Thanks for your input.

I am referring to the large rubber dust boot. The factory leather boot was not a problem. The top of the rubber dust boot is what doesn't seem to attach correctly.

 

A trick I did to reinstall the factory rubber boot. Push the entire rubber boot down through the hole and then pull up around the circumference until the first "lip" seals around the hole in the car.

The harder part for me was to get the bottom of the rubber boot around the base of the Hurst. Need some small hands to do that. This part is underneath the car and getting the bottom opening of the rubber boot around the base of the Hurst made me more comfortable from a preventing dust and debris from getting into the shifter mechanism. I did this part first then I pushed the entire upper boot through the hole in the car and lifted up as I described in the first paragraph.

 

Yes this is how I did it as well. But how did you attach the top of the rubber boot to the square lever at the top? It is not a round shaft. It is square.

 

That was me, in this thread back yonder in post #7. I determined the leverage/fulcrum thing by laying both units side-by-side and the fulcrum is indeed higher on the Hurst unit relative to the plane of the "mount". This would definitely reduce mechanical advantage (and travel) an I believe this accounts for the greater effort going into gear and the "notchy" sensation getting there. I think they could've been a bit more conservative about this, but I don't find it objectionable enough not to stay with it.

I also suspect that most of the "thunk" you might perceive when going into gear (especially 2nd & 4th) is due to the rear urethane bushing that contacts the floorboard in the tranny tunnel directly. I kinda' wish I'd replaced THAT bushing with the rubber one from the stocker...and I might yet, if it will fit and I have some free time. Most front-to-rear "securing" is via the front mount...the rear one mostly just holds it up via the strap.

I agree that the longer Hurst lever was likely conceived to add back some movement and ease-of-effort (and to showoff the classic Hurst "looks")

 

I just slid the rubber boot until the top of the rubber boot was flush with the top hex bolt on the chrome stick. If I remember correctly there was still a small gap but I had to stretch the rubber boot ever so slightly over.

 

Right. The extra 3/4 to 1 inch or so also helps to show off the "Hurst" logo engraved on the chrome stick (so the leather boot isn't too squinched up).

 

I like the shifter and it really has a shorter throw but there is "no way" that I could power shift my car with the Hurst shifter. It's a two step process everytime that I shift, 1st-neutral-2nd etc.

 

I put the dust cover back in place with the coated end of a channel lock pliers. Took the pliers apart used one piece reaching down through the hole in the dust cover and pushed in down around the Hurst. As far as the top of the dust cover I found between the 2 allen bolts to be the fit for me. Then on the boot usng the included oual shaped grommit in push in down far enough to planly show the HURST.

Far as vibration I haven't noticed anymore than the stock shifter had.

 

I have had 8 mustangs total....I have installed aftermarket shifters in 4 of them. I installed a hurst with the chrome stick and white ball in my '91 coupe and steeda shifters in the '96 and '99 GTs. I installed a steeda in my '01 Cobra (which had the new for '01 3650 tranny). All of them increased NVH and shifting effort. They all also increased my speed in shifting and gave a more positive action to the shift (what some of you may be referring to as "notchiness"). I plan on installing the Hurst in my '05 at some point. What I have done with these shifters in the past was to install either a small piece of urethane or cork (gasket material) where the shifter's lever attaches to the base (in the case of the old shifters, with 2 bolts....I haven't looked at the new one yet). Believe it or not, just this little insulation quiets some of the NVH without adding back the "rubbery" feel of the stock shifter.

My tolerance for NVH has decreased in direct proportion to my increase in age. But I do not want to defeat the advantage of having the short throw shifter, so this has been a good compromise for me in the past. They have still been noisier than the stock shifter, but felt much better. The shifter in the new car is much better than years past, which is why I have not been in a hurry to change it. I will be changing it mostly for the look this time, so I will probably reuse the stock rubber bushings instead of the poly. Like most things in life, it's a tradeoff.

 

Well I wanted to update my Hurst "longer term" experience. After driving with it a few months, it has become much easier to shift into gears. In other words its loosened up a lot. Still firmer getting into the gears than stock but I like it.

Unfortunately, I have developed a slight vibration buzzing noise at around 3,000 rpms when I'm romping on the accelerator. If I hold the chrome stick it is minimized considerably. I've had to tighten the two bolts that hold the chrome stick to the base once but I checked that and they are tight.

I'm thinking about trying smitty's recommendation with some sort of gasket material between the chrome stick and the base since the noise seems to disapper if I put some slight pressure on the stick while going through these rpms. I'm also considering changing out the rear bushing back to stock since you don't have to pull the entire shifter out to change out that bushing.

I still love the shifter though and I am pretty confident that one of the above solutions will help.

Anybody else have any longer term experiences with the Hurst and vibration problems?

thanks,
Paul

 

I don't want to get flamed for this... and I'm not being a smart a**.

But... I would really like to know:

With all of the trouble you folks are having with the various shifters (Hurst, Steeda, Saleen, etc) WHY BOTHER?

Is it THAT much benefit to changing out the shifter to worry about using old grommets, drilling new holes, stuffing socks in your shift boot, and gnashing your teeth over how many turns the 3/8" nut requires?

I think I'll keep my stock shifter after seeing the countless threads (especially about Hurst) complaining about the dysfunctionality of them.

:scratch:

 

great, and I just got the Hurst for christmas.....

so no powershifting? I thought the whole point of these shifters was to shift faster.....

 

Hey, you aren't being a smart hiney in my opinion. I see that you have owned a lot of Mustangs too. This is my third. After driving around for the past 10 years with a Hurst, you kind of get used to it. The Hurst in my '94 had somewhat of the same problem even though it was a totally different design.

Why put up with it? It comes down to personal preference. I like the shorter throws and the firm feel of knowing exactly what gear you are are in and what gear you are about to shift to. I have to admit the stock shifter was about the worst thing I hated about the '05 GT and the stock shifter is probably better feeling than what I had in my 5.0 GT Mustangs of old.

It isn't a dysfuntional problem at all, it is very minor in my case, I'm just tryiing to get it "perfect" like most of here would have high standards. Should Hurst have resolved these problems from the get go .... yes .... but they didn't. I'm still glad I did it and wouldn't go back to stock right now regardless of the slight buzzing noise. It is very minor and I'm just being a perfectionist here like we all are to some extent. I still feel that this is a good modification to my car and adds to the enjoyment of driving it. I think a solution is very close on the horizon based on some of the feedback on this thread. I hope to try out some of the suggestion s in the next week and wil give some honest feedback on how it worked out for me.

 

I haven't heard of any problems with the Saleen adaptor. Mine has been flawless.

 

I agree with mrkabc. Why buy this when it's more of a hassle to use. Here some different quotes. Very stiff. Hard to shift. If I hold the chrome, it seems to virbrate less. Hard go get into first. Use a sock inside the boot. Loud virbrating sound. If I stay at a certain rpm leval, really vibrates. If I jump on it, vibrates. Now, does the stock shifter have any of these problems? To me, its just (sorry for this) stubborn folks that want this shifter regardless of the outcome. Much of it I think is because of the nostalgia aspect of it. Maybe new cars are not meant to have this shifter, or some of the others. I think FORD probably did the best with the stock shifter which is better than the after markets.

 

same as you here, and the noise does not go away by grabbing the stick it just softens it up a little.
not related...has anyone tried a curved shifter arm, I think this would put the shifter in the perfect location, check out the Roush short throw shifter, this would be killer on the Hurst( see article in Mustang Enthusiast/Feb 2006 edition

 

well, I just installed the Hurst.. .and have been driving it, and I LOVE it. there is no additional noise (that I can hear over the Loudmouths even with windows closed) except for the satisfying CLICK in to gear. and the vibrations are not noticble unless you are looking for them.

you guys scared me, but I am glad i got it and I love it.

 

2 Months with the B&M, still fantastic and still a firm and great shifter, no noise problem, no vibration. You shift it in the gear you want to go and it snugs right in!!

Love the B&M!

 

Glad it worked out for you! Did you use the Hurst poly bushings or the stock EPDM bushings?

I made a gasket today to go between the chrome stick and the base. I have a hunch that noise is coming from this joint. The gasket is made out of 1/32 inch rubber fiber material and I found it at the local auto parts store. For good measure, I also used medium strenght blue loctite for the two screws as these have a tendancy to loosen up a little and cause a rattle.

Didn't get to drive the car after this mod but plan on giving a report tomorrow.

 

I used the Hurst red bushings.... and locktite on the handle... I drove about 300 miles on it so far (going to pick up my 4.30s hehe) and I love it. The only thing I dont like is that i cant shift fast enough becuase of the stop in netrual it has to make..... but I think that is just a problem with the fact that it has linkage and will be there with any shifter.