my shifter rattles.

[bnyce2u]

i just installed b&m short shifter on my teg..
after awhile my shifter start to rattle a lil..
does anyone know why?

[knorwj]

might be touching exhaust or exhaust shielding

[b18 ls]

most aluminum short shifters rattle a little. I would say it's best to custom your stock shifter.

[knorwj]

actually if you are talking about chopping off the end of the stock shifter to make it a "short" shifter thats one of the worst things you can do.

An after market "short" shifter is not just shorter, in many cases it may not even be shorter. What is shorter however is the the throw distance. this is acheived by changing the bend in the shifter, and changing location of the ball where the shifter is going through the console.

the more important area is what goes on under the car. the reason most short shifters have install problems such as what this guy is experienceing is because when the ball is moved it makes the shifter linkage hookup lower (hence shorter throw) therefore barely touching the exhaust causing a vibration. I haven't known anyone who has installed one and hasn;t had it hit at least his exhaust heat sheild. All I did on my gs-r was get two slightly longer exhaust hangers for the area by the shifter. This dropped my exhaust about 1/4" lower letting the shifter hang free without vibration.

Anyway just cutting the top off is not shortening the throw, therfore doing nothing.

[svang8]

it will always rattle because of your catyalic converter heat sheild..if you try taking those metall heat shied off from your cat. it might not rattle anymore..

[b18 ls]

Originally Posted by knorwj

actually if you are talking about chopping off the end of the stock shifter to make it a "short" shifter thats one of the worst things you can do.

1. Chopping off the top end of a shifter does almost nothing. It will slightly shorten the distance your arm travels when shifting, but the adjustment made should be on the bottom of the shifter. This is where you will get the best results from.

2. Costom shifters are better in my opinion because it can be made for the drivers comfort. I.E. you could have the stick fabricated to lean toward the driver's side at all times as well as having a shorter throw.

3. Most aftermarket short shifters still sit at the same height as the stock one. This will shorten the throw, but provides no added comfort to the driver, whereas a costom one can be made to fit your personal needs. (smaller stick, shorter throw, bend left or right, ect...)

PS. If you choose to have your stock shifter fabricated, ensure your welder knows what he is doing. Example, if you want the hieght shortened, you still wouldn't cut the top off, you would have a section right above the ball taken out. This way your shift boot still falls in the same place and you can screw a shift knob off and on still......fISH

[95RSV]

i had the same problem but it wasn't b/c of the short shifter it was my tranny mount. Jack the car up and check your tranny mounts to see if there loose.

[genkichild]

I had the same problem, with my shorty. I found the rattle was in the linkage, cause the new lower position wasn't quite right. I fixed it by snugging up the gap with some nylon bushings. Now it fits tight and shifts great.
BTW, taking off the heat shield on the cat/exhaust can free up some space, but it could make your shifter REAL hot, depending how low it drops. And if you have a metal shift knob, that heat will go right into you.

[knorwj]

Originally Posted by genkichild

BTW, taking off the heat shield on the cat/exhaust can free up some space, but it could make your shifter REAL hot, depending how low it drops. And if you have a metal shift knob, that heat will go right into you.

haha it doesn't get hot hot just very warm! I have driven over 6 hours straight with it and while it does get warm it won't burn you or anything. (comes in handy in the winter) Last year I used to freeze my hand off trying to shift but now the knob warms up to about room temp in like 3-4 minutes.






B18LS~ thank god you weren't talking about chopping up the shifter haha, you have no idea how many noobs we get in here asking why their homemade short shifter that their boy cut down for them doesn't seem to do anything . (or at least used to get... haven't seen one in awhile)

[genkichild]

Good idea using the shifter to heat your car, Knorwj. I gues the answer is that we should all choose the length of our shifters based on the climate we drive in. Or maybe just take off the heat shields when we put on the snow tires.

[knorwj]

I didn't mean to heat the car, all I was saying was that in 0 degree weather a steel shift knob is not comfortable for obvious reasons. even with the air temp in the car warm the knob is still going to feel like ice everytime you shift. Now I don't notice how cold the knob is anymore. It doesn't feel hot just "normal" know what I mean? knda like if I didn't know any better I would be oblivious.


honestly though you won't notice it getting hot for hours, and even when you do notice it, it still will not be hot, just feel warmer than it should, but thats only after a couple of hours of driving (summer or winter)