today i had my B&M short throw shifter install. Install went faily smooth B&M instruction suck. We had to remove the Cat and heat shield and install the short shifter from under the car. Basically the short shifter is very tight and while i can go into all gears it requires alot of effort. did i do something wrong during installation. it's really stiff in gear and i kinda don't like it. any tips as to what may have gone wrong would be greatly appreciated. third gear is especially hard to get into.

i also added redline MT90 gear oil today.

 

sounds normal to me. Mine was like that for the first 2 weeks, then it started to get really soft and smooth. 5 months later it feels awesome really smooth, and I don't think is so short any more.
For the first to weeks I wanted to take that thing out and just go back to stock, but I was really lazy, and now I see it was worth it

 

yeah that is what my friend who help me basically said. he thinks i needs to be broken in. Its just so stiff and it will take a little getting used to i was also just re reading the instructions and it said some thing about centering the sport shifter base plate on the change extension and i don't remember if it was perfectly centered. in any even as long as nothing can be damaged i will take a look at it another day and maybe see if somethings need to be adjusted.
thanks for the info.

 

I had the same concern when I put mine in about 2 weeks ago. The next evening I took the shift support rod right off the car and used a socket that just fit through the hole to verify that the shifter was perfectly centred. I re-installed it and found no real improvement.
After 2 weeks, I am a lot more used to it. You have to remember that the shifter is a lever. When you move the fulcrum to shorten your shifting distance, the force you apply must increase in order to move the shifter rod the same amount. (ie you are still performing the same amount of work, but in a shorter distance, so the force must increase)

 

Makes sense i just wanted to see if this is what it normally feels like. don't get me wrong i do love the shorter throws but it does require more effort than the stock shifter(alot more). there is no binding issues and it does go into gear every time. i was just a little worried if i have installed the shifter wrond that i could in some way harm the tranny. i love my tranny and would never want to harm it (lol). well off to work let me see how this thing threats me in an hour of stop and go traffic.

 

I noticed a little more effort was needed but it wasn't anything outrageous. I didn't change my MT fluid till about 30k miles later.

A thing to remember...it may seem as though it requires more effort now but with more driving you will get used to it.

 

thanks for the info as long as i can't cause direct damage to the tranny because of the short shifter i will get used to it. 1st>2nd shift is pretty good. 2nd>3rd requires a bit more effort and 4th>5th is pretty good.

 

Mine is wierd.. Like it makes a noize when i shift (I can hear it if i have the car off) or if i bang on my shifter with my fist it goes boom.. like its hitting something... wierd.

 

I had a prelude before my max, and the shifter and clutch on that is really stiff compared to the max. when i drove the max for the first time, it felt like i was gonna break the shifter! Then i hopped in my prelude like 3 months later and i was all discombobulated. Point is, you'll get used to the different shifter. I actually prefer a stiffer one, shifts more smoothly for me.

 

same here as everyone, it gets smoother the longer you have it. it helps also if during the install you put some high temp grease in the bushing. some redline mt-90 makes a big difference also.

machinehead, what year 'lude? i got an 88 and its really really different feel, its like im learning to drive all over again.

 

i did put in redline mt90. which bushing should i grease the spherical bushing or the bushing that connects to the shift linkage. i kind hate this thing alot

 

bump i wanna hear other impressions of this thing

 

the shift linkage bushing, also if its that bad do you think you may have overtightened that bolt?(where the shifter and the linkage meet), i hated mine when i first got it too it was pretty damn tight, give it a couple weeks it will loosen up, but it will be a good month before it gets really smooth and easy

 

ok but for now i hate it (ALOT) and i am surd my tranny doesn't like it either
i don't hear any grinding but i get worried i may bend something or damage my scyncros

 

92. i miss that car got a max cuz it wouldnt turn into a huge money pit. If i got another lude or a 240sx, i'd blow all my money on em and then i'd have to drop out of school

 

i am going to grease it and see if that improves anything. is regular li grease ok

 

i would use a high temp lithium grease b/c its over the cat.

 

i used to hate my shifter when i first got it. But now i love it.. next to the ghetto sound it makes sometimes. Im driving my dads maxima arround (5 speed too) since my car is in the body shop, hit in run.... And it feels so wierd shifting into 4th, i have to kinda flick my wrist! Im like STS ALL THE WAY!