Hey man! How are you? Well, heres the situation. I just recieved the short throw shift kit and as I recall, you put one in your car. I was just wondering if you followed the instructions or used an easier way? Thanks man!

 

I pretty much followed the directions. You may need to run a round file inside the holes very very lightly. Mine would not slip over without doing this. There was a slight burr left from manufacturing that made the diameter of the hole juuuust too small.

 

so, you just jacked the car up and did it?

 

Yes sir. :) I needed a slight linkage adjustment afterwards, but you may not.

 

You forgot to mention that to adjust the shifter, you need a piece of flat stock .100" thick x .650" wide and more than 1 1/4" long (I used 4" with a lip on the end); and that to insert this "neutral lock" in the shifter, you have to remove the side cover for the tunnel...Which on my '86 means the glovebox, the shiftknob & reverse lockout, the console cover, the radio/AC fascia, the DigiDash fascia, and the frozen seat...

I ended up using a holesaw on the side cover so I don't have to remove all this bullpoopie every time...

BTW: That info in the manual about lining it up with a drillbit is pure BS... :bs

...The plates aren't drilled...

 

So, should I just have a shop do it for me? How much would you think it would run?

 

I didn't do this. One person held the shifter in place as the other one adjusted.:)

 

...Ummm...SOTP mechanics... :smash: :p:

You'd be surprised how much better you can get it with a little work... ;)

 

LOL.... I'll trust dad and his bajillion years of experience.

 

...I may have *trained* your dad!!!... :D

Lessee...You're 21; if your dad was with me in 9th MTB back in '69 - '71, then...Hey, your mom's name isn't Cindy, is it???... :crazy:

 

You dirty rotten.......!!!! :D Dad was born in 56. :)

 

...I was in 1st grade in '56... :cry

 

Grampy!! :D

 

...Ugh!...

I notice in your post above you say you had to touch up one of the short-shift links with a file??? I have the link kit from MAD; it's nicely hardened...I don't think a file would do too much good on it...

...And I *know* a file won't make a mark on the OEM shifter...That booger is *hard*!... :D

 

Wups, sorry for the I-wish-I-was-18-again BS...And I'm not Scorp, but since neither of us has access to his dad, here goes...

You *have* to do it yourself, or it won't be done right...(say that every time you think about taking it to a shop)...

They haven't made the shifter alignment tool for years; no mechanic left on Earth has one; so they'll just BS you and say they did it...

Make the tool yourself, use an old barn door hinge if need be, take the console/fascia/digidash fascia/trans tunnel side panel apart, put it in Neutral, find the slot on the bottom of the shifter body, and insert your tool...

Now, go under the car, loosen the nuts on either side of one of the shifter rods. Snug up each nut on either side of the link blocks until it is resting in the "detent" with no pressure either way. Repeat for each rod. Remove tool. Replace console/fascias/side panel.

The rationale: The shifter has no self-centering mechanism, the trans does ("detents"). The shifter must be locked in Neutral to align the notches in the 4 plates (3 for 1-2, 3-4, and R; plus one static plate). Then the rods can be adjusted so that they position the shifter plate notches in line when they are in their respective "detents".

As I said above, I cut a hole in the side panel so I can align mine without tearing it apart; your choice...I expect to have to do this many times...

 

Yep, had to hit the inner wall very lightly. It was the kit from Ecklers.