bmcallister

Okay, I have posted once before reporting problems of my car getting stuck in reverse and seemingly another forward gear - probably fifth because it is on the same shift fork (so I am told)?

Anyway, in trying to get the gears "unstuck" the transmission truly became toast. This means it seems permanently stuck in reverse when in any gear (by the shifter position). It will not move forward or back unless it is in neutral, in which case it only moves in reverse and makes a horrible banging/clanking noise every couple of feet.

I was out of town with the car when this happened. I took it to a local shop who were only willing to remove and replace it with a completely rebuilt. I really did not feel comfortable with the shop - they said it would be $3700 to replace the transmission and then promptly offered me $6000 to buy the car (which otherwise has a mint engine, mint body, good interior, and very good original paint).

So it is getting shipped to Auto Assets in Powell, OH. The owner of the shop has promised me photos of my transmission (I live in NC) as it is being taken apart and we discuss what needs to be done. A buddy of mine from graduate school had a 914 while we were in school and recommends them highly.

Does anybody want to take a guess at what it will cost me to get my baby back? I am excluding the cost of shipping the car to OH (from TN) and flying out there (from NC) to pick it up... You may think I'm crazy to have it fixed out of state since I am shipping it to one state I don't live in to another state I don't live in but I am banking on the references of friends - and I have a buddy (997 and Ferrari owner) in OH who will "project manage" the whole deal.

sww914

Find Peter Zimmerman, he posted at length recently on the cost of transmission rebulds a couple of weeks ago, you can PM him.

Wayne Williams

Ouch, Sounds like the problem I had with my SC.

I ended up replacing all the shifting sleeves, synchro rings and various bits and pieces. The problem I see is when to "stop" when the 'box is out - luckily for me, the gears themselves were fairly recent so I didn't need any replacements (and none were damaged!!) so this left the cost fairly low (£2345 UK pounds - don't know what this is in dollars sorry).

My advice would be to have the box built properly - i.e to last and not to "just get it home" as you will pay double in the long run.

Pete Z is god as far as 911 issues are concerned and I'm sure he will give his infinite wisdom on this subject.

Good Luck Bud, I know how it feels!!!!!

Peter Zimmermann

bmc: Almost always this problem can be "fixed" in an hour, by putting the car up on a lift, removing the fork plate from the bottom of the trans, freeing up the slider/gear selection mess, re-installing the fork plate and filling the trans. This gets you back on the road, however it doesn't tell you why you had the problem. I had one customer who had the habit of removing the trans from reverse while he was still rolling backward, and then quickly engaging first. We couldn't find anything wrong with the car, got the owner to change his ways, and the problem never happened again (on that car). The most common situation was when the problem occured with transmissions that had already been apart for rebuild/repair, and the shift forks were not set up correctly. There is a very specific process to follow for fork adjustment, and yes, if it's not done correctly it can still shift OK, but end up sooner or later with a problem like yours (another problem, for instance, can be the second to third shift). The third cause can be an incorrectly adjusted linkage, coupler/bushings, etc. If your transmission must be removed and disassembled, this is not necessarily "rebuild" time, it could be as simple as resetting the shift forks and putting it back in the car.

It might be helpful to know exactly the situation when your problem occured. Were you backing, like my customer who was always in a hurry? Was the car's suspension loaded, such as turning sharply while backing from a steep driveway? Anything else that you can offer?

Pete

DGaunt

I had this happen to a friend once and i was mystified having rebult mine and knowing the 915 has lock pins to prevent both forks from engaging gears at the same time. how do they get defeated?

Peter Zimmermann

Dave: You're correct, 915 shift detents are quite good, but only when the shift forks are set correctly! Like most things, when a mistake is made there is a trickle-down effect. The shift detents are designed to work with the shift fork clearance set at, let's say, 2 - 3 mm. If the clearance is set ay 3.5 mm the effectiveness of the detent will be compromised.
Pete

bmcallister

The car was getting detailed when this happened (this time) so I don't know. It has happened to me three times before. Twice it was on level ground and not rolling. The third time I thought is was not moving, but remembering back I recall that it was parked on an incline so i suppose I could have been moving.

I don't think the shift fork positions explain the horrible "thunk/clank" sound I hear approximately every wheel rotation when reversing. Or could it?

Irregardless, I have a lot of confidence in the shop it is going to. I will get the transmission fixed properly. I am looking forward to not having to worry about this problem again and having a (hopefully) smoother shifting car.

Your advice is appreciated. It will be about a week until the shop has a chance to get the car shipped and get working on it. Once I have news and photos I will post.