# Sticky  DIY Short shifter?



## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

Just wondering if anyone has taken their shifter apart to try this? Well, I went to PnP today, and just happened to pick up a B12 shifter just for the hell of it. Seems that the pivot ball is just extremely hard plastic pressed onto the shifter. There seems to be some divots on the shifter that hold the pivot ball in place, that's it. A couple good whacks, some cursing, and finally makeshift pressing on the ball finally moved it on the shaft. Now the shaft itself is about 1 ft. long, bent about 15 degrees an inch and a half above the center of the pivot ball. I figure I can hacksaw the shifter there, cut off the bent parts, and have the straight parts welded together. Then drill the pivot ball, and use a set screw to hold the ball in place, where ever I so choose to set it. I should have documented this process a lot better, pics in the future.

Oh yeah, and it took about 30 mins to remove the shifter from the bottom of the B12 in the junkyard. The exhaust and the heat shield are inthe way.


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

Galimba1 said:


> Just wondering if anyone has taken their shifter apart to try this? Well, I went to PnP today, and just happened to pick up a B12 shifter just for the hell of it. Seems that the pivot ball is just extremely hard plastic pressed onto the shifter. There seems to be some divots on the shifter that hold the pivot ball in place, that's it. A couple good whacks, some cursing, and finally makeshift pressing on the ball finally moved it on the shaft. Now the shaft itself is about 1 ft. long, bent about 15 degrees an inch and a half above the center of the pivot ball. I figure I can hacksaw the shifter there, cut off the bent parts, and have the straight parts welded together. Then drill the pivot ball, and use a set screw to hold the ball in place, where ever I so choose to set it. I should have documented this process a lot better, pics in the future.
> 
> Oh yeah, and it took about 30 mins to remove the shifter from the bottom of the B12 in the junkyard. The exhaust and the heat shield are inthe way.



actually this is a common trick but by cutting material out of the metal then welding the stick back together. I suppose if you don't have any access to a welder your way works too. YOu'll have to let us know if it holds up well.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

*UPDATE*

OK, I actually have an update. I finished cutting, adjusting and welding the short shifter. 








^This is the shifter after it was cut and welded. That weld bead needs to be smoothed to the shaft.









^Here, the weld bead has been filed down to match the shaft diameter. Now, I just have to move the pivot ball into place.









^Here, the short throw shifter is on top. Notice that the modified shifter is straight, and several inches shorter.









^Also, the pivot ball center is about 3/4 inch higher than stock position.









^No fitment issues here.
all leading to:








HOLY CRAP THAT'S A SHORT THROW SHIFTER!!!

If anyone actually wants directions on how to do this, I'll post that info, but I doubt that many are. I have run into the same problem as the pacesetter short throw shifters - now my heat shield doesn't fit. I tried just banging the top down to some degree of success - 4th and reverse still scrape the shield. I worked on it from 8 to 10 at night, hopefully, I can finish the install by tomorrow.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yeah, and now I need a new shift boot. My old one now looks all retarded.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

when I installed my shifter, I actually used spacers all the way around the heat shield with slightly longer bolts to drop the whole thing down, but it was so low, I ended up having to cut a hole in it anyways. no big deal. the shifter's benefits outweigh the hassles of making it fit. :thumbup:


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## Crazy-Mart (Jul 14, 2002)

ill get this thread sticky !!... great pics and dawm, this is SO short ! lol


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## foreverhardcor (Mar 16, 2005)

*purpose of shifter*

What is the purpose of a short throw shifter anyways...sorry im not really that car wise...I mean i love my B12 and know about exhaust intake turbo suspension etc but whats the point of a short shifter?


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## BII (May 13, 2004)

It seems like a lot of work to save yourself $70 (more or less what the pacesetter piece goes for, at least where I work). I have the pacesetter, its adjustable, its well-built, feels great.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

foreverhardcor said:


> What is the purpose of a short throw shifter anyways...sorry im not really that car wise...I mean i love my B12 and know about exhaust intake turbo suspension etc but whats the point of a short shifter?


Basically it tightens up the shift pattern by making the distance you move the shifter from gear to gear less. Whether you make your own, or buy the Pacesetter, it definitely makes the car more fun to drive and if your looking to improve the feel of you car, this is the way to go. :thumbup:


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

astreamk1 said:


> Basically it tightens up the shift pattern by making the distance you move the shifter from gear to gear less. Whether you make your own, or buy the Pacesetter, it definitely makes the car more fun to drive and if your looking to improve the feel of you car, this is the way to go. :thumbup:



Exactly...it's all about feel. Personally, I don't have a problem with finding the right shifting holes...but I can understand where some people do. i do like moderately short throws though cause the tighter feel is more confident. And regardless of what you call it it doesn't make you shifting quicker...thats all dependant on the driver skill. I could shift my stanza wagon just as quick as my pulsar.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

OK, compared to my 1999 Sentra, the throw is WAAAAAAY shorter. The only problem I now have (besides the slight scrape on the heat shield in reverse) is that I physycally have to lean foreward slightly to reach and shift. Anyone have that problem or is it more just personal feeling? I dunno, I'll have to drive the car some more.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

bII said:


> It seems like a lot of work to save yourself $70 (more or less what the pacesetter piece goes for, at least where I work). I have the pacesetter, its adjustable, its well-built, feels great.


Its not the fact that I could save 70 bones, its the fact that I made this shifter myself, and it actually works properly too. My shifter is also adjustable, feels good, and well, the question of well-built is still in testing. If my weld holds for the life of my car, then it was well-built.


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## Biscuit (Mar 5, 2005)

I seen the pacesetter short throw shifter in the JC Whitney catalog. Pretty good price and is adjustable. I would like to know how to make my own short shifter too. You need to get the directions up fast. I can goto school and work on it at the career center.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

OK, a little update on the DIY Short Throw Shifter:

Maybe I cut the shifter too short. I thought I only took out about 1 1/2 inches from the total shifter length. After install, the shifter looks like its 4 inches shorter than stock. Consequently, I have to reach a little more than I would have liked to shift. Not good.

The spacers worked like a charm. They allowed a 1/4" extra drop, clearing the shifter arm so I don't scrape the heat shield any more. 

I dunno, of anyone that has installed their own short shifter, anyone have that "too short" problem? Was your shifter straight or did it have a little bend in it?


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yeah, still working on directions. I'm building another short shifter as we speak just cuz I want to work on my welding.


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## Sixways (Jan 12, 2005)

ummm, I"m pretty sure hacking off the top 2 inches of your shifter has about the same affect (this is the way my crx was when I bought it, felt great). I think that a short shifter and and exhaust make just about any car fun to drive.


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

Sixways said:


> ummm, I"m pretty sure hacking off the top 2 inches of your shifter has about the same affect (this is the way my crx was when I bought it, felt great). I think that a short shifter and and exhaust make just about any car fun to drive.


hack off the top?? What did you do, krazy glue the shift knob back on?


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## Crazy-Mart (Jul 14, 2002)

did that too but it wont make a "real short shifter"... well it is short but doesnt have the short travelling. you got to try one to feel de difference. Galimba, you on the right way taught!.. IMO you should have left the "crooked" the shifter arm... would have helped a bit too.


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## Sixways (Jan 12, 2005)

No I had an aftermarket shift knob that had these little plastic threaded tubes to fit on different size shifters and it had 3 alen bolts to secure the knob on the plastic threads. So I took out the plastic threads, to fit over the larger lower section, and used the 3 bolts to hold it on the shifter. it worked great up untill I lost all but 1 bolt to it.

I think that it dose make it a short shifter. on normal B&M style SS's they normaly just extend the bottom of the shifter (right?) so the leverage is more 50/50 then factory 25/75. so if you cut off the top it make the ratio closer and making for shorter thow. I know I didn't explain that good, sorry.


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## Nissan300ZXZ31Turbo (Dec 9, 2004)

I do not see the point of adding a shortened shifter into a B12. The stock shifter is so close it seems almost pointless. Compared to my 300ZX, my Sentra uses very little effort to shift to the next gear, 1st pops right down into 2nd, and so forth. It just seems to me like you are wasting time and effort. Are you guys using the stock GA16i or E16 engines, or do you have something more advanced? I could understand shortening the throws on a GA16DE, SR20, or CA18, but not on the bone-stock B12 engines.


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## Crazy-Mart (Jul 14, 2002)

there was some margin for improvement on b12. Im certain that if the one in the 300 has so much angle in the shift pattern, you could D-improve it-Y this way.on the b12, its around 1 feet between the gears. i might try it myself later this summer when ill try squeezing some tenth..


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## Nissan300ZXZ31Turbo (Dec 9, 2004)

I got a custom-built VQ35DE tranny built for my ZX, so the shifter had to be modified anyway. As for my Sentra, which is my daily driver and sleeper car (those 5.0 Mustangs just hate me because it is so damn quick), shortening the shifter for me would just throw me off. My Sentra has a modified GA16DE in it, with the stock GA16i 5-speed tranny, and the shifting takes me off guard on occassion because of how quickly it engages gears. Once my GA16i tranny shits itself, and eventually it will (no way a 90hp tranny can keep up with an eventually 200hp+ engine), I plan on getting a GA16DE tranny with gears from an SR20. Then, I might work on the shifter... maybe.


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## malkierie (Feb 25, 2005)

*pulsar help*

Has anyone done this for a pulsar? I'm starting work with my red pulsar in a month or so after the semester is over. How well do you think this would work on the E16I tranny?


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## UHVPLSRNV (Apr 14, 2005)

Galimba1 said:


> OK, compared to my 1999 Sentra, the throw is WAAAAAAY shorter. The only problem I now have (besides the slight scrape on the heat shield in reverse) is that I physycally have to lean foreward slightly to reach and shift. Anyone have that problem or is it more just personal feeling? I dunno, I'll have to drive the car some more.


I shortened my shifter in my 90 pulsar simply by taking a grinder to it and cut about 5 inches off it. loved the feel. Yeah, I also had to lean forward when shifting to 1st 3rd and 5th


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## UHVPLSRNV (Apr 14, 2005)

will the short throw shifter (Pacesetter) from the sentra fit on a pulsar?


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

UHVPLSRNV said:


> will the short throw shifter (Pacesetter) from the sentra fit on a pulsar?


If its a B12 pulsar, I shouldn't see why not.


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## recycled_toddler (Feb 4, 2004)

I did that with my '87 Pulsar; It's appalling to know that the Pulsar has a longer throw than the Sentra, but it does!

All I did was hammer the ball up the shaft 5/8 inch, dented in the catalytic converter shroud a little to make swing room, and that's all. It makes the car, as far as 'creature comforts' go.


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## Sixways (Jan 12, 2005)

Nissan300ZXZ31Turbo said:


> I do not see the point of adding a shortened shifter into a B12. The stock shifter is so close it seems almost pointless. Compared to my 300ZX, my Sentra uses very little effort to shift to the next gear, 1st pops right down into 2nd, and so forth. It just seems to me like you are wasting time and effort. Are you guys using the stock GA16i or E16 engines, or do you have something more advanced? I could understand shortening the throws on a GA16DE, SR20, or CA18, but not on the bone-stock B12 engines.


It's not effort it's speed. But I guess you guys say that a sentra has a shorter throw then a pulsar so that might be where the difference in opinon come in. but I'll tell you what, after driving my newly aquired 91 jetta, my pulsar feels like it shifts like a truck.


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## Sentrawagon (Jun 6, 2005)

I just wanted to know can you just buy a short shifter for a B12


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## recycled_toddler (Feb 4, 2004)

Well, of course...but why pay $50-$100 when you can make it for almost nothing?


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

Sentrawagon said:


> I just wanted to know can you just buy a short shifter for a B12


Pacesetter makes one to fit the 87-90 Sentras. costs some where around $70 last I checked.


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## Sentrawagon (Jun 6, 2005)

ok cool so I can just buy one, but now does any one know if I can get it in canada, I would also like to know if I can get a bigger coli for a GA16i


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

What's a coli? does it have anything to do with the shifter?


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## Goodwrencher (Jul 17, 2005)

*Short shifter*



Galimba1 said:


> oh yeah, still working on directions. I'm building another short shifter as we speak just cuz I want to work on my welding.


Do you know if the pacesetter model for the sentra will work in a Pulsar? I don't have heat shields, it being a race car and all. If not, what would you charge for one complete, for a 1987 Pulsar


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## Goodwrencher (Jul 17, 2005)

*shifter*



astreamk1 said:


> Pacesetter makes one to fit the 87-90 Sentras. costs some where around $70 last I checked.


So the sentra will work on the Pulsar?


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

Since the chasses are the same, I'm going to say yes


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## Pzych0 (Mar 1, 2005)

nice mod im gonna go check it out on my car while it is on stands. Never knew it was that easy to make a short shifter for the sentra.

Tokico sells short shifters for the b12 i saw it scratching around the internet


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

Pzych0 said:


> Tokico sells short shifters for the b12 i saw it scratching around the internet



a lot of parts like short shifters that you see for older japanese cars are really expensive cause they come overseas. like a short shifter kit for a 1990 corolla comes from japan and it's Expensive


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## Pzych0 (Mar 1, 2005)

Gsolo said:


> a lot of parts like short shifters that you see for older japanese cars are really expensive cause they come overseas. like a short shifter kit for a 1990 corolla comes from japan and it's Expensive



well here in south africa :thumbdwn: i cant even get performance parts for my car. i have to use universal and when i tell ppl what car i have and the motor in it they look at me like idiots.


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## Pzych0 (Mar 1, 2005)

where is the best place to cut the the shifter lever to make it sorter??


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## Galimba1 (Aug 16, 2002)

Cut 1 inch above the pivot ball. Then, after you put everything back together, you can move the pivot ball up, increasing the lever arm length. Its necessary to have a welder, unless you just want to hack your shifter. In that case, cut about 1 1/2 to 2 inches off the top.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

An important note to anyone getting the pacesetter shifter, from my recent experience installing one, the lower shift ball cup that was included with the shifter is the wrong part DO NOT USE IT!!, it is actually the same as the upper cup, if you use the cup that comes with the shifter your shifter will be very tight and may not spring back to center as my didn't. From astreamk1's experience when installing his, he told me to cut the stock shifter in half and to use the stock lower cup which happens to be larger and deeper than the top cup. I did what he said and reinstalled the shifter and it is smooth as glass now, shifter springs back to center like stock and is a pleasure to use. The grease we both used to lube the shifter ball is syl-glide from NAPA it is silicone based and works very well.

I adjusted the shift ball as high as it will go on the shifter and did not have to space or cut the shifter pan cover at all, I used a 3/8" breaker bar to push the metal cover down from inside the car and I have no rubbing issues at all.

Now just have to make a custom boot as the stock one looks strange now.
I also contacted PAcesetter about this and haven't heard back from them at all.

Just a heads up to all, thanks again for your help astreamk1.


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## kaziozy (Aug 13, 2008)

Hey everyone, I hope someone can help me. I have a 87 sentra, b12, right? I found the pacesetter short throw shifter and was wondering how entailed the installation is and also how it works. Is it worth it? I don't want to have to do a lot of cutting and stuff, I watched installation videos but not on a b12 directly...it looks easy, but I know they are different on all cars so I was just wondering if anyone has successfully installed one, and also if any other companies/dealers or whatever sell them for 87 sentra and how they compare? thank you.


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## Pickledude929 (Jan 14, 2009)

I just finished using all these great pictures to fab my own short throw shift on my b12. I cut just one inch above the piviot ball and removed the ball (which took a few hours, untill i figured out griping the ball tight and twisting it off the stick was the only way to remove it) all together the arm dropped about a full inch. Spent the next hour making the heat shield fit and after a beating it finaly fit. All in All it took 10 bucks (including the Pull-A-Part charge) which was much much cheaper then the 100 bucks for the aftermarket one. And i still have the stock one if i ever need to go back 

Thanks for the how to!


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## TOOQIKK (Jul 11, 2009)

will a short shifter from a b13 fit the b12?


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

b13 shifter will not fit a b12


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## nissansunnyb12 (Oct 29, 2008)

as if playing in the arcade "maximum tune" damn the shifters are SHORT


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