924Board.org

[petebee]

I searched but didn't find anything like this (newbie to Porsche 924 so be kind). When removing everything to drop the transaxle I forgot about the shift rod connection until I had everything else removed, and transmission jack underneath the unit. Removing coupler bolts, transaxle bolts, CV bolts and muffler bracket bolts was fairly straight forward. Coupler easily slid backward into transaxle side.

When I removed the bolt from the rear of shift rod where it connects to the rear linkage and removed front of shift rod from shifter in the cabin I couldn't get the rod to move forward. Do these sometimes have a tendency to get stuck due to corrosion? The car is not a rust bucket, but the back end of the shift rod does have surface rust. I tried to pry it with a small bar, and tapped on the rear of the shift rod with the bar and a hammer to no avail.

I did notice that the transaxle has shifted slightly towards the rear (the bolt holes on the transaxle are a bit higher that the bell housing holes). Would this cause the shifter to bind? Note it still shifts back and forth, so I'm thinking not.

I'm dropping the transaxle to replace a leaky fuel tank.

Thanks for the help!

Pete

[MikeJinCO]

All this applies to the Audi transmission with a single shift rod and the large bellhousing in back. If it is the 5 speed Porsche squirrel cage with the axle behind the tranny, none of this is good info. First it gets hung up with all of the sound foam that is in front of the rod. I normally just take the shift lever out to get more room, two short 8mm bolts which can be hard to pick up and easily lost in the foam. Then I sometimes have to rotate the shift rod and jam it forward. It is a bit ugly to get forward and almost as bad to reinstall, the sound foam hinders any movement. On my race car all the sound foam is gone and it is still a not easy. Hope this helps. If it is the 5 speed Audi it is really tight to the gas tank and almost has to come straight down so make sure the plastic tube the shift rod goes thru is not hanging up, should be able to be pushed forward.
_________________
Mike


'67 MG Midget Dp
'71 Ocelot Dsr Kawasaki 1000(under rebuild)

[petebee]

Thanks car is a 1980 model year so it has the Audi 5-spd.

I have soaked it in PB Blaster, and carefully (actually scarily) applied a bit of heat from a propane torch and it still won't budge. I've watched videos where the shift rod literally slides off by hand.

Can I simply remove rear linkage rod that the shift rod attaches to from the shift linkage? I think it is held in place with a circlip. Will I be able to pull the linkage forward enough? The other option would be to cut that rod about an inch aft of the shift rod and replace it.

[MikeJinCO]

No. You have to pull the shift ever forward enough to clear the front of the bell housing and then slide/pop with a block of wood the plastic tube forward. You have to reach into the shift lever hole by the drivers seat and pull it forward probably rotating it some also. I could never move it forward from back at the tranny even with no foam in there. This is why I said to remove the shifter from the torque tube, dig around thru all that foam as you have to get your hand in there to pull in forward. The foam makes it quite aggravating to move, you may have to pull some of the foam out.
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Mike


'67 MG Midget Dp
'71 Ocelot Dsr Kawasaki 1000(under rebuild)

[petebee]

After a few days the PB Blaster did the trick and I was able to get the shift rod unstuck. Definitely had a bit of corrosion in there.

Mike my shifter foam is pretty beat up, and I was able to get the rod pushed up pretty far - followed your advice to remove the shifter for more room.

Now transaxle is disconnected, but still under the car sitting on the trans jack. I'm going to have to borrow a bigger jack to get a little more clearance for removal.