[owdlvr]

Okay, here is my initial Pelican Parts Post. This is posted in full so that you can understand where i was at with my trans:

Originally Posted by owdlvr

First time post on Pelican parts, so a bit of background. I'm actually a Type-1 (Beetle) guy, currently installing a Porsche 901 transmission into my beetle. The trans I have is from a '68 911, the code on the bottom is 901/1, and there is 224715 lightly stamped in the bottom as well. I have done a search, and read as many of the 901 rebuild threads as I can find on here...plenty of questions were answered. Unfortunately, I searched too late!

In the Volkswagen world, the Porsche 901 swap is relatively well documented, and there are light tear-down threads showing nosecone replacement, flipping 914 diff, etc. Based on these threads I assumed removing the nosecone would be a relative straight forward procedure. I somewhat confirmed this when I read a tech-article on the first and reverse gear R&R in-car on a 914.

Initially, this is as far as I was able to get:


The nose cone would not slide up any further, which I now suspect was due to corrosion on the shift selector. I could feel the shift selector moving and hitting something deep in the transmission, and not wanting to damage anything hit the web for some searches. Once I removed the shift guide from the side I was able to manipulate the shift rod up high enough that I could hold it with one hand while working the nose cone off with the other.

And here is where I'm at now:



Problem #1
I've knocked the shift rod off/out of whichever detent it was sitting on inside the transmission. I have no idea what gear the transmission is in, or where the shift selector piece should sitting. (part number 11 in the diagram below). How do I make sure I put this in the right spot?



Problem #2
When removing the nosecone, I unfortunately also had the intermediate plate slide up off the transmission case. I anticipate the paper gaskets have been compromised, so I've ordered a gasket set. I've read up enough to know that I need to measure the thickness and match the new gaskets correctly. But this does mean I'm going to need to teardown the transmission more then I was anticipating. I'm a little confused on what exactly I will need to do here, since I'm not planning on rebuilding any parts.

The tear-down and rebuild threads all talk about locking the transmission into two gears, and removing (or loosening) the pinion-shaft stretch bolt using a deep 30mm socket. What I can't tell, is whether or not this is a required step to remove the gear stack and intermediate plate, or whether this is done because it's easier to loosen the bolt with the gear stack in the transmission. If one is simply looking to replace the paper gaskets between intermediate plate and case, what are steps required to remove the gear stack?

When replacing the gear-stack and intermediate plate into the transmission case, do I need to have a particular gear selected? I seem to think you have to have it in a particular gear for the set to "click in"…but I might be thinking Audi Transmissions.

From another thread:


From this I gather neutral, but I'm confused about the shift rod…does it come out/in with the gear stack, or does it stay in the transmission case. Based on the fact that all the shift forks come out with the intermediate plate/gear cluster I would have thought the shift rod does too.

Some notes
- I am fully aware that this is the ideal time to rebuild the transmission. At the moment, its not in the budget. I have a beetle completely disassembled to the shell and we all know these go waaaay past the planned budget!
- For now I will re-seal this transmission and install it into the pan, so I can pickup my painted body. A full rebuild is down the road, once the finances recover.

Bottom Line
Some basic disassembly and reassembly directions so that I can replace the gaskets would be great. I already have the nose cone, side cover/shift support, reverse switch and rod removed. I have no idea what gear is selected and don't want to make any mistakes moving forward!

Are the paper gaskets installed dry, or with a light coating of aviation gasket sealant?

Thanks in Advance!

-Dave

I posted this the next day:

Originally Posted by owdlvr

...no time to wait.

Full details once I get this all figured out, but should someone be reading this thread in the future...it's quite simple. In order to pull the gear stack out it doesn't matter what gear the transmission is in, and that 30mm stretch bolt doesn't need to be undone. I did have issues with the shift selector rod causing the assembly to bind on the way out, but I just slid the unit out half way, manipulated the shift rod and then popped the whole thing out.

Found some fun surprises...will post photos later.

-Dave

And then finally this:

Originally Posted by owdlvr

Thank you for the offer Andy, but I managed to get it apart, resealed and back together. There were certainly a few tricks though.



For starters, I suspect there is an ideal gear to have selected when one goes to dismantle the transmission. Mine was in an unknown gear with the main shift rod dislodged. Once I pulled the gear cluster out halfway, I was able to move the shift rod around enough to pop the whole unit out of the transmission.

Reassembly is fairly straight forward. I followed another thread which said to put the transmission in neutral. It was a relatively easy job getting the gear stack in, and I was pretty sure I checked the main shift rod before moving forward. What I should have done, however, was also check each of the other shift rods to ensure they were still in neutral. Either while sliding the gear stack in, or while putting the nose cone on, I managed to select reverse gear on the transmission. The main shift rod was not in the correct spot though so once it was all buttoned up I had reverse, or a locked up transmission when selecting 'any gear'. I realized I was getting two gears at once, and popped off the side cover/support. From there I could see reverse was selected but the main shift rod wasn't in the right spot. Took a bit of finesse, but I managed to get it shifted back into neutral and sorted without cracking open the transmission again.

My gear stack checked out about as well as I expected. The first gear syncro teeth are in poor shape, which I expected from reading so many threads about the 901. Fifth gear is worn as well, but the others look relatively good. The pinion gear looked quite good so I wasn't going to bother pulling the diff. Instead I figured I'd do a quick check through the input shaft hole. As I was rotating the diff around one of these two pieces came into view...(battery for scale)



That would be the remains of an input shaft seal. Apparently at some point in this transmission's life someone drove an old seal into the transmission instead of removing it properly. It also explains the metal fragments I found on the drain plug!

It's back together, for now. I can use it to modify my pan to fit and then I'll decide whether or not I want to do a full rebuild on it. I will probably run it as-is for a bit, so I can see how I like the gear ratios with my engine. If I'm going to do a rebuild I might as well make sure it's got the gearset I want in it.

-Dave

The original post can be found here: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/640066-901-teardown-help-needed.html


I hope that helps!

-Dave