crap stock shifter

[TWOptSL0W]

ok im sick of the stock shifter. i hate how you have to push harder to click it into gear. ive never seen that on a car, will a sts fix my little problem? is there anything i can do to fix that with the stock shifter? or is it a transmission thing and im basically beat?

thanks,
-mike

[ms3077]

I actually like the stock shifter. I had the TWM STS installed and perfer the the stock one. Things that might help are: Shifter bushings, Synthetic tranny fluid and perhaps a MM. I have Amsoil tranny fluid in mine and the shifting is pretty smooth but I still mis shift @wot going into 3rd from time to time.

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by ms3077 I still mis shift @wot going into 3rd from time to time.

I do this and I have a Cobb sts, cobb shifter weight, street unit shifter bushings, a TRZ rear motor mount and it pisses me off to no end. I never mis shifted in my 240. Idk, i like the short throw but it's not going to get much better, imo.

[ms3077]

Originally Posted by dcphantom I do this and I have a Cobb sts, cobb shifter weight, street unit shifter bushings, a TRZ rear motor mount and it pisses me off to no end. I never mis shifted in my 240. Idk, i like the short throw but it's not going to get much better, imo.

Yeah a STS for this car is a rip off IMO.

[sleeperstang1994]

shifter bushings deffinitly help. but the actual "clicking" in of the gear is in the transmission. like ms3077 said try swapping in some syn trans oil maybe that will help you. its any easy change to do

[DaleNixon]

Fuck Redline MT-90 I'm switching to something else. My 1-2 shift is Captain Crunch.

[TXspeed3]

After i replaced my bushing i didnt have any problems missing shifts or much clicking noise.. that will be your biggest help there, you can even get a much better shift for $1.00 with some washers..

[phillyb]

Originally Posted by DaleNixon Fuck Redline MT-90 I'm switching to something else. My 1-2 shift is Captain Crunch.

more input now

[DaleNixon]

Ford synthetic transmission fluid is supposed to be way better. Search for XT-M5-QS. I'm buying some next month. It's a little steep, but would be totally worth it if it makes me not feel like I'm raping the car with a plunger on 50% of my 1-2 shifting.

[madvillain]

thats how my shifting is, except im still running the stock fluid. i hate first second and third gear, the crunching and grinding makes my skin crawl

[TXspeed3]

Fail.. i dont get the poor shifting quality you guys do.. feels great.

[ms3077]

Amsoil works really well for our transmission, mine's super smooth /fluid.

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by TXspeed3 Fail.. i dont get the poor shifting quality you guys do.. feels great.

as compared to?

[6262ms3]

Originally Posted by dcphantom as compared to?

lol, not a huge fan of the ms3 shifter but I let a trusted buddy of mine take my speed for a spin. He had recently spent a bunch of time driving a used/abused 1st gen caddy cts-v and said my shifter felt waaaay better. My dad also used to have a wicked late 70's Jeep J20 3/4 ton 4-speed with the crawler 1st gear, the throws on that shifter were measured in feet instead of inches.

um, so there...

[TXspeed3]

Originally Posted by dcphantom as compared to?

YOURS / stock apparently. Sad part is you spend a couple hundred on yours.

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by TXspeed3 YOURS / stock apparently. Sad part is you spend a couple hundred on yours.

come back when you've compared this shifter stock or not to something that is actually considered a good setup.

It's not really sad. I love the shorter throw, I just don't like the sloppiness of it. I only complained about mis-shifting under WOT going into 3rd. Otherwise the upgrade from stock to sts was well worth it. It's your connection to the car and it's the only upgrade I would do to every car I own.

[yang_jackson]

got my twm sts/bushings for 150..... def worth the price. shifting is much better than stock... crisper.... no more floating the stock shifter around. i am sure i will never go back to the stock setup... also have cp-e rear mm. to each his own. try dif setups. use what works for you. if you dont like the sts after you install it, swap back and sell it... you have friends w/dif setups you can try out?

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by yang_jackson got my twm sts/bushings for 150..... def worth the price. shifting is much better than stock... crisper.... no more floating the stock shifter around. i am sure i will never go back to the stock setup... also have cp-e rear mm. to each his own. try dif setups. use what works for you. if you dont like the sts after you install it, swap back and sell it... you have friends w/dif setups you can try out?

I am not saying I don't like it. I am just emphasizing that this the shifter set-up even with upgrades is still lacking and by far is not even close to what I would expect. Of course, the sts is a night/day difference between stock. One of the best upgrades I've done.

I'm thinking that a tranny mount will help, just waiting for that to be shipped. Each part I've added has made a significant difference and I could feel each when I added them. I think it has to do with the cable linkage shifter versus my past car experience with rwd and the shifter being directly connect to the tranny.

[yang_jackson]

Originally Posted by dcphantom I am not saying I don't like it. I am just emphasizing that this the shifter set-up even with upgrades is still lacking and by far is not even close to what I would expect. Of course, the sts is a night/day difference between stock. One of the best upgrades I've done. I'm thinking that a tranny mount will help, just waiting for that to be shipped. Each part I've added has made a significant difference and I could feel each when I added them. I think it has to do with the cable linkage shifter versus my past car experience with rwd and the shifter being directly connect to the tranny.

i was refering to ms3077's post.... shoulda clarified

[bani]

Originally Posted by DaleNixon Fuck Redline MT-90 I'm switching to something else. My 1-2 shift is Captain Crunch.

2nd gear in this car is under-synchro'd.

[jb1118]

So I take it I'm not the only one with the crunching feeling from 1st-2nd. Really annoying to get a new car with less than 1000 miles on it and have that. I really liked the tranny on my svt focus though.

[yang_jackson]

did yall know you can fine tune the shifter? i saw it in the 'how to' section.... just got done playing around with it, and it makes a huge dif..... for those of yall having a hard time, try it out....

[bani]

Originally Posted by yang_jackson did yall know you can fine tune the shifter? i saw it in the 'how to' section.... just got done playing around with it, and it makes a huge dif..... for those of yall having a hard time, try it out....

that won't fix the synchros.

[SgtP]

i dont have any shifting mods and almost never miss a gear and never really hear grinding or clicking.

[DaleNixon]

Thanks for the tip.

[Scatt Nasty]

redline mt90 crunches when it isn't warmed up. I get the 1-2 crunch and sometimes 3-4 crunches.

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by bani that won't fix the synchros.

No, but it definitely fixed the problem i had where I was getting locked out of 2nd gear when downshifting. I fined tuned it and haven't had that problem since. It's definitely worth doing if you've made upgrades to the shifter.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by SgtP i dont have any shifting mods and almost never miss a gear and never really hear grinding or clicking.

Same here. 2009, stock powertrain, 6000 miles.

It is a little notchy when cold, so I usually double clutch until the tranny gets warm.

I've also found that, even when warm, if I do the 1-2 shift too slowly, it'll grind.

My only real gripe is the return spring the 5-6 path to the 3-4 path is a little bit stiff, making it easy to do a 6->3 shift when you really wanted a 6->5 shift. But I got used to it soon enough...thankfully before I blew the motor up...

[TWOptSL0W]

ok guys thanks for all the input i think ill get bushings to help and i prob should just get an sts while im at it and ill get some synthetic fluid in the trans and i think ill throw a trans cooler on there because it couldnt hurt lol

[Strizzo]

No reason for a trans cooler since there's no pump moving fluid through. You probably couldn't even hook one up if you wanted to

[fbpem1]

sure you could they have kits availible for it.

also i'm getting ready to be on my 3rd trans in this car i hate this trans stupid cable shifted crap

[dcphantom]

Originally Posted by fbpem1 also i'm getting ready to be on my 3rd trans in this car i hate this trans stupid cable shifted crap

That sums it up nicely

[thanox2]

The stock shifter is crap, mine snapped in half during a 1200 mile trip. Got a ss now... 100000+ better.

[TWOptSL0W]

ok then no on the trans cooler thanks for telling me so i dont waste the time. i got my su bushings today, and after 20 min of work and slicing my finger on the stock shifter and bleeding everywhere, they were installed. i was a little curious if i acually would notice a difference, but i def did. shifting is a lot smoother and there isnt as much play as there used to be. i was disappointed to see the stock shifter is crap plastic, although i was not suprised. for $30, the SU bushings are a must have!!

[ms3077]

Originally Posted by TWOptSL0W ok then no on the trans cooler thanks for telling me so i dont waste the time. i got my su bushings today, and after 20 min of work and slicing my finger on the stock shifter and bleeding everywhere, they were installed. i was a little curious if i acually would notice a difference, but i def did. shifting is a lot smoother and there isnt as much play as there used to be. i was disappointed to see the stock shifter is crap plastic, although i was not suprised. for $30, the SU bushings are a must have!!

Bushings is all you need, don't waste $250 on a stubby little pos.

[Speedie6]

I've done a lot to my car, and I just can't put my finger on what helped the most with the shifting. I can say that I used to hate the shifts in my MS6, and now I'm pretty happy. Maybe its partially just getting used to it, I don't honestly know. I'm using Redline myself right now. I've got lots of mounts, every mount in fact is aftermarket. The SU rear, AWR side and trans, Tubine Tech front. I have the TWM stage 1 short shifter and bushings, and the Cobb weight. And I have a Spec Stage II+ clutch.

Those mods were mostly done individually. And never once did the change seem dramatic, by itself, as far as shifting goes. Well, except of course the new clutch, that was of course dramatic. But otherwise, no one change seemed dramatic to me. But, all combined, seems pretty good to me now.

[filphil]

Originally Posted by Speedie6 I've done a lot to my car, and I just can't put my finger on what helped the most with the shifting. I can say that I used to hate the shifts in my MS6, and now I'm pretty happy. Maybe its partially just getting used to it, I don't honestly know. I'm using Redline myself right now. I've got lots of mounts, every mount in fact is aftermarket. The SU rear, AWR side and trans, Tubine Tech front. I have the TWM stage 1 short shifter and bushings, and the Cobb weight. And I have a Spec Stage II+ clutch. Those mods were mostly done individually. And never once did the change seem dramatic, by itself, as far as shifting goes. Well, except of course the new clutch, that was of course dramatic. But otherwise, no one change seemed dramatic to me. But, all combined, seems pretty good to me now.

I never had serious complaints about the shifter. On cold winter mornings, I'd get a crunchy 1-2 shift, but I eventually started double clutching the up shift to stop that.

[bani]

ms3 crappy cable operated shifter...

engine torque damper helps a lot to reduce the HUGE engine movement... sharpens up shifting a lot.

[fyrecrotch]

some guy on 247 was selling a little bracket/plate that replaces the larger one on top of the tranny where the cable hooks up. It was supposed to shorten the throws. I've considered it + bushings instead of $250 for just a STS.


EDIT: a quick google for "Jazzy's Short Shift Plate" will find it...

[Poet-Tek]

Shifter Bushings, Motor Mount and Fine Tune. Much easier and smoother now, though the quick/grabby clutch will still get me every couple of days. Jerky re-engagement going 1-2 or 2-3.

I think the rear motor mount limiting engine/trans movement and the bushings restricting the shifter housing movement were the best improvements. Much better to drive than stock.