Transmission, Automatic

Auto Shifter Handle Repair

When I got my 928, the shifter handle was a little bit loose, and the leather a little worn
looking. I was not going to pay an over inflated price for a replacement handle that would
probably end up breaking in the same way again, so I decided to repair the one I had. The
leather cover was removed from the plastic handle. The plastic handle is two pieces that have
been glued together. I carefully split the handle into it's two halves with a sturdy utility knife.
Next I got a metal tube that was a slip fit over the shifter shaft in the car that the handle screws
to. The plastic hole in the two halves of the shifter handle were was enlarged so that the metal
tube would fit in there with the two halves positioned back together. A hole was drilled near
the end of the metal tube for the screws that hold on the handle to pass through. The tube
was glued into one half of the plastic handle with a good epoxy, and the two plastic halves
were glued back together with the epoxy. Epoxy was then used to rebuild the area of the
handle where the plastic had broken away. The entire recessed hole where the screw heads fit
into was filled with the epoxy as well. When the epoxy had all hardened, holes for the
attaching screws were countersunk for flat head screws, instead of the pan head screws
originally holding on the handle. I got a scrap piece of leather from an upholstery place for
free. The leather was cut using the old piece as a template, allowing a little bit for stretching.
The repaired handle was covered with the new leather piece, and reinstalled into the car with
flat head screws. The handle now looks absolutely like new, is so solid that it feels like it's
been welded on, and will never loosen or break again. Total cost: about $3.00 for the epoxy
and two flat head screws.

Mike Schmidt
'88 928S4 Black/Black "PORSCHE" cloth
928 Owners Club Charter Member
PCA Chicago Region