I cut my shifter to make it shorter, but I found out it's not that simple

Why?

Because I miss how the old Miata shifts and I don't want to raise the shifter as the URD kit would do, and I'm a welder.

Government jobs are pretty frowned upon at our shop but I had an hour by myself till the shop shuts down for the rest of the year.

I thought it's just gonna be a 10 minutes job, but I didn't expect the 6MT shifter is actually made of 2 separate pieces, pressed together with rubber isolators.

The upper half is a cone shape, the lower is solid.



surprise to see the guts after the first cut on the bandsaw



It took me a while to figure out what to do because I can't just weld the upper cone back together, it has to keep both the isolators to keep the upper half from deflecting when pushed.

I didn't have time to take pictures during and after, but I did finish it and made back home.

Surprisingly, I don't have any problem with shifting into reverse.

But if I were to do it again, I'd use a pipe cutter to shorten the straight part of the upper cone, keep the lower part intact, instead of using a bandsaw to part it through. Pack some rubber grommets around the lower rod before weld the cone back.

 

Cut the shifter to length, cut the outer can back, weld the shaft back together, slide a length of tubing over the outer can and weld it in to seal the outer can back up, use your vent hole in the added piece to back fill it with silicone to retain the vibration isolation properties.
Option B might be to remove all of the vibration dampening can and just use the shaft. Option C might be to remove the can, get the shifter where you want it, build a new can, weld it in, back fill it with silicone.
None of these ideas are ideal, but they will get you where you want to go. I’ve used silicone to backfill handlebars on motorcycles in the past. It cuts the vibrations substantially.

 

As someone who has owned a few sports cars Miata included you're never going to get it to shift like a sports car.

I have the Core short shifter, huge night and day difference, but, the RA60 (3rd gen's are slightly better with the RC62 but not much) is still one of the worst M/T's I've driven, being beat only by a clapped out F650 flatbed and a Hyundai.

Hell I think the "3 on the tree" F100 I drove was better but nostalgia may be coating thick on that.

My personal opinion, seen too many of the factory shifters that have had the tail extended ("TRD style?") fail in the HAZ just pony up for the Core shifter it's worth it.

Do some pedal mods too like the FJ steel pedal and make sure you have the most recent TSB master and sub cylinders and turn over spring, well worth it also.

When my RA60 shits it's guts out which I'm sure will happen eventually I will do @BillDaCat8 's RC62 swap but again that nets only incremental improvement it's still a pretty clunky gear box but at least I won't have to worry about the aluminum quill.

 

Lol. Wtf... It's only Tuesday.

 

What in the hell?
Trying to make the tacoma into something it’s not will only lead to more disappointment, as witnessed by this thread.
This thing shifts much more like a transport than a miata. Embrace that.


If anything, add extensions.
A shorter shaft wouldn’t even look right in all that space.

 

Pretty much sums up my thoughts.

 

I have had URD kit in my 3rd gen 4Runner for years before I sold it.

I have my homemade drop-in iPad Pro mount right next to the shifter, that's why I don't want to raise the shifter.
Up side is, it's free.

5th



6th

 

Look at the SOGI short shifter mod that's common in the Supra world. The W58 and R154 transmissions had two-piece shifters with a rubber isolator, common practice was to twist and break the rubber, cut the threaded upper portion off and reweld the threads to the lower. More buzzing from the transmission, but gave the shorter look and feel. Surprisingly, I didn't miss near as many shifts with that as I do with the knockoff Cubespeed short shifter that changed the pivot point.

 

I just don't get the appeal of the Core shifter, plus the cost.

 

Are you with the government?

 

I'm not with, but heavily regulated by the government.

 

My ex wife said something along those lines.

 

Found this with a quick search if anyone has the inclination.

https://urdusa.com/urd-short-throw-shifter-2016-tacoma-3-5l-v6/

Having had a '90 Miata and loving the gear shift crispness, I had a UUC Short-shift kit put in my '96 BMZ Z3 right after I brought it back to the US in '97. Still going strong along with a custom, heavy, shift knob makes it awesome to drive....but not something I think I'd want in a truck. But, to each his/her own.