shifter gone bad?

[Mackpipes]

This weekend I drove to Williamsberg for a birthday party. On the way there I noticed difficulty when shifting into third and fifth. The linkage seemed a little "rattly" at the base. Could My shifter bushings be damaged? If anyone has had anything happen like this, any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ted
p.s. Sounds like I missed a really good time at Marc's. :(

[Justin Fischer]

Could be the ball cup bushing at the base of the shift rod. Easy fix!!

-Justin

[targa911man]

I agree with Justin. If you had a solid feel when shifting and it wouldn't go into the gear, I'd say synchros. I had the bushing problem on mine. It is an easy fix and the best part, much less $ than synchros.

[Rick Lee]

See photo of my broken ball cup bushing:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117349&highlight=cup

[Jazzbass]

Replacing the ball cup busing is very easy, and as long as the shifter is out I recommend the Seine Systems gate shift. It really helped get rid of the "mop-in-a-bucket" feel I had. I still need to replace the bushings at the coupler. Maybe we need a Dorkiphus "Shifter Renewal" day?

[Mackpipes]

Chris,
My shifter kit from Pelican should be here late this week. You're not the first person who has recommended the Seine systems shift gate. I guess I'll pick one up. Let me know when you want to get together and put in your coupler bushings. Sounds like another donuts, pizza and beer event.

Ted

[APKhaos]

The stock [or short] shifters tend to large throws and vague gating. I thought mine was done after replacing the usual suspects [shifter bushings] with little improvement.

Picked up a Stomski shift coupler at Hershey this year - an impulse buy.
It made an enormous difference - play in the shifter was virtually eliminated, and the gate feel is superb. The Stomski is basically an adaption of an aircraft control linkage part [read high quality, and strong] to the 911 shift coupler configuration. Its a 30 minute bolt-on.

Might be the best single upgrate possible for the 911 shifter. Anyone who wants to try it in my car is welcome.

[Jazzbass]

How much was the Stomski shift coupler?

[APKhaos]

Steve Stomski lives in Annapolis, and is a great guy. The advertised price is around $170, but he was offering a $150 deal at Hershey. Call him - 410 571 9779

[targa911man]

Tony--Do you have a short-shifter? Does it matter with the Stomski kit?

[jbailey930]

Dan, etal,
I was experiencing those same problems and I had installed the short shifter in my 930. So I did all the bushings in the shifter housing and also bought the Stomski coupler. After the adjustment fun, it was pure and precise. The 4 gear shifting throws are just so long in the 930.

It did help but I was nicking going into 3rd gear. this turned out to be worn synchro :( Ted: I have the old coupler if you want to try something else first.

[APKhaos]

Dan,
The Stomski coupler works equally well with stock shifter or short shift kit [factory or aftermarket]. My 85 has the stock shifter, which is midway between the earlier years and the factory short shift option.

[Mackpipes]

John,
Thanks for the offer of the coupler. I'm going to try the bushing kit first to see if that fixes the problem. I took off my coupler cover plate and had a buddy work the shifter. I deffinately need new coupler bushings as well as shifter bushings. Fortunately the kit from Pelican has all the bushings. I'll keep you posted after the install. Also, I have been nicking 3rd on more spirited drives, I hope it's not a worn syncro as well. :cry:
Tony,
Have you heard any thing about the Stromski shift coupler wearing out syncros prematurely? I was told by a local shop that the factory engineered a certain amount of give (slop) in the coupler to preserve the syncros.

Ted

[jbailey930]

Ted
my 3rd gear synchro was on the way out prior to the Stomski install. I was hoping it was not that. I was hoping all the other fixes would take care of the nicking. My motor and tranny only had 35k. In fact the original rubber centered clutch was still in tact. We just can't be sure of PO's prior shifting techniques. Good luck.