Shorter shift lever by Coupe

I had wanted to modify my shifter in my 6 speed for a shorter throw, so I purchased a Short Shift kit from URD. The SS was great, but my stock shift lever was worn out. The rubber bushing inside the two piece shifter had degraded to the point where you could wobble it really bad while it was in gear. I had done some searching around to see if anything could be done about this, and stumbled upon the X-runner forum and a member named Coupe. He had a thread on the XR-U for his modified shifters that was very detailed with great pictures, and step by step instructions. He is also a member on TW, by the same name, so I contaced him to ask some questions about his mod. After realizing that purchasing most of the materials for the mod would probably run me somewhere around $100, I decided to buy one directly from him. He charges $120 shipped plus your stock shifter in return. I thought this was a good deal, and turned out to be so. The shifter I recieved from him was cut down to 9 1/2", and solid as a rock, with little transmission noise coming through the lever. Now with the URD SS and one of Coupe's shifters, my truck drives/shifts like a dream. This combination cut my shifter throw to less than half of what it was! There are no issues with rough shifts, or hard gears to catch (like reverse). All gears catch perfectly crisp. If your shifter is sloppy, and you would like to experience clean gear engagement again, look up Coupe. He has a few different kinds of modded levers to choose from, so take your pick. Very easy to do bussiness with, and a great product. Thank you to Coupe.

 

already did this and i suggest this to anyone that has a 6spd

 

bump for a slight title change. (thanks 98tacoma27).

 

Thanks Guys!

 

Here is a link to the original write-up.

http://www.xr-underground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31063

I can do this mod with a TRD SS and a B&M.
This pic shows an array of shifters.


From left to right,

8 1/2" OEM mod, 8 1/2" OEM mod, 9 1/2 OEM mod, 9 1/2 TRD SS, 9 1/2 TRD SS, 9 1/2 B&M.

 

This is a great mod for the 6 speed Tacoma, I just installed a TRD ss that was rebuilt and trimmed down. WOW, a short throw, no play, and solid hook ups in every gear. This is one of the best things I've done to my truck. Very cost effective.
Thanks Coupe

 

Sounds good.
Was toying with the idea of sending him a couple stock shifters off some 1st gens.He hasn't done any for older tacomas yet.

 

so i understand youre the man for modifying shifters? let me give you the rundown and tell me if you can help at all. i installed a URD short shifter on my 2010 tacoma 6spd trd or dcsb about a year and a half ago. everything was great. about an hour ago i went to shift into reverse and the actual rod itself broke (right where the tip and the ball meet inside the bolt on extension for the urd short shifter.
so my questions are, which one would you suggest? how much is it? do you have any ready to go? how fast can you get it to me? and would mine still work for you to be able to rebuild (or as my core)?
please let me know asap so i dont go buy one at the dealership tomorrow morning just to get my truck back on the road (daily driver)
thanks
gabe

 

I have quit stocking shifters and only make them on request, so you are probably going to the dealer. You might see if there are any on the forum for sale (or ebay).

Since you broke off the ball of your shifter. I can not use it as a core.

It is not uncommon for the ball to break off.

Sorry I am not more help.

 

You still making these things coupe?

 

PM sent.

 

Will a shorter shifter make shifts shorter with everything else stock? Curious about this for my 3rd gen.

 

Above the fulcrum point of the shifter (i.e. the part that sticks up from the tunnel) if you lower the top of the shifter you will have shorter throws of the shifter.

Below the fulcrum point of the shifter (i.e. inside the transmission) you want a longer tip for shorter throws. This is how an URD short shifter works.

Before I put a T-56 transmission in my truck, I used a combination of these two approaches.

The pros:

Shorter firms shifts.
The mod I do to the shifter will pretty much last. The stock rubber bushings get removed which will fail after a few years. When you remove the soft parts from the shifter, the "feel" of the shifter gets better.

The cons:

If I do my mod, the shifter will be noiser, especially at wide open throttle.
Just doing the URD will not have this problem.
Since you are reducing the leverage of the shifter, it will be more difficult to put the shifter in reverse. A petit woman may have difficulty doing this. My wife can do it, but she drives a Z06 daily.

There is a slap technique that works well for putting it into reverse. You slap the shiftball in the direction of reverse and it will fall into reverse.
It will take a few tries to get the technique down. Service people or valets will struggle with it.

Just a FYI if you go looking for a shifter to do this mod, the shifter for a 2wd is different than a 4wd. The curve of the top portion of the shifter is different.