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[rockhound72]

OK, got my other repairs done. Now the worst from what I hear. The sloppy shifter is definitely in the rear bushings. I can barely shake the shift rod with my fingers and hear it. Is there ANY way to get to this thing without having my mechanic drop the tranny? Also, I see bushings made of brass and some made of the delrin polymer. Which is better. Lastly, should I just replace the whole shift mechanism with a short shifter and have the whole thing redone?

[ideola]

You don't have to drop the trans to replace the rear bushings, but at minimum, you will need to free it from the torque tube and half-shafts in order to rotate it enough to get access to the coupler and free it from the shift selector input shaft. At that point, you're 90% of the way to removing the trans anyway, so why not just drop it. It's really not that hard of a job. I have done it many times completely by myself...but it does help to have an extra pair of hands.

The procedure is adequately described in Haynes. The only thing I will caution you on is that you should slide the coupler (drive shaft to input shaft) back FIRST before you do anything else. You have to COMPLETELY REMOVE both bolts from the coupler before it will move. Once you have it slid back on the input shaft, then proceed with the procedure in Haynes.

The other reason to take it out is so you can replace the ball cup socket on the end of the guide tube. This has as much to do with sloppy shifting as the bushings. You CANNOT get to this socket with the trans in the car. The plastic insert in the cup that snaps onto the ball (which is permanently fixed to the torque tube) is almost certainly completely disintegrated by this time. When the plastic wears out, the cup can pop off of the ball, and then you have no leverage to change gears. Not a fun thing to have happen in the middle of a drive in December, no matter how warm it is where you live.

My point is: drop the trans and do it right.

The brass bushings are NLA. I would not recommend them for a street car anyway. They tend to cause a lot of rattling and vibration. I have them in three of my cars, and I don't mind it so much, but it could be an annoyance for long trips or daily driving. They also give the shifter a much firmer and stiffer feel, requiring a bit more oomph during shifting. Again, I like that feel, but it could get tiresome.

We now have Delrin replacements, and this is what I would recommend.

If you decide to do the short shifter, you will need to also purchase a new leather boot and shift knob. Not a big deal, but just an FYI. I don't have these listed on my site, but I can help you source the Momo Super Anatomico shift knob, which I am now using in three of my cars (and absolutely love), along with the matching Momo shifter boot.

You can find everything you need for the bushing and short shifter job here: http://garage.ideola.com/prod-Trans.html

Also, you should plan to REPLACE rather than reusing the CV bolts. They are not designed for re-use. I can help you source OEM replacements, or now might be the time to consider the Stage8 locking bolts.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[Fifty50Plus]

^What he said^
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1979 924 NA race car H-Prod SCCA
1982 924 NA race car - Sold
1981 924 Turbo sold
1982 924 Turbo sold
1972 911 E race car - traded for Cayenne Diesel
1975 914 1.8 Building for H-Prod SCCA

[Joes924Racer]

I wont even begin to explain how i replaced to mine because it requires removal of the rear seat ... lets just say theres a hole on the hump now with a cover for easy access.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

[fiat22turbo]