Vilhuer

Its normal lock ring. Nothing special about it. It can be removed and inserted back without taking gears out. Its not easy but I have done it few times on one '85 MY box.

z driver 88t

Erkka, I don't doubt you were able to do it. Popping it off would be easy enough with a long thin screwdriver. But we looked at it from every angle and could not see how to put a new one on without pulling the gear cluster - and this was with the help of a 64 year old Porsche tech who was trained on the 928 when they were new. On the positive note, the trans will now have all new seals. Possibly if I had a long, curved pair of c-clip pliers that you could slide along the inside of the case betweeen the gear set and the housing I could have done it. But we did not have such a tool.

If Mr. weekend mechanic is undertaking this job, just be prepared for the fact you MIGHT not be able to get the c-clip back on without removing the gear cluster.

Again, whether you really need to reinstall it is questionable. It is not used on the 87+ threaded bolts. The spring is always loaded which theoretically will hold it in place.

My concern was this. The 85 box has the c-clip. When my spring broke the small "ramp" end piece fell to the bottom and stayed there. (It did not go the the magentic drain plug BTW, it just laid in the bottom of the transmission housing). But the larger base of the spring was held to the bolt by the c-clip to keep this much larger piece from potentially coming off and getting crunched by the gears.

So, IF Greg's concerns are valid and there is a potential failure point at the weld, I wanted the base to still be held in place with a c-clip, realizing that it may be overkill (hopefully it is overkill - I never want to open this gear box again) and I probably added a good 4 hours of labor to the job.

z driver 88t

Adam (atb)- By the time I got back to the shop the trans had been reassembled. However, I have attached a picture of the bolt with the c-clip on the end as well as a picture of the later style bolts that was sent to me by Mike Frye for comparison.

As you can see as long as the spring is in one piece it really should not matter if the c-clip is on or not. However, I could envision the c-clip that the early bolt provides extra assurance that the sping base will stay put should the piece ever break.

UncleMaz

Chris, Is there a write up or guide you used to pull the gears out? Thanks.

z driver 88t

Michael, I wish I could have snapped pictures during the process. That was my intention. I was helping the mechanic and my hands were covered in gear oil and i just couldn't get some breaks to snap pictures. Also, I had to leave at one point so the final disassembly was done without me there.

I can tell you that disassembly was done primarily following the procedures in the WSM. Carl (my mechanic friend) had not replaced one of these springs in MANY years so he referred to the WSM for the proper steps. It mostly invoved a punch, a mallet, a slide hammer, and rotating pieces into positon to get them free. He did have one specialy tool that looked like a U-shaped handle with two bolt holes on either end to bolt to the gear cluster. This allowed the cluser to be rotated and slide out. The main cluster was a bitch to rotate at first (I guess becasue it had been in one position for 30 years) but once it broke free it seemed to rotate OK.

Sorry. Unfortunatley, that is the best I can do.

The total breakdown and reassembly with the new spring was probably 4 hours of labor for someone that knows what they are doing if you already have the transmission out. Keep in mind you really don't have to take apart the cluser, you just need to get it out of the housing so that you can access the bolt. Once out, you can pretty much put it right back together. I would order a total seal kit so you have all new gaskets and seals which runs about $130 from 928INTL or Roger.

I would really just be inclined to take it to an indepedent Porsche shop and pay them a few hundred $$ to do it. There is a bad penalty for doing it wrong.

UncleMaz

Thank you for the terrific response.

z driver 88t

Just an update as I realize it has been over 2 years since I installed Colin's shift centering spring.

So far, so good. The spring still works as installed. For anyone who has this spring fail, I would not hesitate to recommend Colin's replacement. Big thanks to him for coming through where Porsche left us high and dry.

I'll post an update ever year or so over the next 30 years and we'll see how it compares to the original.

davek9

Timely thread resurrection, thank you!

In reading through the thread I see Mike Frey's name mentioned, I purchased Mike Frey's '85 back in December and the "spring" is still working

I just ordered Colin's spring and the Factory Reverse Lock out spring, as I took delivery of RedPanda's '86.5 two weeks ago and both springs are kaput

Looking like I'm doing this job again as my first 928 (my blue '85) had the same broken springs (shifter just flops around) when I purchased it back in '97 w/60k miles on it and yes the broken part took out 5th gear set while I was driving it (a quick turn when hot did it).

Good to know about the "C" clip as it's been ~20 years and I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday

Thanks!

Dave

Pete L

Updated on my broken flat / centering spring in my 1986 (early) 5 speed with 171K mile. See this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...l#post14169287

I used to always keep the transmission in reverse when I parked it and suppose this contributed to its failure (per PorKen post) by placing more pressure on the spring

Greg Brown made the comment in the thread “Actually not very difficult to make an external shifting spring that works off of the shift coupler.... it’s just a bit complex.” I came up with a simple solution that seems to work, at least on a 928s Rus short shifter.

A photo of my accessory spring that is now duplicating the function of the old flat / centering spring is included. The transmission, at least to me is shifting the same as it was before.

No flames please. I will ultimately rebuild the gear box and fix correctly, but this seems to be working pretty darn well, I had to buy several additional springs and am happy to send for cost of shipping to anybody else who want to try this

z driver 88t

Pete - This is simple and brilliant. I tried to brainstorm something like this before pulling my transmission, but could not locate a suitable spring. To me, putting the shift centering spring at the bottom of a transmission case the way Porsche designed it is just asking for an expensive repair down the road. This is a nice re-engineering of the design.

Do you mind sharing what specific spring this is?

Also, as it has been a year since my last update on Colin's centering spring I can happily report that it continues to perform flawlessly.

davek9

Brilliant, looks to be simple if it stays in place over time, would be a great Interim solution until an opportunity to remove the trans comes about.
I'd like to test one, I'll PM you my info.

EDIT: Pete L, you need to start a new thread on this and not mix it in w/ Colin's solution, as it is total different solution to the same issue,

Thank you,

Dave

icsamerica

I need a centering spring. Track day in 3 weeks. How can I reach Colin?

ROG100

I have them in stock and can ship today

icsamerica

Roger, I called in but the phone went rang and went silent. I sent you an email with my call back number.