Experiment with eBay short shifter didn’t go well.
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Experiment with eBay short shifter didn’t go well.
So I wanted to take some of the slop out of the stock, 100k mile shifter on my C2S. I’d read mixed reviews on some of the other forums and decided to give it a shot. Honestly, the shifter looked great, bearings, derlin ends, annodizing, very smooth action with zero slop. And at the price its quite a bargain. I bought it a few months back and finally got some time in the garage.
You have to hack apart the old shifter to install the new, billet peice. Once everything was taken apart I reaized that the derlin bearing ends couldn’t be pushed in far enough to get both c-clips on. It’s maybe a milimeter or two off. Second, one of the nuts on the main pivot bearing makes contact with the stock shifter housing so their may be interference getting into 5th and 6th. And last, there’s no place to put the factory alignment tool on the shift lever - it doesn’t fit. So basicaly, you’d have to guess at adjustment with the cables which can make these things shift realy poorly.
With my stock shift box taken apart and unable to repair I just ordered a factory SSK from Suncoast and the car will have to wait until I get it to go back together.
You have to hack apart the old shifter to install the new, billet peice. Once everything was taken apart I reaized that the derlin bearing ends couldn’t be pushed in far enough to get both c-clips on. It’s maybe a milimeter or two off. Second, one of the nuts on the main pivot bearing makes contact with the stock shifter housing so their may be interference getting into 5th and 6th. And last, there’s no place to put the factory alignment tool on the shift lever - it doesn’t fit. So basicaly, you’d have to guess at adjustment with the cables which can make these things shift realy poorly.
With my stock shift box taken apart and unable to repair I just ordered a factory SSK from Suncoast and the car will have to wait until I get it to go back together.
Last edited by spessx; 04-28-2024 at 12:22 AM.
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jchapura (04-28-2024)
#2
Bummer to hear, I hope your new shifter gets there quickly. Thanks for sharing.
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spessx (04-28-2024)
#4
Rennlist Member
Function First is a great Short-Shift kit - Had it in previous 997 C4S and in current 997 C4.
Great look and feel.
Good luck with the install when parts show up.
Great look and feel.
Good luck with the install when parts show up.
#6
Rennlist Member
#7
Rennlist Member
And last, there’s no place to put the factory alignment tool on the shift lever - it doesn’t fit. So basicaly, you’d have to guess at adjustment with the cables which can make these things shift realy poorly.
Second, one of the nuts on the main pivot bearing makes contact with the stock shifter housing so their may be interference getting into 5th and 6th.
And the delrin can be trimmed. FWIW - not defending shoddy workmanship, but I think your issues are resolvable if you're reasonably handy and accept that the $50 ebay shifter even with 30 min of modification is a good deal than the several hundred for the factory one. But I realize some people just want factory fit from the start.
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preelude (04-29-2024)
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#8
Nordschleife Master
He also told me that the B&M throw is slightly shorter than the factory short shift kit. Did some research on it and from what I could find it looked like he was right.
#9
Rennlist Member
Slightly off topic but what should I pay for a OEM 997 short shifter mechanism with about 65k miles? Any idea?
#10
I have this shifter and also installed it for a couple of friends, it has shorter throws and a nice solid feel. The bushings have an adjustable stop that may be preventing you from getting them all the way in, also if there is too much grease inside it will prevent the shifter from sliding all the way into the bushing. One thing to note is that all 3 shifters had to be disassembled and the shaft flipped 180 degrees, for some reason they are oriented wrong from the factory.
Last edited by preelude; 04-30-2024 at 11:20 AM.
#11
Instructor
Thread Starter
I have this shifter and also installed it for a couple of friends, it has shorter throws and a nice solid feel. The bushings have an adjustable stop that may be preventing you from getting them all the way in, also if there is too much grease inside it will prevent the shifter from sliding all the way into the bushing. One thing to note is that all 3 shifters had to be disassembled and the shaft flipped 180 degrees, for some reason they are oriented wrong from the factory.
The derlin bushings were all the way seated. Maybe if I had drilled them out a little it could have worked but there would have been no way to get them smooth again.
#12
Rennlist Member
I have this shifter and also installed it for a couple of friends, it has shorter throws and a nice solid feel. The bushings have an adjustable stop that may be preventing you from getting them all the way in, also if there is too much grease inside it will prevent the shifter from sliding all the way into the bushing. One thing to note is that all 3 shifters had to be disassembled and the shaft flipped 180 degrees, for some reason they are oriented wrong from the factory.
Had to flip mine as well, if you don’t it’s severely canted towards the driver.
Also as long as you mark the cables, they should go back in without the need of the alignment tool.
Havent had an issue with mine, everyone who drives my car comments on the great shifter feel.
This is what it look liked pre-flip.
And after flip:
Last edited by ATX_Native; 04-30-2024 at 01:45 PM.
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preelude (05-08-2024)
#13
Instructor
Thread Starter
^ this.
Had to flip mine as well, if you don’t it’s severely canted towards the driver.
Also as long as you mark the cables, they should go back in without the need of the alignment tool.
Havent had an issue with mine, everyone who drives my car comments on the great shifter feel.
This is what it look liked pre-flip.
And after flip:
Had to flip mine as well, if you don’t it’s severely canted towards the driver.
Also as long as you mark the cables, they should go back in without the need of the alignment tool.
Havent had an issue with mine, everyone who drives my car comments on the great shifter feel.
This is what it look liked pre-flip.
And after flip:
Love the steering wheel in your car. I was considering upgrading to either the 997 sport wheel or a later model. Is that from a 991?
#14
Burning Brakes
Technically, that’s less of a cable adjustment tool, and more of a shift lever placement tool.
A car with 100k miles on it will have a worn shifter mechanism, worn shifter cables, tired engine mounts, a tired transmission mount, and a worn gearbox, so the factory jig isn’t a lot of use for setting/adjusting the shift cables, but it does provide what the factory consider the optimal placement of the shift lever itself.
As others have said, the best way to set the shift cables adjustment, is by trial and error, and the results are nearly always better than relying on the shift lever alignment tool. And I concur that shifting the cable adjusters as little as 1-2 notches can make a massive difference to shift quality (including when cold).
And a footnote, the material is Delrin, not Derlin
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preelude (05-08-2024)
#15
Rennlist Member
Deleted the MF buttons and deblinged the entire steering wheel.
Used Nissan KR2 Paint as it matches the cluster trim and painted new blank inserts on the spokes.
IMO the 991.2 look out of place as-is inside our 997’s because of the bling difference.
Car is for sale, if I don’t get any movement in the next 30-60 days I am going to return to stock and start parting things.
If that happens I can let you know since you’re local.