First gear - no synchro

[metric_thumbs]

On the 924 CGT first gear appears to have lost any semblance of synchromesh. This is not a sudden loss, it was like it when I bought it and a deft double de clutch works fine.

I have been told by an 'expert' that 'they all do it sonny', is this true?
Also are the bits to repair freely available?

My usual gearbox man can easily re-build the box if the bits are available.

 

[924nutter]

I have had three first gear sets apart on three differenr gearboxes, (the CGT being the same box as the '24T and there are some inherent weaknesses in the layout of the gear and synchro in my opinion. I have some pics but they are too large to upload but I have your email address, so I will send them to you.

 

[metric_thumbs]

Thanks
Do you know the gearbox part number - Porsche or Audi - so I can ask my gearbox man to hunt a replacement down?

As above - I have been told they are rare - but I would guess there are equivalents.

 

[924nutter]

There are two types so beware. There is a box for the un turbo charged 924 , the M474 option which externally looks identical except for a straight bracing rib on the top, oh and the fact that the input shft is 5mm smaller in diameter. In my experience, the trouble with first gear synchro is that the synchronising ring is also the baulk ring and is fully floating. Over time, the front of the constant-mesh dog-gear becomes burred, making engagement stiff, and coupled with the fact that the female synchro cone is machined directly into the back of the sliding dog-gear; any out of sync changes that are attmpted causes the synchro ring to flex out "baulking" engagement until speeds sychronize putting huge ressure on the ring if you jam it in. Eventually the ring takes on a permanent set and you can't engage 1st at all. I am at work, I'll send you some pic and the number of the box when I get home. A std 924 box will not fit as the torque tube is different, (longer) and for the same reason a 944 box will not fit either. FYI the ratios on the getrag box are in front of the axle line, but on the Audi derived boxes the gear sets are behind the axle line. Also the getrag box is B heavy.

 

[metric_thumbs]

Splendid info!! [8D] How in the world do you accumulate it?
Thinks ... I would probably respond the same for VW Beetles, Austin Healeys or Lancia - so even worse [8|]

 

[924nutter]

Been driving 924s for 20 years. There is really no job on a 924 that I haven't tackled. I know about the gearbox because I bought on from a guy in Coventry, and offered it up, ooops. Had to drag all the way back to Coventry and change it over. That box is in my other 924t which sadly needs a new Turbo, but it is a fantastic box with all sychros and just a slight snick into second if you jam it in from about 6200. I am an engineer by profession which is why I am not intimidated by taking apart a first gear set. The challenge for me will be when I take apart my turbo charger and service it with the repair kit that I bought from Ebay ofr the princely sum of £16. The parts on the kit match the numbers for a K26 turbo so I have not been stitched up.

I wouldn't half like to get a rough idea of the intercooler dimensions. I have an idea that a stock Subaru WRX tmic would just about fit if turned throuh 90 deg.(Although about 20 mm may have to stick though into the scoop) I am going to invest £25 in a rough looking one on fleabay, see how it shapes up and go from there.

 

[924nutter]

I used to work for Autocavan briefly and I can tell you a few things about some two litre beetle engines we built, one in particular with a pair of 40 idfs, a 1303s cabriolet with the higher diff ratio that would do 90 in third.

 

[924nutter]

Annotated picture now sent to your email address

 

[metric_thumbs]

Thanks for the pics etc.

My beetle is 1955cc with twin IDF 40's also. 78 bhp at rear wheels - it will run 80 all day long - even with the hood down! Mind you the oil gets a bit hot then - about 210 degress farenheit (sorry - it was what I had)

Come and measure up at Silverstone

 

[924nutter]

In 1980, on my own beetle, a humble1835 cc with a Geoff Thomas ( proprietor of Autocavan) designed VW 25 cam and a pair of sigle choke IMPE webers, I had an oil cooler in the front wing fed by a scoop. The oil pipes ran under the running boards. Great pwer output, but never got it on a rolling road. Then I test drove a Mk1 Golf GTI an wondered what the fuss over an 1835 cc beetle was all about. Bought the Golf, never driven a Beetle since, not even them squashed ones with six cylinders.
A spare 924 cam cover is now residing in my tool box at work, minus the oil filler orifice and the surrounding fins. The scooby cooler comes halfway across the hole so I am repositioning it further to the right where it will go under the cooler, by fitting a blanking plate which will attach with eight screws so as not to distort the mating surface by welding. The plate will also provide front support for the scooby, using the original mounting point, and some kind of filler cap yet to be designed.
Connecting up is plain sailing, but I may yet machine away the front of the outlet plenum and fabricate my own chamber to obviate the need to dog-leg out of the cooler into the throttle body. It depends entirely on how I feel, and how much sheet ally we have at work. Oh, and I can't get any std main bearings until the wrong side of August.