loose, the gate also doesn't seem to work well. It seems to like to pop back into first when upshifting from second unless a firm hand presses it towards third. I'd love some tips on getting this sorted out.

Thanks,
-Joel.

 

There are two possible problems here.

There is a "pressure lever" inside the transmission, but its function is to provide the spring-loading toward the 2 - 3 plane, and away from the R - 1 plane. It has nothing to do with "looseness" in the shift lever. The transmission must be disassembled to do most repairs on this spring.

Most looseness in the shift linkage is usually in the rear coupler. Get (safely!) under the car and use a light to check the rear shift coupler, above the central torque tube where the shift rod attaches to the transmission shift rod. You will have to push the rubber boot aside. Check the two plastic cups that hold the cross-pins - you will probably find them broken, worn or missing.

A new coupling, P/N 928.424.029.00, costs $51.39 plus shipping. The plastic cups are not available separately from Porsche for the 928 coupling.

There are reportedly 911/914 cups available separately, but these have round holes for the pins, rather than the oval holes found in the 928 coupling - might work, might not.

Also well worth checking the shifter cup on the forward end of the torque tube. If this pops off, the shifter lever just flops freely. You can usually get the transmission into third by holding the lever top and bottom, rotating to the 2 - 3 plane, and shoving the bottom of the lever forward firmly.

There is also a support bearing just forward of the shift lever. If you remove the shift boot and rubber cover, then push the foam rubber out, you should be able to see a rubber support with a plastic ring. If the ring is missing, the lever will be sloppy. You can find a plastic ring that fits the tube, split it and push it into the rubber bushing.

 

Thanks for the shifter tips! While the coupler might be worn, and perhpas the front shifter bearing, I do think that the spring in the transmission might need to be replaced. When in neutral, there does not seem to be any force to keep the lever upright. The shifter can be flopped over to the left or right without resistance.

I was wondering if the U shaped spring in the picture below, near the roll pin 'A' was the culprit for this condition?



Thanks,
-Joel.