Post by White87GT on Jun 28, 2004 22:30:31 GMT -5
Removing the shifter mechanism from the car is easy. All you need to do is remove the 4 securing nuts. I belive they require a 12mm socket to remove. Once you get the 4 of them off then you need a pair of needle nose pliers and remove the clip from the linkage on the left. That’s one is the easy one. Now the one on the right you kind of have to lift the whole shifter mechanism up and unclip the linkage from the shifter mechanism.
Note: Before removing the second (right) linkage measure the clearance from the bottom of the linkage to the chassis of the car. Write this measurement down. Once you do that then you can take the whole mechanism out of the car and head to the work bench. Dismantle the unit (remove the top metal cover and disconnect spring and everything should start coming apart). Now you just have the shifter arm. Now be sure to remove the plastic bushings on either ends of the fork (you don't want them to melt when welding).
Now the shifter arm is ready to be worked on. Now first things first, you want to push the ball up ¾” (but double check this with your clearance that you measured earlier). I did this mod a year and a half ago so the exact # slips my mind but it is important. If it’s too long your shifter won’t fit in your car and if it’s too short then you don’t get the most out of it. But from what I can remember a ¾” will work fine. Doing this reduces the throw of your shifting.
Now once the ball is pushed up there will be some material between the ball and the piece of plastic that holds up the boot (yes it is plastic so keep that in mind when welding). Now you want to remove 1” of material between the ball and the plastic piece (or as much as you can, I belive I removed one inch). Once you do that then you can begin welding the two pieces back together. This will reduce the height of the shift knob.
Note: The first time I got it welded I got it welded at the same angle as the original shifter, I put the shifter back in the car and it was angled too far back. So I had to take it out and get it rewelded again. I’d recommend welding it so that it is near vertical or there is less than 5 degree tilt in the same direction as the OEM shifter. This made for a lot better feel and kept the shifter in the right location.
Posted at Celica.net by Conrad_Turbo
Note: Before removing the second (right) linkage measure the clearance from the bottom of the linkage to the chassis of the car. Write this measurement down. Once you do that then you can take the whole mechanism out of the car and head to the work bench. Dismantle the unit (remove the top metal cover and disconnect spring and everything should start coming apart). Now you just have the shifter arm. Now be sure to remove the plastic bushings on either ends of the fork (you don't want them to melt when welding).
Now the shifter arm is ready to be worked on. Now first things first, you want to push the ball up ¾” (but double check this with your clearance that you measured earlier). I did this mod a year and a half ago so the exact # slips my mind but it is important. If it’s too long your shifter won’t fit in your car and if it’s too short then you don’t get the most out of it. But from what I can remember a ¾” will work fine. Doing this reduces the throw of your shifting.
Now once the ball is pushed up there will be some material between the ball and the piece of plastic that holds up the boot (yes it is plastic so keep that in mind when welding). Now you want to remove 1” of material between the ball and the plastic piece (or as much as you can, I belive I removed one inch). Once you do that then you can begin welding the two pieces back together. This will reduce the height of the shift knob.
Note: The first time I got it welded I got it welded at the same angle as the original shifter, I put the shifter back in the car and it was angled too far back. So I had to take it out and get it rewelded again. I’d recommend welding it so that it is near vertical or there is less than 5 degree tilt in the same direction as the OEM shifter. This made for a lot better feel and kept the shifter in the right location.
Posted at Celica.net by Conrad_Turbo
