Rowing the Gears

One of the first mods I made was to install the Steeda shifter. This is the new Steeda-designed billet-aluminum model that includes a handle ("Tri-Ax") that locates the knob farther away from the dash, preventing those long reaches that make some shifters hard to live with. It's a very high-quality piece and comes with reasonably clear installation instructions.

The factory shifter is OK, but the throws are a little long and the feel could be a bit more solid. Replacing it would make shifting more precise, not to mention giving you the opportunity to protect the transmission through the use of adjustable stop bolts. These prevent the lever from extending too far and possibly causing damage -- if you're doing some spirited driving, the occasional forceful gear change is a possibility, right? By properly setting the stop bolts, you can jam those gears without fear (but please don't get too carried away -- the tranny is not indestructible).

Installation

The Steeda unit wasn't hard to put in -- the most difficult part was prying the old shifter out (the old sealant was pretty sticky). You can mount the handle at one of two positions on the lever; I chose the higher since the handle was already a good bit shorter than stock. I tried to deal with potential noise problems by sealing the hole where the lever pokes through the inner rubber boot with RTV and also squirting some RTV between the handle and lever.

On the road, the first thing I noticed was all the racket coming from the tranny. Maybe I'm more sensitive to NVH than some folks, but the ticking, whirring, and whining wasn't something I felt I could live with. Yeah, you don't really notice it with the radio cranked or the window open, but it's quite apparent otherwise. On the plus side, shifting was MUCH more solid and quick, and the handle didn't vibrate nearly as much as before (I had an intermittent vibration in fourth which the new shifter seemed to cure). Shifting effort does increase -- there isn't as much leverage as before -- but it's not like you'll get a hernia or anything. There's also a jarring effect on your hand when shifting into first and third, due to the reduced isolation. A slight adjustment in your shifting style might be necessary to prevent a case of carpal tunnel syndrome in your right wrist. ;-)

Hey! Keep it Quiet!

Back at the ranch, I tried to fix the noise problem by first swapping the Steeda handle with the stock handle, which has an integral rubber isolator that fits between it and the lever. But this left the knob too high, negating one of the benefits of the new shifter (the stock handle wouldn't fit on the lever's lower position). So I bit the bullet and cut part of the isolator off (a small rectangular block of rubber), transferring it to the Steeda handle along with the stock bolts since the new ones were too short. Best of both worlds! Noise is significantly reduced (still more than stock but easily masked by the stereo), and I get the solid feel, short throws, and no vibration. Me happy.

Postscript: After replacing my tranny fluid with Amsoil ATF, shifting was so much slicker that I decided to try putting the handle on the lever's lower position. Nice! Throws are even shorter, and shifting effort is still acceptable. Unfortunately, my efforts at quieting things down further by spraying the handle with undercoating and stuffing fiberglass around the inner boot failed to make a difference. My conclusion is that you'll have to live with some increased noise from these shifters no matter what you do. Playing the radio at a moderate volume solves that problem, though.

Tools Needed

I used 8mm, 10mm, and 13mm sockets with a 6" extension, a 6mm allen wrench (for the new handle bolts), two 1/2" wrenches (to adjust the stop bolts), a scraper to remove old sealant, new RTV sealant, and a small chisel to pry up the old shifter. It took me less than two hours, but I'm sure I could do it in under an hour next time.

Other Options

From what I hear, the Steeda shifter is very similar in feel to the B&M Ripper. The Pro-5.0 also gets good press, but its handle may or may not be to your liking -- some say the knob ends up too close to the dashboard. If you want to try to mix and match, the Steeda's handle is available separately. Also to be considered are the Hurst Billet-Plus and MGW shifters, which are probably quieter out of the box and have some interesting features the others lack.

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