rcarpen22

I was driving the 964 this weekend and it began refusing to engage first gear and the other gears were tough as well. I pulled the tunnel pan on the bottom and discovered the Rube Goldberg shifter assembly. Wow. I'm familiar with older 911 shifters and I know they had some issues, but man! They went all out on the 964. Turns out the guide tube clip fell off and the tube had fallen down in the front. Quick easy fix. The shifter "system" on this car is a classic example of Porsche over-engineering.

911Jetta

With some RL help, I recently replaced the shift sleeves that position the guide tube. No previous experience with this (Porsche or non-Pcar), so I don't have anything to gauge the assembly by... I did take some pictures "while I was in there"...

http://picasaweb.google.com/udoreisi...gShiftSleeves#

rcarpen22

I don't think mine has anything like that (which could be part of the problem). It just rides in the holes and is held in place with the two circular clips. In your pic it looks like there is at least a bushing of some sort in the hole.

911Jetta

Rob,
My initial intent was to show some pictures of the "Rube Goldberg shifter assembly"... we had differnent problems, just the same area of the car. You mentioned your problem was with the guide tube clip, mine was with the shift sleeves on the guide tube. Over time I can see how the guide tube would disintegrate, but how did your clip come off? That bugger fits tight on the shift sleeve!

When you mentioned ... did the whole shifter assembly (shift lever) sink down into the tunnel like mine did?

Picture of the clip below (shift sleeve with retaining lock ring clip installed)

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=19642

The engineering in these cars fascinates me to no end...

911Jetta

Rob,
The shift tube slides through two holes in the car shell in the trans. tunnel, with shift sleeves acting as a bushing allowing the shift tube to slide forward/aft. The clips on the end, ensure the whole shifting mechanism doesn't move too far (enforced end points).

see picture below (Red circles show both shift sleeves -not in the correct location on the shift tube. The green line shows the approximate location of where the sleeves attach to the trans tunnel)

rcarpen22

Mine is missing the sleeves or bushings. The tube just sits in the holes with the two lockrings holding it in place. The problem was caused by the front lock ring coming off. This allowed the guide tube to slide back and the front of the tube fell down so the linkage would just bind. I guess I should order some of those bushings. I took a few pics that I will try to post later. They are iphone pics though, so not as good as yours.

911Jetta

I started my original post with a quick message, agreeing that these are cool cars... but now I might be causing you to crawl back under the car. Sorry about that! At least you know how to get at it now...

Now I see how the clip came undone... without the shift sleeve in place, the clip on the shift tube bangs against the metal hole in the trans tunnel. That force unseats the clip.

I love your car line up!

CraigC

Mine did exactly the same thing last year. I bought the replacement parts from Sunset. When I reasembled it I used some assembly lube on the moving parts in the bushings. Now when it gets hot it feels like there is a slight binding.
Does anyone know what, if any, lube should be used?

Im going to reopen it and clean it with the hope that corrects the problem. If there is a specific lube to use that would be the time to apply it.

Thanks!

rcarpen22

Thanks! I like it too. I want to add a G50 Carrera and a late model Boxster/Cayman to the fold eventually and then call it done. The problem is I'm out of space to put stuff! I think you're exactly right about the lock ring coming unseated, so I need to order those parts and get that fixed.
As for lube, that's a good question. I was just going to put some synthetic grease on the guide tube.

Richard Curtis

While you're in there, you should change the shift rod bushing (on the shifter end) and the angular joint (on the front end of the shift rod). You can buy the angular joint and shift rod complete with new bushings (~$200), or you can replace just the bushings (~$22). I had mine come adrift 400 miles from home and had to use nylon tie-wraps to secure it in order to get home. With cars now this old, I would bet the bushings are just about dust; both of mine were.

rcarpen22

Yeah, that's actually what I thought had happened. I had nylon zip ties in hand when I started taking the pan off. I will definitely replace those bushings when I get back in there.