Short shifter's finally in

So I got my short shifter in finally. The only reason I didnt put it in any sooner was because I havent been driving for 30 days due to that arrest a while back. Anyways, I put it in, and I totally forgot to grease it with lithium grease, how much trouble is that going to get me into in the next couple of days? Will I be fine for a few days or should I rip it apart and grease in like right now?

Originally posted by 91lxdreamer
So I got my short shifter in finally. The only reason I didnt put it in any sooner was because I havent been driving for 30 days due to that arrest a while back. Anyways, I put it in, and I totally forgot to grease it with lithium grease, how much trouble is that going to get me into in the next couple of days? Will I be fine for a few days or should I rip it apart and grease in like right now?

You will be fine for a few days.

I think you're supposed to lube them up every year or so also...

Thanks Mike, I was getting worried that no one was going to respond to me on that one...lol. Oh well, I moved on to my next project anyways, I'm installing my reverse gauges right now...but thank you, I'll grease it up tomorrow since its my day off.

i dropped mine in with no grease...it worked fine...was a little tight though...took 3 or 4 days to loosen up, but it'll get there :bigthumb:

I just installed an APC Short Throw Shifter in my '91 hatchback today. Right off the bat I ran into problems getting the console off. The two center screws got stuck, and ended up getting totally stripped, couldn't even turn them with vice grips, I ended up cutting a slot in the plastic next to each screw so I could slide the console off.

I couldn't figure out what the repair manual meant when it said to remove the circlip, so I got under the car and took off the two bolts holding it on and dropped the shifter lever down through the car. However one of the nuts was so rusted on the bolt that I sheared the bolt. Installed the new one, secured it with different bolts, and finally called it a day... oh wait, by then it had gotten dark out. I guess luck just wasn't on my side today. :banghead:

The short throw shifter feels great! I used to have so much play in my old shifter that I could make it look like I was in any gear in any other gear. I'm so glad I found this forum! :biggrin:

I didn't use any grease, do you think that I need to? Also I ripped the rubber part that goes between the ball pivot and where it attaches to the shift rod, it doesn't make a nice seal around the shift lever, I'm hoping that's not going to be a problem...

I just installed an APC Short Throw Shifter in my '91 hatchback today. Right off the bat I ran into problems getting the console off. The two center screws got stuck, and ended up getting totally stripped, couldn't even turn them with vice grips, I ended up cutting a slot in the plastic next to each screw so I could slide the console off.

I couldn't figure out what the repair manual meant when it said to remove the circlip, so I got under the car and took off the two bolts holding it on and dropped the shifter lever down through the car. However one of the nuts was so rusted on the bolt that I sheared the bolt. Installed the new one, secured it with different bolts, and finally called it a day... oh wait, by then it had gotten dark out. I guess luck just wasn't on my side today. :banghead:

The short throw shifter feels great! I used to have so much play in my old shifter that I could make it look like I was in any gear in any other gear. I'm so glad I found this forum! :biggrin:

I didn't use any grease, do you think that I need to? Also I ripped the rubber part that goes between the ball pivot and where it attaches to the shift rod, it doesn't make a nice seal around the shift lever, I'm hoping that's not going to be a problem...

i have the same play in my lever .... how did you remove it ?

I didn't use any grease, do you think that I need to? Also I ripped the rubber part that goes between the ball pivot and where it attaches to the shift rod, it doesn't make a nice seal around the shift lever, I'm hoping that's not going to be a problem...

I ripped the same boot...i bought a new boot from www.hondaautomotiveparts.com - They are the cheapest place I've found for OEM Honda parts.

Since you have a ripped boot and no grease, you may run into problems sooner rather than later....but who knows??? U may want to try a can of spray lithium grease (Lowe's, Home Depot, & prolly auto parts stores etc..) that will be a little easier to work with than regular grease, and since it has a propellant, you may be able to get it up in cracks and hard to reach places without removing the shifter.

Good Luck :)

Was ur install smooth?
No brain storming? :banghead:

i have the same play in my lever .... how did you remove it ?

The excessive amount of play was with my old stock shifter lever. after installing the short throw shifter lever, the excessive play is gone. I removed the stock shifter by taking off my shift knob, then taking off my center console, and then removing the two dust boots. Then I went under the car and removed the through bolt holding the shift lever to the shift rod. Then from underneath I removed the two nuts that hold the shift lever in place, and the whole shift lever fell through out the bottom of my car. I ended up breaking a bolt when I did this, so I replaced both with other bolts. It was a weird bolt, almost flush and kinda oval shaped and it had a square that fit into a square hole. I had to hold it w/ vice grips as I used a ratchet underneath, and then it just snapped.

Once I installed the new shifter it's tight as a bitch! :naughty:

i have the same play in my lever .... how did you remove it ?
If you asking how to get rid of the play, you can get new shifter stabalizer bushings which help out a bit. I did that and it was better but still not great. I later put a short shifter on and the problem is completely gone.

Since you have a ripped boot and no grease, you may run into problems sooner rather than later....but who knows??? U may want to try a can of spray lithium grease (Lowe's, Home Depot, & prolly auto parts stores etc..) that will be a little easier to work with than regular grease, and since it has a propellant, you may be able to get it up in cracks and hard to reach places without removing the shifter.

Good Luck :)

Thanks! I'll check it out, I noticed that my shift lever got much warmer than my old one, I don't know if it's because it's billet aluminum, and/or because it's longer and thus closer to my exhaust. (heat shield removed because it rattled) I had to use the two brass spacers supplied with the shifter around the bearings so it fit into the shift rod. It was a very tight fit with the brass rings, and I couldn't put the crushed rubber o-rings that were around the old shift rod back on. (the second brass ring wouldn't fit if I tried to put an o-ring on) Should I worry about this? Also do I need to be careful not to overtighten this? I made it snug, but I don't want to create unnecessary friction. I'm planning on replacing the rubber boot, and using some lithium grease on the ball joint.

Would anyone know where to get a replacement for the bolt that I broke, or will any bolts do?

I ripped the same boot...i bought a new boot from www.hondaautomotiveparts.com - They are the cheapest place I've found for OEM Honda parts.

Do you remember the part number? I tried searching for dust seal, but I get too many results, There were at least three dust seals that were in the shift assembly, two above and one below. My Haynes repair manual only has the exploded view of an 84-87.

How tight was ya'lls before it loosened up? I just put mine on and it is rediculously stiff moving from front to back, eg 1st or 2nd gear, but side to side it is fine. im gonna go back and see if i overtighened the that goes into the linkage.

How tight was ya'lls before it loosened up? I just put mine on and it is rediculously stiff moving from front to back, eg 1st or 2nd gear, but side to side it is fine. im gonna go back and see if i overtighened the that goes into the linkage.

Mine didn't seem excessively tight, but I took off the shift lever, and replaced the ripped dust boot that I ripped, and used white lithium grease on the ball joint and now it's much smoother. Also, the reason it was getting so hot was because the shift rod was touching a remnant of my heat shield when I put it into 5th gear. I clipped that piece off and now it's fine. Grease = Smooth.

I fiured out what my problem was - i had overtightened the linkage bolt at the bottom of the shifter. smooth as silk now