If there is room between the shaft and the plastic sleeve the way I rendered it would be stronger. The parts I rendered are the shift lever and a metal sleeve. Then put the plastic over that.

IE cut the shifter rod. slide the sleeve on the metal shifter shaft and weld both ends, then do whatever needs to be done to the plastic part. A hell of a lot stronger than what you did. Not saying anything wrong with the way you did it. But from my experience as a tool and die maker, the way I rendered it is better, if it will fit. Or better still, cut the rod weld it, slide on the sleeve, weld that then put the plastic back on.

 

Aside from the fact there isnt enough clearance for a metal sleeve and the plastic lockout to co-exist, i believe you'd end up sacrificing "removal" length. I do agree that the method you suggest is better....for rod welding
Isn't the metal sleeve a bit overkill for a shift rod?

 

no such thing as overkill when you weld something as far as I am concerned. And adding a sleeve is not going to change the amount you cut out. If you cut 2" off and put in a sleeve it will still be 2" shorter. A 1/2 thick piece of rod is weaker than a 5/8 thick piece of rod. Correct?

But the point is moot if there is no room for it.

 

My suggestion to you is to take your shifter assembly out and take a good look at it. I think it will answer most of your comments and questions just by looking at it. Check the bottom where i made the two cuts. One cut just above the base and another just below a dowel pin hole. The sleeve you suggested would go over the bottom stub, but there wouldn't be enough room to weld, so you'd have to move the cut up. Without getting too much into it, you'll understand why i thought 1.75" was the most you could remove without machining, drilling and re-threading. MY goal was to keep it rather simple and i set it and did it.

If you are really planning on doing this, good luck with the project. I cannot offer any more advice on hypothetical designs such as yours, only advice about how I actually did it.

As i mentioned already, I don't believe the welded rod (if welded properly) is too weak for daily driving. It is very strong and does not flex. I would think that because the shift lever is shorter now than before it no longer has the leverage it used to. Thereby reducing the potential of breaking the weld. Then again, You may power shift everywhere you go and strain the lever no matter whats welded where. If thats the case take as much off as you'd like, surely retaining the lock out doesn't matter at that point.
Please delete your post, as it dosent pertain to this thread.

 

 

how much would you be looking for the shifter modded???please PM me

 

That's my point. You DID NOT weld it properly. You heated up a piece of metal fairly quickly by welding it, then you dunked it in cold water. NOT a good idea. You are so lucky you didn't stress the crap out of it. Secondly, did you temper it? after all that stress did you put it in an oven for a little while to relieve the stress? I doubt it. I would hazard a guess that the shift rod is not mild steel. Most likely something special like thompson rod. I'm just warning others out there that this job should be done correctly.
Also do you know what the concept of a lever is? The bigger the lever the bigger an object is that can be moved. You are putting way more torque on the shorter lever to do the same amount of work the original shifter did. It takes less torque to shift with a 1 foot lever than a 6 inch lever. So your shortened lever needs more torque to do it's job, another reason to do it properly.

 

Actually what I did was spot weld the rod first to avoid heating the rod too much, as i stated earlier, i didnt want the plastic to melt. After the rod cooled a bit, i checked it to make sure it was true and straight, which it was. Then i continued with two more beads around the rod. Honestly i don't think it ever reached hot enough temp to melt the plastic. I'm not sure of the metal type. Either way, I had room temp water that I put the threaded end into. The water never touched the weld. I have had no problems with my shifter, but thank you for your concerns.

I stand by what i said concerning the lever mechanics in the car.

How's your short height shifter project going?

 

I think that's a great DIY, good job on it.

 

still trying to source a used one. New is around 400 bucks.... so could be a while

 

started on mine last night. I've decided to go a slightly different route. I am going to remake the plastic lockout piece from aluminum, so I can modify it to accept an aftermarket shift ****. I will post pics of the modified piece when it is done.

 

nice job im stuck tho, how do i get the sleeve off?

 

just an update for anyone tryin this i just finished mine and any kind of epoxy or glue on the market didnt work for me on the plastic reverse lockout sleeve so i just used fiberglass, put a good amount around it to bond the two parts together then sanded down after it was dry then painted it and is def not comin off ever

 

Nice. Always wanted to do this since the first day I drove my car. Keep us posted. I can't weld so I would need somebody to do it for me.

 

u should do it looks way better, i also dont weld i had a shop welded for me

 

Man soonerfan... Those were the days....

 

Just finished doing my shortened height shifter. Bought a spare shifter base. Cut 1.75"s off. Welded the two sections together. Make sure the pin holes are facing front and back. Also make sure you cut the plastic sleeve correct so the slots for the middle pin are lined up. I used JB weld to put the two plastic sleeves back together. Shifter is short as hell now and feels GREAT! Mind you I already did the Free STS and ES bushings. Now I just need another new ****. Was thinking of cutting the top of the plastic sleeve that goes "into" the OEM **** and just getting a Nismo **** from the dealer. I love it!

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That looks so much better and I bet it feels better too. Mine reminds me of driving my old jeep 5speed. That this is too long. I want to do this bad, just gotta get an extra shifter assembly.

 

Im doing a little research and actually going to try a 02-06 Sentra SPEC V SER 6MT or 05 Altima SER 6MT. You can buy the whole assembly from Nissan dealer for like $130. That way I can experiment. I was told its the exact same shifter just shorter. It looks like the same too...I'm going to buy one to experiment instead of cutting and welding maybe it'll be a simple swap. The SPEC Vs dont have the reverse lockout but the Altime SER 6MT do and is the same setup as ours with the shifter cables.....so I'm hoping its just a pnp mod. The Altima SER shifters may be a bit shorter than our shifters so I'll be trying that first. If not I will just cut it and weld it without having to ruin the original.