Help with MGW Shifter Issues
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 38,314
Likes: 35
When I was using the prior version of the MGW shifter in my Z06, and with the Z06 shifter box, I had a lot of noise with the stock ****.
I put RTV inside the ****, tried everything, still a good bit of noise.
Used both the Race and Gripper ***** from MGW and still had more noise than I was comfortable with.
Going to a weighted, or heavy shift **** cured most of it, except when the shifter was cold.
When the shifter was cold, I would get a tad of rattle, even with the heavy ****.
I put a bit of RTV inside the heavy **** and a bit of packing foam as well, and that quieted it a little more.
Enter the base C6 shift box, and the new MGW shifter which is described in my thread referenced in another post above by oldmansan.
Using this combination, I was able to run the stock ****, with extremely minimal to no noise.
Using the heavy **** with this combination, eliminated noise entirely.
In this case, I would recommend a heavy **** as you already have the newest version of the MGW and the car is a base C6, so it already has the rubber grommet shift box.
Myself, and a few other people here, use the A6 Leopard shift ****, but there are others out there.
You have seen the pics of mine, and here is one from a recent install by GottVett which has the shift pattern etched into it.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...y-install.html
The good thing about the Leopard, is that it weighs in at 485 grams (1.07 pounds). It is solid billet steel, and not much vibration and noise is going to come up through a solid steel **** with that kind of mass.
Furthermore, it's heft assists in shifting as once you get it started in the direction of your shift, the weight of it tends to help carry it the rest of the way.
There are other heavy *****, again, billet steel, and of differing styles, which are even heavier than the Leopard.
Good luck.
I put RTV inside the ****, tried everything, still a good bit of noise.
Used both the Race and Gripper ***** from MGW and still had more noise than I was comfortable with.
Going to a weighted, or heavy shift **** cured most of it, except when the shifter was cold.
When the shifter was cold, I would get a tad of rattle, even with the heavy ****.
I put a bit of RTV inside the heavy **** and a bit of packing foam as well, and that quieted it a little more.
Enter the base C6 shift box, and the new MGW shifter which is described in my thread referenced in another post above by oldmansan.
Using this combination, I was able to run the stock ****, with extremely minimal to no noise.
Using the heavy **** with this combination, eliminated noise entirely.
In this case, I would recommend a heavy **** as you already have the newest version of the MGW and the car is a base C6, so it already has the rubber grommet shift box.
Myself, and a few other people here, use the A6 Leopard shift ****, but there are others out there.
You have seen the pics of mine, and here is one from a recent install by GottVett which has the shift pattern etched into it.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...y-install.html
The good thing about the Leopard, is that it weighs in at 485 grams (1.07 pounds). It is solid billet steel, and not much vibration and noise is going to come up through a solid steel **** with that kind of mass.
Furthermore, it's heft assists in shifting as once you get it started in the direction of your shift, the weight of it tends to help carry it the rest of the way.
There are other heavy *****, again, billet steel, and of differing styles, which are even heavier than the Leopard.
Good luck.
Last edited by '06 Quicksilver Z06; Jan 2, 2010 at 02:14 AM.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 397
Likes: 1
From: Mountain Top pa
There's a different shaft for threaded ***** (non stock *****). You may want to look into your install as I haven't read of one C6 making noise with the MGW shifter that wasn't related to the stock ****. Typically when the **** is removed from the equation the shifter is silent. I'd love to hear from anyone with a C6 that has had a similar experience to yours.
San
San
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,359
Likes: 6
From: Los Alamitos California
St. Jude Donor '09
just put my c6 in storage after christmas, and just before christmas i installed the mgw with a very, very tight fitting ball shifter from nakidparts. big rattle on hard acceleration. after i get the car out from hibernation i will run it without the shifter ball, but really find it hard to believe the ball is making the noise. we'll see...
San
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 38,314
Likes: 35
just put my c6 in storage after christmas, and just before christmas i installed the mgw with a very, very tight fitting ball shifter from nakidparts. big rattle on hard acceleration. after i get the car out from hibernation i will run it without the shifter ball, but really find it hard to believe the ball is making the noise. we'll see...
First off, and this is just my own experience and "classification system" I would use to classify my issues with a noisy aftermarket shifter, there are two different issues.
1. Shifter buzz. Shifter buzz sounds like "cicadas in summer". You can hear it through the shift **** when your hand is on it or around it or even in cases where your had may even be off it.
2. Shifter rattle, is just what it says. Upon hard acceleration, you can actually see the shifter move, hear it knock, see it vibrate. The knocking can get worse on hard acceleration. It diminishes in the higher gears and is more pronounced on hard acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear.
Shifter buzz is very annoying. Usually happens with cheap, plastic, hollow or near hollow ***** such as the stock ****.
It is usually inaudible when the **** is removed. However, if you drive with the **** off, and shape your hand into a funnel and put it at or near the top of the shifter shaft, you will hear the buzzing again.
The shifter shaft acts almost like a tuning fork and transmits sounds, vibrations, up into your cupped hand or into the cheap shfter ****. As mentioned before, it sounds like locusts or cicadas.
A heavier, more dense ****, which will tend to mute fine vibration coming up through the shaft, can be used in an effort cure shifter buzz.
Shifter rattle OTOH is more difficult to manage. A knocking, clacking, sound with visable vibration of the shifter upon hard acceleration in the lower gears. A heavy **** helps with this, but by itself, probably won't completely eliminate it. This is why I asked you how heavy the **** you are using is. If it is one of these lightweight *****, it's not going to dampen the vibration coming up through the linkage and into the shifter shaft.
When the prior MGW shifter came out, one way of attempting to manage it, was by using a different sized ball at the bottom of the shifter which fits into the slot in the linkage rod. Or the ball kit.
Not every one of those slots is the same size in all cars. The stock shifter, has a plactic cup over the ball. This fits into the slot and dampens vibration coming up and through the linkage.
The shifter came with one sized ball and they would send you, if you had the problem, two additional ones, one slightly larger and one slightly smaller than the one which came with the shifter.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568341292
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568621857
This seemed to work for some who had shifter rattle. I had shifter buzz, and could elicit shifter rattle, when cold and under hard throttle, when I had the old version of the shifter.
It's sounding like you have shifter rattle, and may have shifter buzz too.
At any rate, give George a call, and he should be able to help you.
Last edited by '06 Quicksilver Z06; Jan 2, 2010 at 04:36 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,712
Likes: 3
From: TEXOMA
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
we have this very same issue with rx7's, take the rattling short throw shifter out and put it in another car exactly the same, and it wouldn't rattlle at all, luckly, the company knew this and advertised that iff you didn't like the rattle you could return it.
some claimed to cure it was to pack the ball area with HEAVY axle greese. sometimes it worked, others didn't
Maybe MGW has the same policy.
me, if i see the shifter moving during wot runs, its obvious that the driveline is moving. try some poly engine mounts, then maybe the poly trans ones, then the poly control arm ones, i think PFadT makes all them.. dunno.
-carl
some claimed to cure it was to pack the ball area with HEAVY axle greese. sometimes it worked, others didn't
Maybe MGW has the same policy.
me, if i see the shifter moving during wot runs, its obvious that the driveline is moving. try some poly engine mounts, then maybe the poly trans ones, then the poly control arm ones, i think PFadT makes all them.. dunno.
-carl
Racer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 397
Likes: 1
From: Mountain Top pa
Couple of things. How heavy is the shift **** you are using?
First off, and this is just my own experience and "classification system" I would use to classify my issues with a noisy aftermarket shifter, there are two different issues.
1. Shifter buzz. Shifter buzz sounds like "cicadas in summer". You can hear it through the shift **** when your hand is on it or around it or even in cases where your had may even be off it.
2. Shifter rattle, is just what it says. Upon hard acceleration, you can actually see the shifter move, hear it knock, see it vibrate. The knocking can get worse on hard acceleration. It diminishes in the higher gears and is more pronounced on hard acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear.
Shifter buzz is very annoying. Usually happens with cheap, plastic, hollow or near hollow ***** such as the stock ****.
It is usually inaudible when the **** is removed. However, if you drive with the **** off, and shape your hand into a funnel and put it at or near the top of the shifter shaft, you will hear the buzzing again.
The shifter shaft acts almost like a tuning fork and transmits sounds, vibrations, up into your cupped hand or into the cheap shfter ****. As mentioned before, it sounds like locusts or cicadas.
A heavier, more dense ****, which will tend to mute fine vibration coming up through the shaft, can be used in an effort cure shifter buzz.
Shifter rattle OTOH is more difficult to manage. A knocking, clacking, sound with visable vibration of the shifter upon hard acceleration in the lower gears. A heavy **** helps with this, but by itself, probably won't completely eliminate it. This is why I asked you how heavy the **** you are using is. If it is one of these lightweight *****, it's not going to dampen the vibration coming up through the linkage and into the shifter shaft.
When the prior MGW shifter came out, one way of attempting to manage it, was by using a different sized ball at the bottom of the shifter which fits into the slot in the linkage rod. Or the ball kit.
Not every one of those slots is the same size in all cars. The stock shifter, has a plactic cup over the ball. This fits into the slot and dampens vibration coming up and through the linkage.
The shifter came with one sized ball and they would send you, if you had the problem, two additional ones, one slightly larger and one slightly smaller than the one which came with the shifter.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568341292
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568621857
This seemed to work for some who had shifter rattle. I had shifter buzz, and could elicit shifter rattle, when cold and under hard throttle, when I had the old version of the shifter.
It's sounding like you have shifter rattle, and may have shifter buzz too.
At any rate, give George a call, and he should be able to help you.
First off, and this is just my own experience and "classification system" I would use to classify my issues with a noisy aftermarket shifter, there are two different issues.
1. Shifter buzz. Shifter buzz sounds like "cicadas in summer". You can hear it through the shift **** when your hand is on it or around it or even in cases where your had may even be off it.
2. Shifter rattle, is just what it says. Upon hard acceleration, you can actually see the shifter move, hear it knock, see it vibrate. The knocking can get worse on hard acceleration. It diminishes in the higher gears and is more pronounced on hard acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear.
Shifter buzz is very annoying. Usually happens with cheap, plastic, hollow or near hollow ***** such as the stock ****.
It is usually inaudible when the **** is removed. However, if you drive with the **** off, and shape your hand into a funnel and put it at or near the top of the shifter shaft, you will hear the buzzing again.
The shifter shaft acts almost like a tuning fork and transmits sounds, vibrations, up into your cupped hand or into the cheap shfter ****. As mentioned before, it sounds like locusts or cicadas.
A heavier, more dense ****, which will tend to mute fine vibration coming up through the shaft, can be used in an effort cure shifter buzz.
Shifter rattle OTOH is more difficult to manage. A knocking, clacking, sound with visable vibration of the shifter upon hard acceleration in the lower gears. A heavy **** helps with this, but by itself, probably won't completely eliminate it. This is why I asked you how heavy the **** you are using is. If it is one of these lightweight *****, it's not going to dampen the vibration coming up through the linkage and into the shifter shaft.
When the prior MGW shifter came out, one way of attempting to manage it, was by using a different sized ball at the bottom of the shifter which fits into the slot in the linkage rod. Or the ball kit.
Not every one of those slots is the same size in all cars. The stock shifter, has a plactic cup over the ball. This fits into the slot and dampens vibration coming up and through the linkage.
The shifter came with one sized ball and they would send you, if you had the problem, two additional ones, one slightly larger and one slightly smaller than the one which came with the shifter.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568341292
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...post1568621857
This seemed to work for some who had shifter rattle. I had shifter buzz, and could elicit shifter rattle, when cold and under hard throttle, when I had the old version of the shifter.
It's sounding like you have shifter rattle, and may have shifter buzz too.
At any rate, give George a call, and he should be able to help you.
Thanks for the info. definitiley shifter rattle, based on your definitions above. once the weather gets a little better here in NE Pa, i will run the car with and without the ball, and if the problem is the shifter, see if George can provide the different size ball.
thanks again
