Solid Snake

I was driving around when my shifter just came apart. I coasted into some neighborhood, was able to jam it into 2nd and drove home like that. From what I can tell, the shifter pivots between a front and rear linkage. I assume the front one is fixed and the rear goes back to the gearbox? The front one is loose.

I posted a while back about high RPM rattling that I thought was knocking, but it turned out to be the shifter. While I was limping home, I redlined through second and there was no rattling, so at least it's not the motor. Does the front linkage lead to a bushing of some sort? Is it common for 5spds to do this, and finally, would this be a good time for a short shifter kit? Thanks.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Ball cup shifter failure. Very common. Do a search and you should find plenty of information. You are correct the front pivot point has become detached.

Mike Frye

+1. Happened to me.

It's a good time to check all of the 'wear' items in your shift linkage. Not expensive to replace, very noticeable improvement.

These include: Forward shift ball cup, rear shift coupler, release arm ball cup and possibly the bushings in your shifter.

As Stan said, you should find lots under "forward shift ball cup" or just "ball cup".

BTW- you may be able to put a 6" hose clamp on there (around the torque tube) to keep it from popping off long enough to get home. The problem is that the bushing wears away and the cup pops off the little ball on top of the TT.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

I thought Carl changed the rear coupler and found little to no wear. Is that really a common problem?

Put a short shifter in, and really notice a difference! Just be prepared for the extra effort required (nominal in my opinion).

Mike Frye

I'm not sure what Carl found. In mine, one bushing was actually missing from the rear coupler. No sign of it. Otherwise I think the bushings can wear out.
Front-back slop=front ball cup.
left-right slop=rear coupler.

That's what fixed it for me.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Good to know, thanks.

VT928

The ball cup is the most common failure, but not the only failure that can occur to the shifter. my 1980 Euro S had an uncommon failure that gave the same symptoms as the ball cup failure. The locating rod the the ball cup is attached to has an "L" shaped bracked welded to the end that the shifter is attached to. In my case the weld failed, not the ball cup. Reparing that was a major PIA, involving removing the transaxle bolts, the clutch, abd unbolting the T tube from the bellhousing. All so we could drop the front end of the T tube about 8 inches so we could fit the new shifter rod through the bearing on top of the T tube. Gawd only knows what someone would have charged me to do the repair. The manuals said that we wpuld have to remove bothe the transaxle and the T tube. When the care was made thes parts are assembled prior to installation of the driveline, easy out of the car almost impossible in the car.

Paul Mammorella
1980 Euro S Red/Blk Lea

mark kibort

mine came off a couple of times at the race track. when i replaced it, the new one broke. the cup didnt come off the ball, its fine, and so is the relatively new bushing. However, there is a little tiny cheap spot weld holding the shaft to the cup. i welded this with a deep penetrating , but ugly weld at the track and put it together. I dont know much about welding, but it was very penetrating, and mostly on the side of the ball cup. its got to be worlds stronger than the stock weld, but we will see. one of the variables going into this season! (will it hold??)
mk

Panzer9

Happens to the best of us- Mine happened just 2 days after I purchased it. I thought I had a blown synchro or something - I was so pissed - I called up the PO in Florida to give him **** about it. Rennlist put me on the right track, and I took care of it in short order.

bronto

Just happened to me. See the tail end of the thread about Royal Purple. 928 Intl had it in stock and I git replaced within a day. Lucky mine never came completely apart before then. But it was awfully sloppy and I had a hard time getting it into 1st, 3rd and (sometimes) 5th gear.

Shark Attack

you need a ball cup.... Ball cup ball cup ball cup

Fogey1

I'm not pushing Carl's product, though I wouldn't hesitate to buy it or any other part from him, but this thread was handy and has some pix.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/384244-new-product-precision-shifter-ball-cup.html
New Product: Precision Shifter Ball Cup

Solid Snake

Thanks everyone for the info. Today was the first nice day of the year so I decided to get under the car. I had the ball cup off within the hour. Once I moved the exhaust shield and removed the shifter it was fairly easy. What a sorry POS it is. The front half of the nylon in the cup is missing, which explains the rattling I've been having at 3500+ RPM.

Now I want to buy 928motorsport.com's all metal part, but I can't find it on their site. I'd be greatly appreciative if someone could direct me.

Also, I'm looking to put in a short shifter. Are there any differences between 928intl's part and 928motorsports' part? I'd like one with a reduced throw angle as well as a significantly shorter stick.

Thanks!

Marine Blue

Both will make a huge difference. But Carls all metal ball cup is a bear to install and there are a few tricks which I have to still post. The instructions need to be modified slightly thats all.

Fabio421

I need to replace mine as well. Maybe I'm missing something but why do we need a metal on metal option? The bushings last a good while. Once you replace it you should be good to go for years to come. Does it really warrant a redesign?