Help ! Gear Bush What ?

[Guest]

Hi Guys.

My first time in this Forum, I just got my first Porsche 944 1983 A reg.

I got it from the garage dealer, he said to me, that the gear box bushes had gone ? And not to worry as its a common problem with the 944 !

He said he'd been quoted £70 to fix, so with this in mind I got the car.

Basically I am having real difficulty changing gears, 3rd for example, isnt where it should be, you have to tap the gear stick quite a bit to the right to find it, same with all gear changes.

So can someone advise me please whats wrong with my car ? Was the dealer right, is this common ? and what are gear box bushes ?

Maybe I been conned ! (Eeeek!) so any advice would be VERY much appreciated.

Cheers.

Matt.

 

[Fen]

Guessing here, but there are replaceable bushes around the bottom of the gear stick IIRC. Never done it / even looked at it myself, mind.

 

[John Sims]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to the Forum and heres to looking forward to many happy years of Porsche motoring.

Not wishing the by a bearer of bad news but I'm given to question, if the dealer could get an obvious problem fixed for £70 why didn't he? Perhaps he could tell you who quoted him £70 so you could get it done.

The 944 gear box is at the back of the car (but then you knew that) and is mounted on a number of rubber issolators, five I believe on earlier cars. I can't see one or two of these having failed giving a problem with the gear change and I would think you would hear the gearbox knocking if this happened. I'm more inclined to think it could be the gear linkage.

 

[Guest]

Gulp ! .... oh .. dear ...

Erm, Gear Linkage ? ok so any ideas on how to identify whats wrong through process of elimination ?

I am utterley clueless about mechanical side but willing to have a go, cant carry on like this, so where would you suggest I start ?

Its like .. say I am in 2nd gear, I put clutch in, and try to move the gear stick into 3rd, but 3rd isnt where it should be, so a soft tap to the right, then I press it up and it goes in, any ideas ?

Thanks

 

[John Sims]

Just having bought the car, I'm assuming you don't want to spend any money on it but I would suggest a little trip to a specialist for a bit of a check over might save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

The gear linkage may be an easy fix - probably is if you have access to the under side of the car (if it is loose at the back) but you could do with knowing a few things about the car to ensure a long and happy relationship.

The main one is..... when was the cam belt last changed? If it was more than 3 years ago then get it done asap. Failure could lunch your engine.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help John

I guess its a trip to Porsche then, I hope they will identify it for me for nowt lol am not working now, redundant u see, no cash really for big repairs.

Will let you know what happens.

Thanks again mate

 

[Mark_Bennett]

I guess its a trip to Porsche then

Or, as John says, a Specialist.

Where in the country are you, someone here will probably be able to recommend an independant Porsche specialist near you. Could save you a lot of money...

 

[Guest]

Wow great Mark

I am in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire if that helps anyone ?

[]

 

[Guest]

Prob Autobahn or Hartech arnt a million miles away.

 

[John Sims]

Or, as John says, a Specialist

I'd avoid Porsche if you can, at hourly rates of £85+ per hour you could soon wack up a stonking bill.

What you need is an idependant specialialist. In many respects these guys are better than Porsche, or an OPC (Official Porsche Centre) as they are called, as many independants started at Porsche, and did their training, when our cars were new, so they know almost everything there is to know about the 944.

 

[Diver944]

Make a post in the East Midlands forum to see who they recommend in your area. Helen Goff will know.

Simple things to check are: Lift up the gearstick gaitor and make sure all the nuts under there are on properly. Check the other post this week about stiff gearchange, jack up the car, and make sure all the nuts on the linkage by the gearbox are on ok. There is a picture in the other post.

Failing that get a proper independant specialist to check everything over - not Porsche

 

[944Turbo]

There is an assembly above the gearbox at the rear which wears it cost around £80 but is quite difficult to access. It is relatively easy to fit with the right extension bars etc. except there is very little space to work in which makes it fiddly.

In addition the gearlever itself wears (under the leather / rubber gators) and the bush it pivots in. The bush is a couple of quid and the lever around £35. This doesn't completely eradicate slop as the (expensive looking) bit the lever attaches too will also be worn but will more than half it.

Stiff linkages at the rear could also contribute - see seperate thread,

Good Luck,

Tony