I was wondering if anyone has installed this shifter themselfs or has had it installed if they have any feedback to the difficulty of the install or how much they paid. I have brought this shifter to 2 different places and once they get it on the lift none of them will touch the project. I am looking for a place in CT near guilford/madison/clinton, or the meriden area that will install this for about 100 dollars. Any information on this mod would be appriciated because i am heading back to school soon and would like to get this install done.

thanks
eric

 

Yeah its no big deal. You can do it two ways. Easiest is to jack up the car and take the cat and ypipe hanger off. Then it is easy to access the plate that mounts the stock shifter. Then there are two bolts on top as well to make a total of 4. Once the plate is removed you need to remove the bolt that holds the control rod onto the stock shifter. Should be easy to see how to take the other out and then once this is all done, follow the directions on how to assemble the B&M and bolt that on to the control rod and then put the shift pivot plate(the thing that the shifter goes through) on the stabilizer rod. The put the shifter up through that and bolt everything in. Then bolt the plate to seal your car from underneath and reassemble the exaust system.

Hope that helps a little. If you take your time it is easy to figure out.

 

is it really that easy, these places keep on telling me that it requires transmission work?

 

nEVER GO BACK THERE AGAIN

 

yeah what kind of moronic places did you go to. the only hard part of this install is to take off the bolts from the cat, those are usually rusted pretty badly.

 

Ahhh just rip them off and buy some new ones at home depot. and maybe bed bath and beyond but i dont know if there will be enough time.

 

It's not that hard. I did mine this past weekend. It took me a little longer b/c I couldn't get off my exhaust bolts so I just took off the heat shield and worked around it. It also helped a lot to have a good set tools and universal joints to get in at any angle. It took me a little over 2 hours to complete the job. Just follow the directions that come with it....they explain how to do it pretty well. And no you do not require any transmission work to put this in.

 

nice quote..

thanks for the response, i really did want to do this mod myself but time has become and issue, i work from sunup past sun down pretty much everyday and i leave for school soon so the time to install this myself is very slim. Although i did finally find a shop that would take on the mission and i assured them that there is no transmission work. I understand how this install works and should go, but its kinda scary how alot of these mechanics don't. I am really pumped to finally be able to get this in because im tired of throwing my elbow out when shifting into third. also how much lower does this sit then stock, the throw of the shift is more important to me but it would be nice to have it lower.

 

Well i have never had a stock shifter but have driven them. From my experience it seems to be 1" lower than stock but the throw is considerably shorter. It is very noticable in the even gears because the stick only pulls back to perpendicular instead of hanging back towards your cup holder. It takes a little getting used to but it is a very fun drive.

 

i did it. took me long cause i had to take the whole thing apart and redo it twice cause i didnt adjust the pacesetter to where iwanted it. its pretty cake. hardest part was trying to line the shifter up to put the nuts back on after i installed it. dont do this alone! have someone hold it from the front seats while you minipulate it. if your cat bolts are rusted too badly, u may have to take it to a shop to get them taken off, or try to work around the cat. i dont know how hard that is.

 

Go for it! Don't be afraid to tear your car apart. Its worth the feeling of a job well done at the end of the day.

 

There these the same Cat bolts you remove when you're installing the Y pipe?

 

Yeah plus two more cause your gonna want to take the cat all the way off. Also dont forget you have to remove the head shielding as well.

 

Cool I can get my Y pipe and my shifter done at the same time

 

Yeah ypipe is pretty easy except for one tough bolt on the rear header.

 

I've had both the Pacesetter and B&M short shifters and neither are currently in my car. Why? They suck. Sure, the throws are shorter, but the position and notchiness of the shifter are crap. If you want short throws get it, but if you want quicker 1/4 mile shifting, forget about it. The lack of leverage makes it very hard to quickly grab a gear without feeling like you're working against the tranny. The cut stock shifter is perfect for my shifting.

As for install, it's a simple and it has nothing to do with reminvg/working on the tranny.


Dave

 

i disagree about the b&m. I think that it makes the car feel like a whole different car. It reminds my friend who restores cars of a 60s muscle car. Also if you enjoy putting some force behind your shifts instead of flicking it into gear. Also maybe you didnt like it because of the feel from what tranny oil you used. Have you tried amsoil?

 

You're right, it does make it feel like a different car IMO, the shifter didn't match the feel of the Maxima. The steering, brakes, clutch, gas pedal, and cut stock shifter all have a similiar smooth and firm yet light feel. The B&M/Pacesetter shifters feel completely out of place because they're so notchy. I didn't like the shift feel of the B&M because it was so hard to get into gear. I also didn't like the fact that ripping thru the gears required a lot of concentration or else you'll get hung up on the gates. When I'm driving, I want to be concrentrating on the road, not whether or not I can grab a WOT 2-3 upshift without missing. The position of the shifter was also very uncomfortable for my build (tall/slim 6' 2"). It was both too low and way too far forward. The B&M was a HUGE disappoint in my book. It looked damn nice and felt solid, but that was it. I've never used any other than the recommended oils for the manual tranny because using the wrong kind of gear oil will eat away at the bronze syncros and ultimately lead to problems.


Dave

 

Well i finally got it installed. I understand what you are saying about the totally different feel that does not match the maxima. Although, i kinda like it, its something new.. not saying it won't get old but for now it adds a new feel and a new look. The only problem i have now is the rubber seal that goes around the shifter is off. The place i brought it to said they were unable to get it back on and i am not getting any help from them.. thats how all the car places around me are until you give them a credit card. I tried putting it back on myself however i can not get it to fit all the way back into the houseing it is in. I am trying to come up with some ideas i can use to seal it back together, maybe glue/RTV/or double stick. Right now the cabin of my car is developing a smell and the shift boot is getting hot, im gona figure something out tho. Overall i would say it is a cool mod, and i am going to take pictures this weekend so people can see exactly how it sits, because it does sit very differently.

 

So dave, you saying that amsoil might be bad? I might switch oils again pretty soon here and i was wondering what you use.

Thanks,
Justin

 

I don't know if Amsoil is bad or not. I know that you definately shouldn't use Redline though. If the Amsoil has the factory gear oil rating (GL-5 70/90??? can't remember) then you'll be fine.


Dave

 

i personally hate the to easy shifting of the stock shifter.it felt to light and somewhat cheap and flimsy for my taste. when in neutral the shifter had to much loose play. the pacesetter feels firmer, tighter and more sporty. almost no play wheni n neutral. yes the throws take about a day or 2 to get used to,but now shifting is cake, no missed gears, no grinding. give you arm a little time to adjsut to it and im sure you'll enjoy the new feel. and why is everyone say its notchy..i dont notice any notchiness.

 

I agree with you 100% dave...Maxima has a refined feel, and the notchiness is junk....How much did you cut your stock shifter? i wanna do the same but dont want to cut too short...

 

I cut my shifter 1.5" and then I've got a solid aluminum shift **** that sits pretty low. The throws are about 3" now and I can shift with my elbow resting on the armrest. I can shift much quicker with the cut shifter vs the B&M/Pacesetter shifters I had simply because I know exactly where each gear is.


Dave