924Board.org

[Sebring79]

I drove my Sebring to work today. I've pretty much always had the 2nd gear popping out from time to time issue and I've learned to live with it. Today I had a different problem.

After I got to work I pulled into my parking space a bit crooked so I backed up and put it back in first. It felt like I had to pull it back much further than usual for first gear to engage. I actually had to pull the boot off the shift knob from the bottom to get it to move far enough back.

I assumed it was worn bushings causing the problem so I went to work and came back out 8 hours later expecting to have to try and drive it home starting in 2nd or 3rd gear at each stop but nope, it felt fine again.

Could it just be a bushing that got out of place or does it sound like an internal problem? I plan on swapping the 'box out some time soon anyway but I'd like to know what all the experts here think.

[ideola]

I suspect it's just an issue with the shift linkage. It's probably a combination of the bushings in the coupler and a worn ball-cup socket (which is on the end of the guide tube and snaps onto a ball socket that is affixed to the end of the torque tube). The plastic bushing in the cup is probably disintegrated (or nearly so), and this will add to add'l slop in the movement of the main shift bar; the guide tube needs to be relatively stationary in front-to-back orientation because it provides the pivot point for the shift linkage. Sometimes, the plastic bushing in the cup will disintegrate completely and the guide tube can come completely off of the ball. Then you won't be able to shift at all.

There is also a bushing at the front of the guide tube that bolts onto the underside of the tunnel; the "nose" of the guide tube rests in this bushing and is what allows the shift linkage to "rotate" left to right as you select gears. You can see this bushing if you remove the shifter boot and pull back the insulation. These are much less prone to wear than the other bushings, but still, it's 30 year old rubber, and I have seen some that have been completely shot, which just adds more slop to the entire linkage.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made