How to remove and replace a worn gear shifter stick on a Porsche 944

THE WHY

Having initially replaced the worn shifter linkage at the transmission end with a short shift kit last year which removed a considerable amount of play I was still experiencing a little trouble selecting gears (especially between 1st and 2nd in both directions). I therefore decided to investigate the shifting stick itself as I'd read on other forums that the pin can wear over time, not surprising since the number of gear changes over the 26 years of the life of the car so far.

THE TASK

You'll need the following:

Flat bladed screwdriver
Long-nose pliers
13mm socket
Socket wrench
Socket extension bar
Graphite/Multi purpose grease
Protractor
Sliding bevel

THE HOW TO

(Amateur mechanic job time: approx 30-40 mins)

Start by peeling back the leather gaiter around the base of the shifter to expose the inner rubber gaiter (you may need the flat bladed screwdriver to get you started prising gently under the lip). Then do the same with the inner rubber gaiter to expose the metal shifter stick.

Remove the spring clip that secures the gaiter to the stick and pull off the gaiters to expose the stick

Next pull off the circlip that connects the shifter stick to the black transfer bar and decouple the pair taking care not to loose the spring washer. At the base of the shifter stick you'll find two 13mm bolts, you'll need to pull aside the sponge sound absorber.

Undo these bolts being careful not to loose the upper gripper washer and lower washer that come with them. Then simply pull the shifter leaver assembly up through the opening.

Next you will need to separate the gold metal part of the leaver from it's ball-joint mount. Do this by pushing the leaver down to push the white plastic cup out of the black housing. Then use the flat bladed screwdriver to pop the the leaver ball joint out of the white cup socket.

Old leaver left alongside new one right (Part number 477 711 205 D approx £25 direct from Porsche). Transfer the black rubber bung to the new leaver.

Black shifter mount and white plastic ball-joint cup

Comparison of pin wear - tapers off from middle of pin outwards (old shifter left, new shifter right)

Now remount the new shifter stick through the black mount and pop back into the white ball joint cup (mine was still in really good condition so didn't need replacing just a bit of a clean up).

Next take the sliding bevel tool and set it 85 degrees as stated in the Porsche maintenance manual

Remount the shifter stick assembly back in the car using the two bolts, star washers & washers so that it's just loose enough so that you can slide the black mount towards and away from the dash. Add a little grease to the stick pin then re-attach the transfer rod not forgetting the spring washer first and the circlip last. Then make sure the stick is in neutral.

Now take the sliding bevel tool and rest it flat across the metal lip that the rubber boot would attach to. Now slide the shifter stick mount until the stick lines up as best you can with the 85 degrees of the sliding bevel making sure the stick is still in neutral. Now tighten up the two bolts fully.

Finally reattach the rubber and leather gaiters not forgetting the securing clip and all is done.

Here's a couple of videos to demonstrate the before and after play in the shifter pin.

Before.....

And after....

FURTHER READING

Before deciding to write this tutorial I stumbled upon some other useful information and some work-around's that other other 944 owners have used.

One alternative suggests using a small piece of metal cut from a soft drinks can as a small shim, this is then wrapped around the shifter pin to reduce the play and then inserted back into the shifter bar. Several wraps may be required depending how worn the pin is. Might also be advisable to use metal from a steel can rather than aluminium as it should be harder wearing.

A second alternative actually involves modifying the shifter pin of a new lever and then using the bushes from a Porsche 968 after some drilling of the shifter pin hole in the transfer bar. A full write-up and pictures can be found on the Porsche Club GB forum (you will need to register with the forum to view the thread)

A third alternative uses bushes found in a Porsche 924 with a G31 transaxle.

How to fit a short shift kit to a Porsche 944

THE WHY?

It has to be said that the 944 doesn't have the lightest gear shift you'll ever come across. So it makes sense to keep this part working as efficiently as possible. There are several ways this can be achieved. The first and by far the simplest is to make sure the transmission oil has been refreshed (A  job that only takes an hour, but can make your drive feel 100 times better). The second and third options involve replacing the shifter mechanism at either the gear stick end or the transmission end. Over time you'll find that wear and tear take their toll and the shift will not be as precise or as smooth as it should.

Since I had the transmission off the car and had noticed quite a bit of play in the plastic ball joint on the linkage I decided to replace it with and after market short shift kit.


THE TASK

This job is far easier if the transmission is off the car, however it is still do-able with it still attached. You'll need:

Socket set and/or ring spanners
Short shift kit (Bought mine off ebay, but you can also buy a really nice one from here)
Hammer

and maybe....

Hex rod and two rose joints (see foot of post)
Hacksaw (see foot of post)
Thread tapping set (see foot of post)



THE HOW TO

(Amateur mechanic Job Time approx: 1.5 hours (off the car) or 2+ hours (on the car)

Firstly identify the original shifter linkage and support arm attached to the gear box. If your transmission is still attached to the car the linkage sits on top of the transmission. You'll also need to slide back the rubber boot and undo the bolt that connects the linkage to the shift rod that runs through the car before you can continue.

Now remove the black rubber boot completely by sliding it off the linkage rod (you'll need to re-attach this to the new linkage later).

Next undo the nut and bolt at the top of the linkage where it joins the support arm. At this point the bolt on mine sheered as it was so old and rusted. If the same happens to you then you can either buy a replacement from Porsche or make you're own alternative support arm using some hex-rod and a couple of rose joints (See end of post for details on this).

Assuming you've not had problems undoing this nut and bolt you can then proceed to remove the small bolt that fastens the linkage to the shifting stub on the side of the transmission (Note: the flat side of the shifting stub that the bolt presses against). Having removed the bolt a small tap to the side of the linkage with a hammer should remove it from the stub and the transmission completely leaving only the support arm attached to the transmission at one end.

Here is a photo of the new linkage (left) beside the old one (right).

Installation of the new short shift linkage is the reversal of removal, taking care to line up the flat side of the shift stub as you slide on the linkage and do up the bolt. Then reconnect the support arm to the linkage and finally slide the rubber boot back on.

Here's what the finished article should look like.

Now for those of you that are interested in the support arm (The orange rod in the picture above). Having researched the short shift kit on the web before I attempted this modification there are several manufacturers all offering roughly the same piece of kit at varying prices. Some of the short shift kits come with a support arm similar to the one I made and some (like the one I went for) just make you use the original arm (and had the bolt not sheered then I would have reused the arm).

To make the arm you will need to source a length of hex-tube / hex-rod. In the UK this is easier said than done as most hardware stores don't stock it. Fortunately because I have been going Karting since the age of sixteen I happen to know that hex rods are used as the steering track arms on these vehicles. So a quick search on ebay for 'Kart track rods' brings up a number of results right away and at some very reasonable prices. The good news about buying them off ebay is that they usually come with the rose joints already attached at either end. If they don't then you'll need 1 x 8mm Left Hand Thread rose joint & 1 x 8mm Right Hand Thread rose joint (They are also known as 'track rod ends').

If you've bought your Kart track rod then you'll instantly notice that it has an 8mm thread cut into it at each end, one will be a left handed thread and the other will be right handed (Right handed threads are standard on virtually every screw you've ever come across). We need to make the rod shorter which means cutting off one of the ends. Leave the left hand threaded rose joint attached to the track rod and measure it up against the original support arm. Mark the length and use a hacksaw to cut off the standard right hand threaded end (we don't need this bit). You will now be left with left handed threaded length  and will need to re-tap an 8mm right hand thread into the sawn end. Once this is done attach the right handed rose joint and you'll have an adjustable support arm. By simply using a spanner to turn the rod you'll notice it'll pull the rose joints inwards and by turning the other way it will push them outwards.

Simply attach it in place of the original support arm using a couple of 8mm Allen bolts and some washers as shown in the photo above (Using Allen bolts instead of normal hexagonal bolts allows the rose joints to move more freely).