Hey guys. a while back i shortened up my shifter. i just cut a section and welded it. ive had it in for quite some time now and works good. although, now im thinking i want it shorter, so i cut another 1 1/4" out. but while i was doing that, i got the ideat to put the piece i cut out in between the ball and the botton of the shifter for a shorter throw. im not exactly sure how much is too long to to make it shorter throw. is 1 1/4" to much to add?

anyways, heres some pics of what ive done so far. im waitin on some input before i start welding

Shifter all Chopped Up.

 

Oh and heres some pics of my current throw.

3rd Gear


Neutral


4th Gear



I dunno iut just seems like it has such a long throw...

 

I chopped the top part of my shifter. I'm pretty happy with it. I havn't lengthened the bottom yet because i think it'll hit the cat. Or have some complication with the rods being too low. I would raise the shifter housing if any of that becomes a problem.

But it looks about right what you have there.

 

Here is my pacesetter sts with about 1"1/4 cut off of it...

 

sweet that what i was hoping to hear lol. thanks ill give it a whirl. if it doesnt work, ill just cut n weld again. thanks again.

 

adding some metal onto the bottom is essentially all the pacesetter is doing as is most others. i was going to measure the pacesetter before i sold it so that i could eventually do the same but i forgot to.

when you do lower the pacesetter they recommend cutting the heat shield or bending it. i opted for beating the **** out of it and that seemed to work. i don't think it'll ever hit the cat unless you add a lot of metal to the bottom and/or get a custom exhaust that changes the location of the cat. eventually i didn't have to worry about it...

does anyone have a pacesetter sitting around that they could measure the distance of the ball to the bolt? or even a side by side picture of the sts and the stock shifter?

 

i had an adjustable one on mine. the ball was threded so i could lower or raise the throw

 

i would try what you have in the top picture it should make the throw ALOT shorter

 

Mine has the top of the shaft chopped off and uses a momo shifter with the little allen head set screw. Been that way for about 5-6 years now I guess

 

I too did the homemade short-throw with added length on the bottom. Mine is lengthened about 4.5" on the bottom (it's been awhile since I had it out...). I lengthened the bottom so much that I had to cut the heat sheild and re-weld a deep pocket into it. The base of that new pocket sits 1/4" (or less) off the top of the cat and the base of the shifter sits right above the sheild. The throws are really short and I've never had an issue with the system (knock on wood...). My friends and gf have a hard time telling when I'm in gear - they say it always looks like I'm in neutral? I'm used to it tho - so the throws still seem long to me...

Biggest things I learned while doing this mod were:

1) don't apply too much welding heat near the nylon ball or it'll melt. I welded 1/2 way around then quenched in water, then let dry and welded the other half.

2) Make SURE your shift **** is FULLY on the stock threads pointing perfectly straight b4 you weld the too sections back together.

3) Do NOT over-tighten the bolts at either end of the long rod that goes from the shifter to the trans or it'll feel VERY tight when you go to shift.

4) Make SURE your welds get good penetration or you'll be snapping the shifter at some point. (been there - done that - and it sucks)

5) If you wanna adjust the angle of the shifter (more towards the back, more upright, more towards the driver, or whatever), then install the shifter and tack the upper portion in place while it's in the car. Doing a nice weld and then putting it back in the car only to learn it's not centered or at an awkward angle isn't fun... (trust me...)

 

it great when experianced people post and admit to all the mistakes they made so you dont make them again nice job

 

here's the easy way to do it..

remove shifter...
clamp shifter in vice.
grab nylon pivot ball w/ pliers.
twist/pry/pull pivot ball up about 1-2"

reinstall in car.
easy and free.

 

Heres the finished product.

 

Nice job. How's it feel?

 

lol not sure yet im still workin on my exhaust and i havnt put the shifter back in yet

 

Mine too...Do you have a problem with them damn allen heads coming loose all the time....Seems like every month i have to go back and tighten them up again...

 

loctite

 

Roger wilco..

 

Actually no. But you're supposed to shift as if it were an egg. ie.. shift fast and soft. No F & F gear banging son.

 

Thats the way i here in da sticks son....

We need a redneck smilie....

 

i would love to do this to mnye.. i dont have the tools to weld it. whats my options , cut the top off and get a shift know that has a screw in it????

how much should i cut it??????

 

well you could do that and get a **** with a screw in it... oooorrr, you do what Matt93se said and take a pair of vice grips and something to pad the vice grips and just twist and move the ball.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...8&postcount=12

 

Hmmmm... it'll just slide that? There's nothing really locking it in place?

 

see the two little nubs on the steel shaft in the above pics?
( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...te_Shifter.jpg )

there's a couple of those under the plastic. I've been able to move the ball on several shifters, but I cracked it on one guy's... ops:

 

In that case, wouldn't it be better to heat the shaft until the nylon starts to melt a little, then slide the ball, then allow it to cool? That way the nylon on the inside of the ball would re-form around those tabs - allowing it to 'bite' onto something again? Or if you push it clear past those tabs it'll help it slide.

Thinking out loud here - but you could even put a couple welds where you wanted the ball to end-up. Heat the shaft, slide the ball off it's original tabs and onto the new ones, then allow it to cool?

 

Hey guys update on the STS it looks great and its and its a whole 1 3/4" shorter throw. Its real hard to shift( dont have any fluid in the tranny from axle replacement ) but well see how it does once i figoure out my tranny leak.
Heres some pics

3rd Gear at 7.5"


Neutral at 8.5"


And 4th Gear at 9.75"

 

If it is real hard to shift then you probably tightened the bottom bolt to tight....[the bolt that attaches to the linkage bar to the tranny].

I did the same thing when i did the sts swap...

 

please, just keep it real. the only reason to shorten that sucker is for looks. a measly .5 inches isn't going to help you beat an acura tl.

 

i know it wont help me beat a tl or anything, i like the shorter throw feeling and i like it looking shorter cuz i chopped the top some too.

 

I think I cut the shifter somewhere around 1997 or 1998, the stock leather shift **** is now living in an XTerra.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/galler...51001/IMG_6920

- Matt

 

 

awesome, thanks man!

 

hey whats is up i have a quesions for the people who have done this, i was reading about someone who just cut off the top of his shifter and just put a different shifter on it, does this work? is it this simple?
aZn DaN

 

it can be this simple... but those shifters suck because the little screws come loose all the time. it would be better to cut off the top, then rethread the top

 

alright thanks man, it hinky our first person who ahs acually responded to a question that i have put on this site, but what if you made grooves or a whoel int he middle and jsut ran like a nail/screw threw it to hole it on? do you think that would work, i know my friend did that with his honda and it seems to work, a little wobbely attimes, also how short cani cut it before it is anoyingly short,like inches?
azn dan

 

Words like that lock up threads. We're trying to NOT do ghetto work.

 

well thanks alot, your so much help, ghetto work, if it works then it doesn't matter how pretty it or how its done, use to have a sonata all my work was done by myself and i don;t know if you would call it professional but ha i was still the first sonata (3rd gen) in nother america to be turbo charged, so yeah, way to answe questions
azn dan

 

Huh?

The screws you speak of are the same as the stock ones.

 

Sure Thing
azn tim