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Location:
Gympie Qld
Registered:
December 2004
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T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 03 May 2005 12:47
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Guys I have not yet found this covered in the search functions.
I am looking also at making my own short shifter by spacing the original shifter housing and lever.
What I want to know is, is it possible to remove the top half of the shifter with the rubber insulation from the bottom half without destroying it. Is there any way to get the boots off by seperating it. Near where the bottom half meets the rubber section it looks like teh bottom fits into the top before it goes into the rubber but not sure if it can be removed here. I don't want to cut the section above the ball if I can help it. And I don't want to melt/burn the rubber if I can help that either. I would like to extend the bottom for the leverage and VERY NEATLY shorten the top section and would prefer them apart or at least get teh boots out of the way to work in it properly.
Any advise or comments.
Gavin
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Location:
Gympie Qld
Registered:
December 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 05 May 2005 11:30
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Can nobody help me.
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Location:
Castle Hill, Sydney
Registered:
February 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 05 May 2005 11:48
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is it really necessary?
i chopped a few inches off my lever and now i can hit the gears faster than the synchros can handle no worries
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
August 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 05 May 2005 12:23
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I have heard that you can infact remove that top part of the shifter. I was told to do it with multigrips. I had a go and came to the conclusion I was going to damage the outside of it. So it can be done. But if your going to lengthen the bottom section you shouldn't really have to pull the top half off.
You can actually by them:
http://www.technotoytuning.com/t3_site_pages/produ cts/short_shift.html
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Location:
Gympie Qld
Registered:
December 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 05 May 2005 12:27
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To a degree it does matter Jesse as I am not putting this box in a Corolla. It's going into an MG Midget and to make it look 'right' and work properly I want to change the ratio below the pivot and shorten the lever a bit. I would like to shorten the section above the ball and then fit the insulated section back on. By just shortening the top section you may be reducing teh throw but you are also increasing the leverage required to shift gears. Ideally to change the throw for a true short shifter you should leave the length above the pivot the same and lengthen below the pivot.
I want to do this so I get a similar shift action to teh original box. If you''ve ever driven a Midget you'd know what I mean. They have a nice short and easy shift action, just a shame the box is only 4 speed and crash 1st gear.
Alternatively if there is little vibration noise coming through the shifter I would probably just get rid of the top section and remake it with a 10mm shaft so the shifter looks original. Not worried about a little harshness or vibration through teh shifter whilst using it just as long as it doesn't emit a constant buzzing noise in the cabin. Noises like that piss me off, something my wife says I'm very anal about.
Gavin
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 05 May 2005 13:33
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Be warned, removing the vibration dampener, or makign a solid dampener can lead to premature synchro death. At high speeds the vibrations (on the TRD short shifter at least) are enough to partially disengage the gearings. Hence putting more strain on your synchros... and you can guess the rest.
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Location:
S.E suberbs, Vic
Registered:
December 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Mon, 09 May 2005 12:21
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I see no way that it's possible to take the rubber insulator apart without killing it. I cut mine out and I don't regret it. Occasionly when i do a bit of a vicious gear change I jar my wrist a little but it's been a long time since I did that. As for noise I dont have any extra. Now for what you say Takai I am lost, how could this rubber peice that insulates the top half of a gearstick possibly have any effect on a gearbox internals? looking at how a gearbox works I don't get it how this could effect anything but my wrist. Either way I love my short shifter too much, I do have 2 spare T50s anyway so I am not bothered.
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Location:
S.E suberbs, Vic
Registered:
December 2003
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Mon, 09 May 2005 13:43
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Well from what i have seen with the TRD short shifter it seems that the vibrations of the car serve to vibrate the larger mass on the end of the undampened shifter (i.e. with the big metal sleeve but without the rubber dampener, or a lot stiffer rubber) and the shifter "wobbles" and causes the gears to disengage and reengage rapidly. This causes minor chips and fractures in the gear teeth.
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Location:
S.E suberbs, Vic
Registered:
December 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Mon, 09 May 2005 13:48
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I only have a small light shaft and a plastic gear knob so I guess that makes me pretty much immune from such a thing. I guess I better not get a heavy gear knob then
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Mon, 09 May 2005 13:58
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Yeah, my critique is more aimed at the TRD gearstick which seems to cause the issues.
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Location:
Devonport Tasmania
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 10 May 2005 09:26
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well i may be the first to suggest this, but how about go for it, shorten it, and not grind the gears.
OR is that a part of driver education i missed, the need to kill my gearbox ?
JK
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 10 May 2005 11:45
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Its not the action when changing gears, rather it is that the TRD gearstick seems to be (for want of a better word) in the harmonic frequency range for the car. So the gearstick vibrates of its own accord.
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Location:
S.E suberbs, Vic
Registered:
December 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 10 May 2005 11:54
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what about the T3 shifter? is that any good?
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 10 May 2005 12:48
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No idea, never seen one in the flesh or driven a car with one.
From what ive heard though, no they dont have that issue.
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Tue, 10 May 2005 13:37
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| Sam_Q wrote on Mon, 09 May 2005 22:40 |
for those who havent seen it:
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LOL, when people get in your car they must think your rear crossmember has fallen off 
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Location:
Gympie Qld
Registered:
December 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Wed, 11 May 2005 11:53
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So if it's the weight of the top section of the shifter having a bearing on the vibration thing because the top section of the TRD shifter is still bulky like the original (have seen a picture of someone short shifter that was machined to still look like the original)then if I intend to remake the top section out of solid shaft like the rest eg only about 10mm all teh way to the top then maybe there will be little vibration effect.
I'm thinking along the lines of Sam that the vibration must be huge or the weight of the TRD shifter must be significant for it to have an effect on the selector forks via the selector shafts through the pivot point. Or is it also solid bushed.
Maybe some way to fix this would be to preload the detent springs that help keep the selector in gear. I had a Fiat box once that kept dropping out of 4th as the selector was worn from people driving for years with their hands resting on the shifter. When we fixed that I also prelaoded the springs so that it held in gear firmer. Onyl drawback was that it required a firmer shift action to ensure you got it in gear but also gave a firmer tighter feel to the box.
Gavin
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Wed, 11 May 2005 11:56
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fester: from my understanding of the problem you are exactly right. I looked into it a while ago when i was looking around for short shifters. Seems that the top weight is hard mounted and its solid bushed....
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Location:
brisbane
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 12 May 2005 04:36
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heres some info i found on it :
Subject: Re: DIY Quick-shifters
The shift knob I have now is made by Momo. I believe Momo shift knobs are 'universal' fit that they do not need a threaded shaft. The shift-knob I have uses three hex screws (that clamp the shaft) to hold the shift knob in place.
Use some liquid thread lock... without it, the screws can shake themselves loose.Cutting down the stock shifter seems like an easy method to shorten the throws on a tranny! Who makes a shift knob that will bolt onto the shortened shift lever after it's been cut?
> In summary there is two options - shorten the lever on the knob side of the ball joint, or else lengthen the lever on the fork side, but you must pack the assembly higher.
Subject: DIY Quick-shifters
Justen, I dont know how far you can go but I took 2 inches off my T50 shifter and it improved no end. Just sawed it off and rethreaded it. The main problem with this method is that the driver needs a longer arm. I'm 6ft, so no problem and if you have ever seen Bill S you could probably move the shifter
into the engine bay and he would be able to move it! As for my wife she is 5ft 6inches and would find it difficult.
Bruce
Subject: Re: DIY shifters #2
>I chopped my T-50 gear lever off under the rubber vibration damper (on my car now the standard Toyota gearknob bottom is about 2 inches above the ball...) and just welded a bolt with the right thread on (after cutting the head off), which the knob screws on to. A quick file to smooth up the welds, and the join is actually hidden under the knob, although the knob is hard on the leather boot so you would't see it anyway.
Uh........Yep you could do it that way but wouldn't just be easier to thread
the shaft?
Subject: DIY quick shifters #3
Peoples! Hasn't this one really taken flight!
Two points:
despite the amount I shortened my T-50 shifter (say 8 inches on the knob side) the shift remains light (to me). The main key is to make the mental adjustment from an arm forward-back straight line type shift motion to a wrist rotational forward back motion as you are so much closer to the pivot point. I miss changes sometimes, and the box is a little notchy but I think
it is peculiar to my box, as Liam Venter's T-50 shifter in his Striker is about the same length as mine but I thought it had a nicer shift.
- I welded a bolt on for the knob as the shaft was too thick to thread and not able to be put in a lathe. I found the universal 3 grubscrew type knobs to be a pain as the screws eat into the shifter lever and wear little craters that allow the knob to rotate about 5 degrees - no matter how tight you do the screws up you can't get past this slop. Concur using studlock.
Subject: Re: DIY quick shifters #3
>Peoples! Hasn't this one really taken flight!
>Two points: despite the amount I shortened my T-50 shifter (say 8 inches on the knob side) the shift remains light (to me). The main key is to make the mental adjustment from an arm forward-back straight line type shift motion to a wrist rotational forward back motion as you are so much closer to the pivot point. I miss changes sometimes, and the box is a little notchy but I think it is peculiar to my box, as Liam Venter's T-50 shifter in his Striker is about the same length as mine but I thought it had a nicer shift.
Not any more. I have abused it very badly. Phil the two springs that locate the gearshift in the neutral position are differing strengths. I have two of the Stronger springs.
>- I welded a bolt on for the knob as the shaft was too thick to thread and not able to be put in a lathe. I found the universal 3 grubscrew type knobs to be a pain as the screws eat into the shifter lever and wear little craters that allow the knob to rotate about 5 degrees - no matter how tight
you do the screws up you can't get past this slop. Concur using studlock.
Yep I used some Sikaflex 221. I dont think it is ever coming off!
Subject: Re: DIY Quick Shifter
Well yesterday I cut down the shifter on my W55 tranny (in my '81 Celica) about 3 inches yesterday. Instead of threading the old shift knob on, I just enlarged the hole in the knob just enough to that I could barely stuff the knob onto the now threadless lever. It seems to be on pretty good, but only time will tell if the shift know will stay on! The shorter throw is a lot better than stock too, without any more noticeable
effort.
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Location:
S.E suberbs, Vic
Registered:
December 2003
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Thu, 12 May 2005 06:41
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I think I better clarify some things here, as mentioned by styler reaching the damn thing is an issue if you cut it and also theres the whole thread issue. Now for the thread that was too easy with me, I just cut the vibration insulator out of the middle and then welded in the shank of a bolt to make up for some of the lost thread, so I kept the original threaded part. I found I had trouble reaching the thing as I am 172 I think but that was easy to fix. What i did from here is to chop it once again and weld it back in on an angle. If you look at the pic that's with it in neutral not reverse, after I did that it felt great and I managed to position it perfect, onto of that I still have lots of clearence when I select reverse.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Frankston, Victoria
Registered:
April 2004
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Re: T50 shifter modifications
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Sat, 14 May 2005 10:41
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Ey peeps,
Just another alternative to Sam's method, that doesnt require a welder or much skill (just an angle grinder  ).
Basically you chop around the vibration reducer in a specific position (around 5cm from the bottom of it) and you'll find another metal rod in the middle (you can remove the entire vibration reducer, but I wouldnt recommend it). Then go down to autobarn or super cheap and buy yourself one of the aftermarket gear nobs that just slip over the top and then you screw up 3 tiny hex bolts to grip the rod.
Example from my car (note that k50 and t50 shifters are basically identical).
Kev.
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