Shorter shifter lever?

I've just wasted 20 minutes of my time getting the same results over and over again (yes, I know what a short throw kit is, no, I don't want it).

I want a shorter shifter lever. I don't care about the throw, or I would get a URD kit and be done with it.

Is there a shift lever I can get that's around 1-2" shorter than stock? I'm tired of punching the trim when I shift into first.

 

Hacksaw and a die to thread the cut shaft. A short throw shift would also give you the same end result as you’ve found.

 

Someone, I think Gadget (urd) does shortened shift levers.

 

I find the height to be more of a problem than the throw. I know a shorter lever also shortens the throw, but I'd rather have a shorter lever.

I'll take a peek again, I guess. Thank you.

 

Cut and rethread.

 

Sometimes I shock myself with how dense I am. This is a brilliant idea. :O Thank you.

 

That was the first thing I suggested to do. When you do it make a mat out of sticky side up duct tape and slide that down over the shaft. It will catch the shavings and contain the mess pretty well.

 

Take the damn thing out and put it in a vice it will make things a lot easier.

 

That too. Back in the day on VWs we used to just do it in the car because it was a lot faster than removing everything.

 

Going to make it a project. I'll pull the lever out and put it in a vice; I'll use the time with the console out to clean under it, and maybe look into an upgrade for the stock 400w inverter... And replace the shift boot, since mine is pretty ratty.

 

You probably won’t find it on the urd site, but if you search his posts, you’ll find it. Also, it’s @Coupe doing the shortened levers.

 

I got an angle grinder and a

$13 M12X1.25 mm Self-Locking Nylon Insert Hex Lock Nuts, Pack of 6

M12X1.25 die, so I think I'm going to go that route. Plus, I can cut threads far enough down that I can get the boot adapter to work with my existing shift knob.

 

That's what I did in my auto X car.

 

The stock shifter is hollow. You will will probably break into the hollow portion 2" down.



This is a pic of the bottom side.

 

Makes me wonder if you’ve been shifting hard enough to smack your knuckles off the dash maybe you wore out the plastic cup and replacing it might tighten things up.

 

I'm going to run the existing threads down farther, since it's easier to cut existing threads farther, opposed to cutting fresh threads. I'm only going to cut it around 1" to 1 1/2".

I'm not sure how easy or hard the previous owner shifted this. Getting into first, especially when it's cold, takes force. Mostly it's jsut the fact that the OE trim sticks out, so I end up punching the corner of the dang trim when I try putting it in first...

Since everything has to come out again, I'm getting tempted to just go nuts and replace wear parts in the entire shifter when I get the new boot. Though, in the end, having the knob lower down is really going to make driving more comfortable for me anyway.

 

Just a thought, but the 2 wheel shifter and the 4 wheel shifter is different, but they both bolt up to the transmission. If you are not the original owner, the wrong shifter may have been installed. The 2 wheel drive shifter in a 4 wheel drive will put the shifter closer to the dash.

If the existing shifter is worn, there will also be a lot of side to side play in the shifter.

 

In mine the lever rubber was worn, the white bushing was severely worn.

If you go with new Toyota shift lever and bushing, save the old lever. Then if you later decide you still want it shortened you could send it to coupe. Or he might be interested in the core.

I swapped to the hurst core short shifter and sick speed knob. I regret not having the vibration isolation of the stock lever but got used to it.

 

Yeah, in first, you're pretty much against the trim for the center console, and I tend to use my palm on the knob, leaving my fingers hanging off the front. The paint is worn off the trim, so the previous owner appears to have punched the trim as well. Would make sense if it is a 2WD lever, then.

I think I'm going to cut down my existing lever, but I'm still not 100% decided. I don't really care too much about vibrations isolation, I drove a WRX for several years with solid engine mounts and a stage 2 clutch.

I'll keep looking into options, I'm almost tempted to get a shorter lever and a URD short throw kit, but right now, I'm just trying to survive summer. Hah.

 

This might help you decide what to do.

The hurst core short shifter I have works perfectly fine. It comes with a new shift lever and small round knob. The minor complaints are the vibration, which is more of an annoyance of sound and less feel. The knob thread is 3/8-16. Which leaves replacement options very limited without an adapter. Sick speed makes good aluminum adapters, better than plastic. I got one of their bigger round knobs, it just feels better in my hand. Getting into reverse is now trickier, which makes for a funny show when someone like a valet parker tries to move it. I think they offer an adapter for if you have issues like you’re having punching the dash.

The urd ss uses the existing stock lever and knob. Which means you have the benefit of the vibration isolation. I’m sure it’s the same comical show with valet parkers. Reducing the height is something coupe does or did.

If you’re planning to cut the threads further down, and plan to remove it to do it, the white bushing might need replacing, which will be obvious once you see it. You’ll also get an idea how badly worn the existing epoxy in the shift lever is.

If you search you might find a super long thread on short shifters. One guy used a wrench, welded it on, grinded and cut threads for the knob.

I saw another post, someone installed 2 ss kits for an ultra short shift action.

Some guys use a weighted knob so it helps gain momentum to get past the stiff spot in reverse.

Hope this helps some.