In taking the stock **** off I thought I was turning the ****...but nope I turned the leather right off the plastic thing...talk about a stuck **** So I'm gonna have to hack saw the mo'fo off.
When you installed your short shifter did you have to remove the cat? I'm installing a b&m shifter.

 

It's much easier to do the install if you remove the cat. It's pretty cramped up there to remove the bolts that hold the shifter.

 

Installed it last week. I didn't take off the cat, but I definitley recommend taking it off. Yah I took an electric hand saw to my stock **** a while ago, still have rubber shavings in between my seats. Once you get the cat off it will be pretty easy. It's well worth it, and it gets better with time. It was a lil stiff last week, but now its awesome. Good luck.

 

WOW!!! You guys are all so destructive

I just wrapped a rag around the shifter and clamped a monkey wrench around the **** and gave it a smooth gentle turn...no problem at all. Previously I tried it by hand and because of the glue, I just couldn't turn the **** if my life depeneded on it. So, instead of ruining your shifter and ****, try the monkey wrench or vise-grip first.

 

Good luck. Great choice on shifter by the way.

 

It's very possible to do without removing the cat, so if you cant get the bolts off just you can still do it. I'd recomend completely removing the heatshield though.

 

Thanks guys for the help...oh and the monkey wrench idea....tried that still didnt work...I'm telling you they have this thing on here with some super duper duper glue

 

glad I read this post! was gonna try to do it this weekend!!!! any idea on how much to have this prof. done? I've done everything to this pt but i can't affor to f this up!

 

I also used a hairdryer to heat up the glue. It was a GXE rubber ****, after getting it off I promptly fell sick for a week. Got to miss a week of school, all b/c of that damn ****. Ok maybe it wasn't the ****, but it definitley added to my suffering.

 

Does anyone know what type of grease is used to lube the ball? I am thinking of taking my STS off and filling the ball down.

 

I use jerkins.

 

Just got done re-doing my Pacesetter today and the results were fantastic. Thanks to those who said it could be done with the cat left intact (no heatshield) because it was very doable.

Reason for the re-do? Since I installed the STS about a year and a half ago, it has gone from notchy as hell to downright something being wrong! At first I thought it was the tranny but everything checked out. My main goal was to lengthen the throw to 1 cm of threading above the ball. My other goal was to torque the main bolt that secures the linkage to the shifter rod LESS -- I torqued the hell out of it last time and read later that that is bad and unnecessary. In the end, it was tight enough to be secure AND the bolt was freely turnable by hand.

Well in 1 1/2 years, that main bolt also had gotten might rusty and also contributed to the stiffness--took me almost an hour to get that bolt out even after the nut was removed! I used the wire brush Dremel tool to de-rust it and then Li grease upon replacment. FOr the ball, I used Teflon trailer hitch grease. Also used in key areas was anti-seize.

RESULT: VERY near stock ease of shifting. About 3-4x less than how it was before (my arm would often get sore!). I am so happy I could cry!!!

 

What can I use to file down the ball? BTW I do not have a dremel tool.

 

So its doable with a the cat left in, but no heatshield eh?

-Ben

 

There was an "upper" heat/dust/crap shield I had to remove. Maybe he meant a "lower" heat shield for the cat??

Here's a pic of my work-in-progress. I just disconnected my cat from b-pipe.



The Tonka truck is supporting the y-pipe/cat.

 

Yes. I had nixed the heatshield a while ago because I had previously had the Pacesetter on the lowest setting so it was already gone. The lower CAT heatshield rusted off long ago. On either side of the cat, there is just enough room to maneuver. Had to use two socket sets though.

Don't get me wrong, removing one end of the cat will save you some time but getting off those rusted bolts may not be easy. More than likely, you may have to cut them off and replace them. You should also replace the gasket if you do that.

Also, if you do leave the cat in, make sure you lift the front end really high to give yourself as much body room as possible.

BTW, if any of you don't have a Dremel, GET ONE! I use it all the time for various odds and ends jobs. I have the corded version but I sure do wish I had the cordless one.