rebuild shifter vs cheap short shifter
02-09-2019, 01:43 PM
#21
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 21
Total Cats: 1
Hey Guys, I know this has probably been beaten to death, but this is my opinion on stock vs. ebay short shifters. I had a stock 91 shifter that had worn out and felt it was time to try short shifters. I bought the Megan Racing short shifter I believe for $45 at the time, which is about the same in terms of cost and quality for all ebay shifters. I installed it and have been running it for the last two years or so. The throw into gear is much shorter, and for about the 1st 8 months or so it was very smooth. However, getting into gear became more difficult and more like a task over time (very notchy). I decided to see if I could improve it, so I bought the 5X Racing brass shifter bushing and new plastic crescent, back to center insert; together costing about $40. However, these new parts do not work on the Megan Racing short shifter to my knowledge, because the brass bushing will go on the the shifter ball, but is requires a great amount of force, and the crescent insert will essentially not fit into the short shifter's spot. SO, I decided to put these new parts on the stock shifter, which fit as designed. The brass bushing is supposed to essentially allow the shifter ball to float, it does not actually grip onto it, and the insert went in with ease. HERE is the verdict, the stock shifter with the brass bushing and new crescent insert from 5X Racing improves the smoothness of the shifter and allows to go back to center, however the throw is back to stock and is farther than the short shifter. The Megan Racing short shifter does decrease the throw and feels smooth for a while, but the smoothness does not last forever. I am going to leave the stock shifter since I prefer smoothness to throw. HOWEVER, it is up to you. If you are the kind of person who wants shorter throw and can deal with the notchiness (very), then go with the ebay short shifter like I did. If you are the kind of person who likes the stock shifter and want to improve it, you just have to upgrade a few of the components; there's not a lot of cause to buy a whole rebuild kit. I hope this helps someone else even if this debate has been going on for centuries.
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02-09-2019, 11:02 PM
#22
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Portland Oregon
Posts: 78
Total Cats: 2
Hey Guys, I know this has probably been beaten to death, but this is my opinion on stock vs. ebay short shifters. I had a stock 91 shifter that had worn out and felt it was time to try short shifters. I bought the Megan Racing short shifter I believe for $45 at the time, which is about the same in terms of cost and quality for all ebay shifters. I installed it and have been running it for the last two years or so. The throw into gear is much shorter, and for about the 1st 8 months or so it was very smooth. However, getting into gear became more difficult and more like a task over time (very notchy). I decided to see if I could improve it, so I bought the 5X Racing brass shifter bushing and new plastic crescent, back to center insert; together costing about $40. However, these new parts do not work on the Megan Racing short shifter to my knowledge, because the brass bushing will go on the the shifter ball, but is requires a great amount of force, and the crescent insert will essentially not fit into the short shifter's spot. SO, I decided to put these new parts on the stock shifter, which fit as designed. The brass bushing is supposed to essentially allow the shifter ball to float, it does not actually grip onto it, and the insert went in with ease. HERE is the verdict, the stock shifter with the brass bushing and new crescent insert from 5X Racing improves the smoothness of the shifter and allows to go back to center, however the throw is back to stock and is farther than the short shifter. The Megan Racing short shifter does decrease the throw and feels smooth for a while, but the smoothness does not last forever. I am going to leave the stock shifter since I prefer smoothness to throw. HOWEVER, it is up to you. If you are the kind of person who wants shorter throw and can deal with the notchiness (very), then go with the ebay short shifter like I did. If you are the kind of person who likes the stock shifter and want to improve it, you just have to upgrade a few of the components; there's not a lot of cause to buy a whole rebuild kit. I hope this helps someone else even if this debate has been going on for centuries.
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02-17-2019, 09:51 PM
#23
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 21
Total Cats: 1
Yea, I know @dglb99,
I just remembered when changed out my shifter 2ish years ago, this thread along with others had a lot of opinions that did not pin a lot down. I was just posting my findings so that the next person that comes across this thread could use my info. Kinda like posting the answer to a problem thread; you always hope that person will come back and tell everyone else the solution.
I just remembered when changed out my shifter 2ish years ago, this thread along with others had a lot of opinions that did not pin a lot down. I was just posting my findings so that the next person that comes across this thread could use my info. Kinda like posting the answer to a problem thread; you always hope that person will come back and tell everyone else the solution.
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07-07-2019, 05:15 PM
#24
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Pomona Ca
Posts: 10
Total Cats: -7
After some time using this shifter I can honestly say I don't like it. It rattles really loud. Gets very hot. And it makes my hand sore after a drive. The idea behind it and not using bushings its great on theory but the feel of the stock shifter is just way more convenient. Ended up taking mine off and leaving it in my parts rack.
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