Welcome ALL

This is my first write up on anything really, so don’t bash me if I forgot anything.

Ok well this is the cheap EBay FD3s Short Shifter, the price of these things is great

Shifter – 25.00
Shipping – 13.00
Tax – None < Thank good for the Internet
Total – 38.00


Ok,
Here we have the short shifter, basically right out of the box, the only thing I did was replace that “CHEAP” grease that they used with a Castrol HD Grease.








Good now that we have a good idea of what the product looks like and the construction of it, we can start with the removal of the stock shifter.

First remove the center console with shifter boot, this is just snapped into there, just carefully remove it and disconnect a few electrical lines.



Just to compare the stock shifter to the new short shifter, here are some measurements.

3rd Gear

4th Gear

 

Next remove the 4 – 10mm nuts that hole the grommets and cover plate. You should be at this point.


Next remove the 4 – 12mm bolts that hold the shifter and the old base to the trans. It may not want to come off easily, so you will have to either pry it up with a flat head screw driver or the easy way just push the shifter to the left or right all the way until the base pops off the trans. The reason why it is stuck is do to the sealant used on the base. You should be at this point now.


Now that we have both shifter out we can compare them even more





Now it is time to install the new shifter

Use a small amount of sealant to the base of the new shifter, and then place the new shifter on the Trans.
Install the Hex head bolts that are provided with the kit. These bolts are longer than the stock ones. The bolt on the top passenger side is a little hard to get to, you may want to get a prey bar to move the trans over to the driver side just to get the bolt in the hole.
Now you should be at this point.



Now the most famous words ever in the automotive industry,
“Installation is the reversal of removal” Not I wouldn’t stop here

Replace the cover plate and the rubber commits. Thus we come to the ONLY down side of the whole shifter that I have found.



Now lets see what the distance is of a shift




Now just snap back into place the center console and reinstall your shifter ****.



I have all ready went for a test drive, OMG this thing is really stiff and the shifts are pretty short, I would go as far is saying it is ˝ of the stock one.


I hope to like this write up, like I said this is my first on ever so I think I got most of it.

I personally love this shifter so far and see no difference than the other 100+ short shifters.

 

it looks liek that little stick of a shft would bend under too much force how does it feel to you in integrity wise

 

have you had any other shifters before? or have you driven an fd with one? it doesnt look too bad looks like a b and m replica!

 

You found a dime!!!


Nice write up, however what is the recommended amount of oil around the mechanism in the tranny? While you're in there, you might as well top that off... I know in my fb it was above the "cup" slightly.

 

Yea i drove a Fd with the RE short Shifter, the one that just replaces the shifter top part only. This one seams the same but it a little more solded.

 

Well this oil is supplyed from the Trans gear lube, so when there is hard acceleration the oil will make its way up. Well this is what i have been told.

Yep the Cost of this is now 37.90

 

Tell us how that shifter feels months from now. Another member said his started rattling like hell after a little while of use. Let us know hows yours is.

 

does it make a wierd whinning noise like alot of other short shifters?

 

I have had in there for about a week and everthing is still great, I have no nosie from it, And it is very solid.

 

Great write up, it's an A+ in my book. Keep us informed on how it holds up under normal use. That shift **** looks massive btw.

 

had mine for 2+ years still the same as first day i got it

 

I have had a few people ask about witch one on ebay it was, here is the one i bought http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=250042591231

I got a discount on the shipping for buying something before with them.

 

Mine makes a noise. But it goes away after driving it for a while. But since i bought a new short shifter, i got the noise again.

I kinda like the noise. I have no radio currently and when im decelerating in gear, like when approaching a turn, it makes my car sound like a race car. lol Idk, hard to explain but i like it.

 

[QUOTE=Rx7_Nut13B]Well this oil is supplyed from the Trans gear lube, so when there is hard acceleration the oil will make its way up. Well this is what i have been told.

Not true. Completely separate compartments. You have to top it up when you have the shifter out.
Also, it's a good time to replace that worn out shifter boot (pretty good price from Ray at Malloy Mazda) and you need to improvise some way to seal it to the new, much thinner shaft of the shifter. Also (yikes!) I didn't see the plastic bushing that fits on the (transmission) end of the shifter on either your old or new shifter. This is a critical piece of the mechanism! (maybe I just missed it?) Good write up. . .also, spell checker if you have it!

 

Those don't come with and can't fit the plastic cap on that bottom end ball of the shifter lever. I have mine machined down and used a metal one. No rattles but sold it and replaced with a RE-A version. You might be able to sand it down with a dremal but a machine shop could do it in 5 min and shouldn't charge you much. The metal cap is what $10 or $15 and the plastic is $5 or $10. I never had a rattle problem. Nice idea on changing the grease, never thought of it.

 

The one I bought off ebay, granted it was like 2 years ago, the plastic bushing fit just fine.

 

me too

 

I pulled the Plastic tip off before i took that picture, There is one on there now

 

used stock plastic tip

 

bump for the new people