TWM Shifter and Kartboy Bushings

[jali-p5]

after receiving my TWM short shifter and Kartboy bushing from Jason (YP5_Toronto) at the D&B meet to send Orange off to Calgary, I have FINALLY installed it this weekend........with the help of Dave (MP5Navy) who is without a doubt a superstar.......hahahaha......btw, Dave, I think i left my tub of grease at Jay's........he can keep it if he wants.......

THANKS FOR THE HELP DAVE!!!!

as for the shifter and bushing, it was somewhat easy to install, just a pain in the a$$ to actually do the install........having to slide around on the ground to get under the car......

so here's my low-down.......upon first drive, the shifter and bushings feel real nice......much shorter throw than the original stock shifter and definitely a tighter feel to them.........wish i had purchased a shifter and changed my bushings a lot earlier........the only think i have noticed though is that the shifting is much harder than it was before........some people have also mentioned this and have said that by changing their tranny fluid to something synthetic, it seemed to take care of that problem, so i guess i will try that maybe this weekend.........

[SunBurst-P5]

WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO.......oh and IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!

Feels great doesn't it! Have you changed your tranny oil to synthetic yet?? You should...you'll notice an even better shifting!

[Mike_Moss]

wicked. anyone know if this'll fit on a first gen? hm. does it fit on a 99 sedan? (i think they're the same, thats why)

[jali-p5]

the website says that they fit from 1999-2003 protege and protege5......here's the link to their install manual:

TWM Shifter Manual (http://www.twmperformance.com/shortshifters/protegepics/1999-2003-protege-manual.pdf)

hope this helps you out mike!

[Mike_Moss]

wonderful, i'll check this out.

[Sky_high]

Mr. Jean-Alain,

I installed my short shifter this weekend as well. I love it and think the same way as you do (i.e.- Why didn't I do this earlier). I do recommend the synthetic oil. Most people have put in Redline (MT-90), but I was told that Redline (MTL) is also good. They are both into Protege specifications (GL-4, or something to that effect).

BTW, If there are any experts out there, I need some advice. I tightened the bolt underneath the car "Hand-tight". Do you think it will loosen up? Do you recommend that one should check it again to see if it has loosen or I do not have to worry? Please advise!!

Happy Shifting everyone!

[MP5Navy]

Hey Jean.

Your welcome. You're just another WESTSIDE clan member fortunate enough to have the resources of the WESTSIDE.

Yeah I noticed that the tub-o-grease was left behind. Jay still has it so you can pick it up anytime. I'll leave it untouched - unless you want us to raid it! LOL

[firefly]

Hand tight? It'll eventually work it's way out. Torque it down properly and use some loctite blue on the thread.

[Sky_high]

Lawrence,

How do you torque it correctly. What tool do I have to purchase/borrow to do this? Also, what is the correct torque amount (number) ? Would like to do this properly, instead of being a fool and being stuck on the road, stranded!

[firefly]

You'll need a torque wrench, 12mm and 14mm socket for the bolts on the shifter and bushing, and loctite blue. Torque spec in service manual is 12-16 lb-ft for both bolts.. For the bushing I torque it to 17 just in case, and for the shifter I'm doing 14 cuz if I tighten it up too much it's hard to shift.

[Sky_high]

Thanks Lawrence! Will do this the first chance I get.

[dr_sarcasm]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (jali-p5 @ Nov. 11 2002,1:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">the only think i have noticed though is that the shifting is much harder than it was before...[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Give it about a month - you'll notice this 'soften' up a touch (or, if you're impatient, you can change your tranny fluid).


dr_sarcasm.

[Protege5 Kid]

NOw i don't have a short shifter....but is it really as cool as you guys say it is?

IS it a MUST HAVE?

Anyone not like thier shifter?

[firefly]

Maybe it's just me...but the shifts are not as smooth as I would like it to be.

Especially from 2-3 and 5-4...and sometimes I have to try a couple times to make it go into second. I've had it for two weeks.

[jali-p5]

i can't really comment entirely on the shifter seeing that i've only had the shifter for a couple days now, but i would have to agree that there have been instances where shifting from 2 to 3 has been somewhat tight, but it could also be because of my eagerness to push that sucker into gear as quickly as possible a la fake rally guy........hahahaha.........i think a short shifter is great when it comes to making a much quicker shift, but it is definitely stiffer than stock.........i have to check the bolt this weekend, problem could be i over tightened the bolt and it's making it feel a little tight.........also when i put new synthetic tranny fluid in, that may also smoothen it out..........

[firefly]

I do have Redline MT90 in the box way before I put in my TWM. I mean it doesn't grind or anything but it's just very stiff at times.

The way I see it is the TWM makes shifting more enjoyable as you don't have to move your arms to shift and it's easier to tell whether it's in gear or not. However it doesn't make you shift any faster as the increased effort tends to slow you down. Plus I don't want to break the shift fork so I tend to take it slow.

[Orange]

I am the lazy camp &amp; got my mechanic to install the short shift / bushings. He mentioned that the short shift did not fit very well - one of the hole is too small. When he tried it out, it was very tight &amp; he could feel a small 'click' before getting into gear. He then adjusted the hole &amp; re-install the short shift. No problem at all. I drove it for two days &amp; it was even smoother than my original shift. Not sure if this is a manufacturing defect or something specific to the MP3 shifter ...

I'll see how it goes for a while before I decide on synthetic tanny fluid ...

[firefly]

Can you find out what exactly your mechanic friend did to yours?