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Long story: Before I installed the Goldenrod, I put new bolts in my stock shift rod to see how it feels. The reason why is because I noticed that there was a ton of wiggle room since the rubber bushing on the coupler had worn down over 20 years.
The bolts on the stock rod don't allow you to tighten them any more, so you can't properly seat the rubber bushing against the shift rod. You have to put new bolts and washers in that can tighten the rod against the bushing properly. Or just put extra washers in. I could've probably done that. Or you can just replace the bushing.
After replacing the bolts, the shift rod felt crisp, as it would've if it were new.
The goldenrod feels exactly the same as the refreshed stock rod. Not to discredit Darin, but you can save the cash. Additionally, the goldenrod makes my shifter lean pretty far to the right. Something that must be a manufacturing defect in mine.
I have my stock set up still in my 993 and I do see where you're coming from Stephen. My 944 from many years ago felt much more precise and solid. I imagine these are completely different mechanisms. The 944 was an '86 the 993 is a '97. Can someone help me understand why an older more entry level P car provided a more robust shifting experience than the 993? Many thanks.
If the shift rods are working properly, then then transmission could be the difference. The feeling of shifting is 80% the transmission, 20% the shift rod. If they used a different transmission, then that'll make the difference.
Long story: Before I installed the Goldenrod, I put new bolts in my stock shift rod to see how it feels. The reason why is because I noticed that there was a ton of wiggle room since the rubber bushing on the coupler had worn down over 20 years.
The bolts on the stock rod don't allow you to tighten them any more, so you can't properly seat the rubber bushing against the shift rod. You have to put new bolts and washers in that can tighten the rod against the bushing properly. Or just put extra washers in. I could've probgably done that. Or you can just replace the bushing.
After replacing the bolts, the shift rod felt crisp, as it would've if it were new.
The goldenrod feels exactly the same as the refreshed stock rod. Not to discredit Darin, but you can save the cash. Additionally, the goldenrod makes my shifter lean pretty far to the right. Something that must be a manufacturing defect in mine.
Here are pics of the before and after.
No disrespect but there is more to it than this...
The topic has been discussed in the past. As you can imagine, all options have been explored at this point.
Yes, you can make the shift rod firmer by putting in standard bolts instead of the original shoulder bolts.
Shoulder bolts, by design, stop the nut from threading all of the way down the bolt.
However, by doing this you are creating a straight rod. The geometry is a problem... It would be fine if everything (trans, engine, chassis) were solid with zero movement and the action between the shift mech and trans were a straight line. But it is not.
You need a "joint" of some sort to account for the angle and drivetrain movement under braking and acceleration.
So, that's the deal... And why Porsche designed the stock rod with the rubber and shoulder bolts.
As well as the RS shift rod with a helm joint, the inspiration for the Golden Rod
Hope that helps...
And yeah, you don't need the GR
Heck, you don't NEED anything... Aside from food and water
Last, if you have an issue with your GR, please send it back for a refund
I have my stock set up still in my 993 and I do see where you're coming from Stephen. My 944 from many years ago felt much more precise and solid. I imagine these are completely different mechanisms. The 944 was an '86 the 993 is a '97. Can someone help me understand why an older more entry level P car provided a more robust shifting experience than the 993? Many thanks.
Porsche evolution...
With the goal of making the 911 more "approachable"
The rubber/fiber joint in the stock shift rod takes away NVH
Noise, vibration, harshness
Not much NVH but that is subjective
Prior to the 993, the 964 had a heim joint... A bit different from the GR or RS rod but a firmer, more mechanical shift feel.
The same thinking applies to the rest of the 993 shift mechanism. The forward rod has nylon bushings at each end as opposed to a heim joint.
These nylon cup/ball joints can and do fail, leaving you shiftless
But that is another story...
Just as MD stated, if you search, you'll find that tightening up the old floppy rubber joint, will work, but may have consequence. Search "Jackals" site and you'll see he initially did the "tightening" fix. Then he found that without the appropriate "play", his shift shaft into the trans started to seep at the seal. Need to have that play to absorb/dissipate tension when drivetrain moves. The heim joint RS/GR is the only proven item, that removes play while keeping enough compliance to avoid damage. Can't argue with so many satisfied customers.
As mentioned, no disrespect intended. It's also my ignorance of not knowing why the joint was there. I thought that the GR was just for feel, not realizing what the function was.
I still have yet to pull mine out, but need to try another one since my shifter is still off center.
So for those of us whose 993 came with the factory option:
241 Shorter shifting travel
How does this short shifter setup compare to the stock setup vs. RS setup vs. Golden Rod setup. I'm wondering about both the differences in feel and what mechanistically is different between all these shifter options. My apologies if this has been covered previously, but I think it is worth repeating.
11-05-2015, 12:48 AM
