I meant to write this up months ago.
This is a how to for the installation of a short shifter in a 626/MX6/PGT (also applies to a Protege, 323, Escort, I'm pretty sure, as that's what it said on the directions).
Obviously this is the starting point for the project. I removed the junk from the tray under my ebrake handle first.
Twist that knob!
Alrighty, now it's off
For the 626 shifter trim piece, the ebrake needs to be pulled fully up to allow the piece out at the back. There aren't any screws that hold it in, it just pops up with light pressure. If you really yank on it, you could probably crack or break it, but it's much less brittle than other old console plastic that I've dealt with.
Unclip the harness for the cigarette lighter outlet
So, now that you've got it out, remove the sound deadening material. You're faced with four bolts. These don't need to come out. I'm a big ree-ree so I did this this hard way. Learn from my mistakes, or not, your choice.
Bolts holding the heat shield on. Mine were rusted beyond belief, so I had to cut them off.
Jack jack jack it up! Make sure it's secure and not going anywhere before you put yo precious body underneath the vehicle
Not sure if you can tell, but I put a socket on it and surprise surprise! It turned on the nut and didn't go anywhere.
There wasn't a whole lot of room to do much else with my grinder, so I cut a vertical slit in it and used pliers or something to get it apart.
After cutting the bolt off
DERP things you grind are hot. Don't try to push on them with your finger, it'll burn right through the glove and skin too…
Heat shield off! It was a pain to get out from what I remember, but I might be thinking of a different one, it's been a while...
Oh lawdy, look at that shifter assembly, it's practically brand new! This is hiding under the heat shield, looking up from the bottom of the car.
You don't need to take the bolts out. Like I said, I did this the hard way.
Take the bolt out that holds the shift lever to the linkage.
This is the bolt, not sure why it needed its own picture, but here it is.
I put a coat or two of primer and then black rattle can on the cut bolts. I figured it was better than getting premature rust holes in my floor pan. I prepped the area to be painted with non-chloro brake cleaner.
Don't take the bolts out, and don't lower the shifter assembly
Don't lower it down
Looking towards the front, I think the one on the right was the shifter linkage. You'll be able to easily tell just by looking at yours.
Don't take the bolt out, and don't remove this
Awesome tool for cleaning up threads and other rusty items
You should not have removed this. I'm sure you went through much difficulty if you did, as it does not want to come out with the exhaust in the way.
But here we are, my difficulties will afford you the opportunity to see things in a much more clear manner.
Oh wait, this lifts up?! ZOMG, FML. (PS. you can do this with it installed and save yourself so much trouble)
Here you can see the snap rings holding the shifter ball in the joint. You can also see how I had to cut the shift lever to get it out of the car… Again, totally not necessary if you follow the instructions.
Joint disassembled. You'll need snap ring pliers and some fine flathead screw drivers (2).
For the life of me, i couldn't get this thing out through the joint, so I was like WTH and cut it off, too. I'm sure with more patience you could do it without cutting it. I was not happy at this point.
Here we are, a side by side comparison of the stock (in pieces) shift lever next to the new TWM shifter
Ohh, now that's sexy!
So, like a tard, I forgot I had to cut the old shift lever to get the assembly out. Since I took it out, I needs to go back in, and I'd already installed the new one, so out it came once more. I was a lot easier the second time, but I had to take a breather before I entirely blew up. Now that it's installed again (If you do it the right way, it should always be installed) it's time to lube it up! I used some Mobil synthetic grease and my HF grease gun and some rubber gloves to spread it around in there. (I found it hard to get the big lump at the end that attaches to the shift linkage to go through the joint, so I put some lube on it to ease it through the rubber boot at the bottom without tearing it. Once through and on the underside of the car, I wiped it clean so it wouldn't attract grit and grime. I lubed the bolt that goes through it on the bottom with the same stuff)
Installed in the car
Ooo!
Since the bushings didn't fit my car (626) and TWM claims that they fit the MX6 (everything I've ever read has said that they're mechanically identical, and I refuse to believe that Mazda would change the shift lever between them, seriously, wtf), I had to get them to send another small one and then have them machined down a bit to fit.
This is the thickness that they should be
Delrin coated weighted shift knob
Use the included tool to screw the stopper in to the desired height.
This adapter screws onto the shift lever and then the ball screws onto the adapter
All wrapped up and set to a height I like. I don't like how it looks unfinished. I might do something about it at a later date, but I have no interest in monkeying with it any time soon.
Overall, it's a superior product. I feel that it's the highest quality shifter available for the GE platform. I give the short shifter itself a 10/10.
I'm a little bit disappointed by the shift knob, mainly because TWM advertised it as basically totally temperature impervious. Quoted from their site:
"CLIMATE INSENSITIVE: The Phantom is the ONLY Weighted Shift Knob available ANYWHERE that can be used in ALL extreme climates with absolutely NO discomfort caused by temperature extremes which means you can focus on enjoying the BEST shifting experience. Motorsports tested between -40 to +140 Fahrenheit."
I feel that this is false advertising. Absolutely NO discomfort? Ehh, close, but not entirely. Is is better than a solid metal shift knob? Absolutely. It still gets cold like plastic does, though, which may be a property of the Delrin, or perhaps it's the metal underneath transferring the temperature through it. I won't make conjecture, but when it's cold outside (20*F) I don't want to put my hand right on it. If I had gloves available I'd use them. I installed it past the peak of summer, but it was never uncomfortably hot sitting in the sun after coming out of work. I'll give the shift knob a 7/10. It's stupid expensive, and I feel that TWM's advertising is false and misleading.
My overall experience with TWM? After all of the positive things I'd heard about them, I expected the experience to blow me away. I was blown away by Crutchfield, and Energy Suspension. They're hands down the two most positive buying experiences I've had.
TWM's customer service was hard to get a hold of, and then the guy that I finally talked to challenged me on the phone. I know my car, I know my platform. I'm certainly not a knowledgebase, but I've researched almost every aspect of it over the course of almost the last four years. The fact that he did that was downright insulting. Of course he had no way to know that, but that's not how you treat customers. Period. I give my overall experience with TWM a 4/10. If I didn't have several friends that had positive experiences with them, I would be fully unable to recommend them. Personally I can't recommend them based on my experience, but obviously others have done well with them, so I'll leave it up to you. I don' think that you should have to take a gamble on getting good service if you want a quality product.
I think that they make superior products, but the price is staggering. When you shell out that much hard earned money, you have a right to expect a lot, and not just in terms of the product that you're getting. The entire process should be flawless.
Holy post Batman!
