short shifter problems

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aphex301

Member
yesterday i went to the import shop and bought a short shifter. the guy had 2 for my car: A 100 DC short shifter and a 30 (obx?) short shifter(it came in clear plastic). I bought the 30 dollar one cause i really didnt think there was too much of a difference.

There was no problem taking the old shifter off. took the 12mm bolt off that held the bottom of the shifter with the rubber bushings, and them took off the 10mm nuts that held the other part of the (shift linkage?), im not really sure exactly what its called.

I put the new shifter in, the major difference was that the short shifter came with metal washers that let the bearing in the shifter spin(the old shifter didnt have a bearing(why?). To make a long story short, the new short shifter didn't go in. Whenever i fastened the 12mm bolt, the stick wouldnt move how it should move, it felt too hard.

I had to put the old shifter in... any ideas why my new shifter didnt fit?
 
did you put it on the right way (was the bend facing the correct way? Did it go into any gears?
 
the bend was facing towards me. I believe it was the right way.

the stick wouldnt even go back and forth into neutral. It seemed like the metal spacers/washers that fit in between the fork didnt let the stick move freely.

Another thing about the short shifter was that it hung lower than the stock one. That is, the fork(shift linkage) was hanging lower than it originally was.

Maybe the two linkages were in each others way, not allowing the stick to move? Im not really sure, this was the first time i ever put a short shifter in, and i dont know too much about how the linkages should sit.
 
SS's are worthless, I suggest to return it mang. Save your synchros
 
don't do anything to your older shifter. You aren't gaining anything from going to a short shifter, try to return the unit you bought.
 
Originally posted by JDMilan@Sep 29 2003, 04:27 PM
don't do anything to your older shifter. You aren't gaining anything from going to a short shifter, try to return the unit you bought.
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but the question is, would it hurt anything? because some people like the way a shorter shifter looks. rather then a long ass one. me personally i like the shorter look too.
 
If you really want a short shifter, get an oem del sol shiftlinkage and shifter, it is shorter than any aftermarket one anyways. You would just have to do some custom work.
 
dude, if u need a short shifter as a way of making ur shifting faster for racing, then #1 u cant shift fast at ALL and theres alot more u need to work on, or u think its "cool" when really it fucks up syncro's unless u spend the 100 bucks to get a short shifter that is weighted not to fuck anything up. with a short shifter u shift faster than the synchros can take, if u are a good shifter u can do this with the stock shifter,short shifters are just a newbies way of pretending the can shift.
 
yes it could hurt something and that would be your synchros, a sometimes common problem associated with crappy short shifters. You end up starting to grind gears in the long run and also you tend to have problems putting the car into some gears.
 
the only difference between you oe shifter and a short shifter, is the length of the shifter below the pivot point. The short shifter is longer so that you dont have to move the top end of the shift lever as far to change gears. The side to side motion will stay the same but you wont have to move forward and backward as far. The reason ppl fuck thier syncros is because they think they have to get angry at the shifter and move it as though they wish to break the dam thing. Its really all a matter of personal preferance. Ive had my shorty in for a long time and i have no tranny problems yet. Just dont force it into gears and you should be fine. If you really want to make a short shifter out of you oe shifter, make the distance from the center of the pivot "ball" about twice what it is by cutting and welding in a new piece. The ppl who cut the shift stick down, i think, take the term "short shifter" to heart and decide that the stick just needs to be shorter. This is not the case. Its best just to install a proper short shifter and try and drive it. The gears shift differently when the car is moving and ti will take some getting use to. A more expesive one isnt necessarily better, mine was 26 bucks.

Good luck
 
do you have an aftermaket shift linkage?if so that is why you cant use the ss..i have a crx/b16 and place shift linkage i got the skunk2 ss and i didnt work with my shift linkage so i had to use the stock shifter..but i cut about an inch off the top where the threads are(you just need to keep a few of the threads on there)and it works..so i put the skunk2 on my bros 92 civic and its way cool..
 
thanks canuck for the advice,
right now im waiting for the pivot cup for the shifter from honda, i found the stock one ripped while swapping the OBX ss.

i asked my mechanic if the SS will hurt my synchros, and he said said thats nothing i should worry about. the ss would not hurt them.

by next week when i get my crap from honda ill be putting the ss in again, succesfully, hopefully.

i never heard of properly weighted ss that cause problems. went i went to the shop there was the 30 OBX one i bought, and the almost the same DC ss for 100. I really think the name is what you pay for, in that case.

and to king willy, i have the stock linkage.

thankz, for the input.
 
i think my skunk2 ss fucked with my 2nd gear synchro cuz it would grind when i revved high in first and shifted to second. so i took it out and it still does it if i shift too fast. they aren't doing anything for you. and they sit about the same heighth in the car the only difference is the shift linkage sits lower. i think it's too much force on the synchros with a ss.
 
Originally posted by aphex301@Sep 29 2003, 04:00 PM
can i CUT my old shifter then? i heard of people doing that.

It doesnt hurt anything, right?
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i have a 93 gsr and i just cut my shifter to make it more comfortable when driving it.

it doesn't do anything for speed it's just comfy not to have to have your arm high up and move as far.
 
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