Shifter Extension Removal?

[Luis_02_Pro5]

Hey guys, so I got my P5 pretty recently (about a month and a half ago) and i always wondered why the shifter sat so high up and sure enough i found out there was an extension under that shifter that just looks like a big 'ol silver cylinder with a bolt on the end. Its attached to the end of the shifter and ive sat in some other guys P5s and they're shifters dont sit as high as mine, when I asked them about the extension they said what extension that they either already had aftermarket rods or their car didnt come with it...anyone got experience taking these sons of b****es off? I took off my shift boot, shifter, and cupholder thing to see if i can get a channel lock and just pry the thing off by twisting it but it doesnt budge all the way off... lmk guys, ill put some pics now

 

[Luis_02_Pro5]

Pics

 

[njaremka]

there is a vibration isolation compound between the two pieces. (thick urethane) waaaaaaay back in the day, before any shifter kits were available, the hot mod was to remove that piece, thread the rod, and add an aftermarket knob. it sounds easy, but it will require some effort. the shifter will need to be torched to soften the isolation compound.

as a side point, the MSP and MP3 shifters are built without the extension. the shift throw is the same, but the knob height is lower.

it would be a much better set-up to buy one of the cheap shifter kits from ebay.

 

[MrGiggles]

You'll need two pairs of vice grips.

Clamp one on the extension, one to the shifter shaft below it. Heat, twist, repeat. I used a heat gun with it installed, you can use a torch if you take it off the car.

 

[Natey]

It's also weighted to make shifting easier/smoother. There are still a few short shifter options for a protege if you don't like the height but don't wanna hack up your car. TWM before Megan, and don't forget the bushings.

 

[Jackie chan]

Having personally have done this before, all I will say is that the residual rubber left on the shifter is a huge pain to get off. And also the shaft diameter is bigger than 10mm. So stock knob does not work. I ended up leaving some of the rubber and drilling out my stock knob and just Press-fitting the knob. BMW style. Worked fine, perfectly solid.

 

[00bluees]

you can also move the ball of the stock shifter for a actual shortened throw. what i did was put the shifter in a bench vice upside down, with the vice lightly gripping the shaft and the ball resting on top of the jaws. pound the base (bushing end of the shifter) so the ball slides down closer to the bushing end. then grind a small amount of material off of the shaft of the shifter between the ball and the top of the shifter, pound in the opposite direction moving the ball closer to the threaded end of the shifter, and it will shorten the throw. i put 2 tack welds on the ball to be safe but i was hitting it pretty hard with a 3lb hammer so i doubt it would move far.

in all i moved the ball about 3/4" and it made a significant difference in the length of the throw. i left the extension bit on but could have removed it. just liked a taller shifter.

 

[Luis_02_Pro5]

Yeah i don't like how tall the shifter actually is which is why i wanna remove it. I wanna have an aftermarket shifter and aside from that i want to have a lower shifter. in the future i would do a short throw shifter but for now low is good enough lol
so in regards to best way of doing it; torching it best option? thats what i found for the most part.

 

[MrGiggles]

You can do it without much heat or removing it from the car. It takes a lot of twisting and muscle, and the bottom of the shifter needs to be supported with another pair of vice grips.

 

[Jackie chan]

It is super easy to pop the shifter out. Just take it out and torch the rubber. It would take all of fifteen or twenty minutes.

 

[Luis_02_Pro5]

I got it off guys, I got it with a hair dryer with it on it for a good 5-8 minutes and got with my boy with two pliers and twisted it off hard. Got it off eventually. Way better to shift and nice and easy

 

[MazdaPro5Spd]

Is there threads on the shaft under that extension? I dont like the height with the extention and want to take it off, but I dont want to be screwed where I cant put a knob on

02 Mazda Protege5
2.0L 16Valve DOHC
Short Ram Air Intake
Stainless Steel Header
CrossDrilled Rotors
Dual 10" Rockford Fosgate Subs in ported Box
570Watt Clarion Amp
Clear Altezza Taillights
Xenon HID conversion kit
Pilot Fog Lights
This is my Second Protege

 

[MrGiggles]

It is not threaded, you'll need to use a set screw type knob, or pull the shaft and cut threads on it.

 

[MazdaPro5Spd]

It is not threaded, you'll need to use a set screw type knob, or pull the shaft and cut threads on it.

Ok, thanks.

02 Mazda Protege5
2.0L 16Valve DOHC
Short Ram Air Intake
Stainless Steel Header
CrossDrilled Rotors
Dual 10" Rockford Fosgate Subs in ported Box
570Watt Clarion Amp
Clear Altezza Taillights
Xenon HID conversion kit
Pilot Fog Lights
This is my Second Protege