Okay, so I've got the B&M short shifter and I'm ready to instal, but after I took the shifter boot off, and the ruber boot to the stock shifter, there is 4 12 mm bolts that need to be taken out, Well three were no problem, the fourth located in the drivers side closest to the engine is partially under the FRAME!!! What the hell??? How the hell am I supposed to get that out??? The trany won't budge tried moving left and right, up and down it doesn't matter. Even tried jacking up the car, front or back, nothing moves it enough to get a wrench in there to take out the bolt. Any Ideas???

 

bump

 

I used a open end 12mm wrench. you'll never get it with a socket. both of the front bolts are tough to get to. the allens are easy for the install. Just use the wrench to get it loode then use your fingers to remove the bolt.

Jim in PA

 

this is going alot easier said than done. still trying but getting nowhere.

 

thats what u get for buying an american product for a japanese car. u shoulda went with a mazdaspeed one, much better. but neways, good luck if you want to keep on tryin

 

I used a long screwdriver and had a friend pry the tranny forward until the bolt would come out. Then again when putting it back in. Getting the bolt to thread in was a real pain!

Teddy

 

Well its cheaper, a shorter throw and replaces more then the POS Mazdaspeed one. The Mazda Trix or any of the other ones that did not replaces the base would have been fine.
It wasn't B&M's fault that the Trany didn't line up right.

 

Thats the method we ended up using, throwing a craftsman and pushing it a little to the side.
Question, can that mess anything up??? Could just be the shifter, but when the car is in Netural it makes a huming or rattling sound, when the clutch is put in it goes away. WTF???
Hope me and Mike didn't break anything.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

LOL! WTF! How the HELL does buying a B&M shifter affect the fact that the bolt is a pain in the *** to get out?!?!?

 

well I installed mine and it wasn't too bad... just used a good ol' pair of channel locks to bend the metal out of the way that gets in the way of inserting the screws. I bent it just enough to get the beginning of the new allen screws in which i proceeded to just screw in untill it got itself around the metal that was in the way. If you still have questions feel free to ask.
Ryker
P.S. I suggest changing out the cup bushing that goes onto the new shifter (need to take mine back off to replace mine) because it makes the shifting alittle rougher. i.e. clicks into gear instead of sliding. also but some grease onto the ball before putting the bushing on.

 

Nearly EVERYONE'S short shifter rattles like that. You didn't hurt anything by moving the tranny a little bit. It slams back and forth all the time when driving.
~Tom

 

Regarding the shifter noise in nuetral, I used the dynamat suggestion from another thread and it worked very well. Applied dynamat to the top of the trans/shifter tower as well as the shifter stalk (just below where the shifter boot fits over the stalk).

Regarding the short shift kit fitment/bolt access ... can anyone post a pic of this kit? I would like to compare it to my Mazdaspeed unit which only required the removal of the easy access bolts at the shifter stalk base.

Kyle

 

pettit one was easy as shiet...10 minutes then you'll be shifting like mad YO...

 

That's kinda what I was wondering as I read the post

 

umm THIS PROBLEM IS NOT RELATED TO THE DIFFERENT BRAND OF SHORT SHIFTER YOU GET!!! Please don't give differnt brands a bad name based on a false assumption.

the bolt is under the frame because your engine mounts are bad or your PPF is broken! Usually the shifter sits dead center in the hole but if your engine mounts/ppf are bad then your whole motor/tranny is shifted and that is why it is under the frame. Just get a bar and push the tyranny so you can access the bolts.

have you tried B&M?? don't bash on it just because it is American made. I admit most american products suck but B&M is quite nice.

David

 

Pic of what came in my kit. Mine went right in but the Front bolts cannot be removed with a socket from directly above. Unless you have some sort of universal joint 1/4 drive shallow socket, which I do but could not find it for this job. I did use the craftsman 12 mm combo wrench at an angle to break the bolts loose and then removed them with my fingers. I plan to use the dynomat or simular product. The gear noise is very evident through my momo shift ****.

http://communities.msn.com/MyRX7sand...oto&PhotoID=77

 

well damn, i guess that my mazdapeed short shifter is in fact a POS. it just doesnt make any rattling noises at all, was easy as hell to install and is just as smooth as the original. to bad eh

good thing u saved some money atleast

 

My TEIN's make a little noise as well, but it doesn't bother me at all. My turbo is also loud and so is my BOV. Hmm, well if you want to stick with stuff that only does half of what everything else does and doesn't make a noise go with the Mazdaspeed and enjoy the 15% or what ever shorter throw.

 

The rattling has nothing to do with brand, it has to do with car. Just use a couple strips of dynamat and it will get rid of it.

-Matt

 

i have a question. twizted when did you get a FD ??? i have the B&M its a great unit

 

its the glassmans car. he was up here at my house and we were working on it and he jumped on my computer and didn't realize it but signed in under my name. thats why the thread is from me.

 

ohhh ok turbovr6 and i used crowbar to push the tranny sideways to get the bolts off