Alright now that I've driven the car a lot with the shifter I have some comments. I like the shifter a lot. The positive stops are great.

My only issue with it is that it is difficult to move the shifter into 5th and reverse. The first 4 gears are great and the shifter vibrates less than the stock one did. However in 5th gear the whole car vibrates erratically. at like 80 on up. Did anybody else have this problem?

 

Dustin:

As I mentioned I had difficulty moving the shifter across the gate to
1st. Changed the handle to the opposite side and it's much better. I have driven the car up to around 100mph and haven't experienced any vibration. I did have a slight rattle from the rearward stop and had to back it off a little more. Is it possible that your vibration is caused by hitting the forward stop when in 5th?? I still get a slight rattle from the bronze bushing / Shift linkage. Is it possible you have some
movement there causing vibration?? I appreciate your offer to send the white washer for the linkage but maybe you do need it?

 

You know I just took it for a ride and the 5th gear problem I reported seems to have gone away. I guess it just had to be broken in. The shifter now feels really really good. I think the stick rattles less than it did with the stock shifter to be honest. I get no rattling sound from the bushings. If you want the washer it's yours 05SatinGT. If I need it I can make another one.

As promised here are some movies so you guys can see what it sounds like. I think it sounds really cool and is not like most people fear.

http://home.comcast.net/~dustindu4/steeda_...install_034.wmv

http://home.comcast.net/~dustindu4/steeda_...install_042.wmv

If there are any other video requests I will accomodate, just ask.

 

Cool video ... Glad you are happy with it. Mine seems to have broken in as well (or I am just getting used to it). Anyway, I couldn't imagine
going back to stock. Thanks for the washer - sent you a pm.

 

The fun never ends. My car vibrates like crazy only higher than 80 in 5th gear. All other times it's okay. My 5th gear is a little tight still. When the car starts vibrating, I hear some rattling in the shifter, which is the bushings I think. Don't worry I have another nylon washer.

Has anybody tried calling Steeda today or this week? I keep getting "all circuits busy" or a busy signal when I try calling. They are in So. FL so I wonder if they're out of power.

Has anybody else with a Tri-Ax had trouble with 5th gear being tight? Did it go away? How did you fix it?

 

I have been trying to contact Diablosport (which is only a few miles from Steeda) and have the same results - all circuits are busy or just a busy signal. I have heard several reports that the area was really hammered by hurricane Wilma.

 

Well that ain't good. I guess I can live with it for a while

 

good write up!....I too had the same problem with the brass bushings when i did my install....for future reference this is what i did as opposed to drilling out the bushings, i dremeled off the paint on the shift lever...after this was done the bushings went on PERFECTLY...

 

I fixed my vibration problems, read about it here

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=37798

My 5th gear is still tight. I will see what Steeda says.

 

I completely fixed my issues with the shifter this weekend. Basically what my problem was that I tightened all the connections way too tight. I loosened everything up and used Loctite 242 medium strength threadlocker on all the nuts/threads just to be safe. What made the 5th gear too tight to get into was because the hex bolt that attached to the big donut bushing was very tight, not allowing the shifter to flex sideways to reach into 5th. I loosened the donut bushing screw and the tightness into 5th and reverse went away.

My shifter almost does not vibrate all all now, even less than the stock one did, I'm suprised. Absolutely no problems now.

As promised here is a picture of the rubber padding I put between the chassis mount and the body which eliminated all vibrations.

[attachmentid=37471]

I love this shifter!

 

Thanks for posting some nice instructions.

I was able to install my shifter in about 2 hours. One thing I found out was that I didn't have to remove the center console. I was able to get the original shifter out with no problem.

I installed the Steeda in two pieces. First I lowered the main shifter body into the opening, and then I installed the transmission arm with two allen head bolts under the car.

Man, you probably saved me at least a couple of hours. The Steeda factory instructions SUCK!

Thanks,
Mike

 

You're welcome. How does it feel? Is it tight? Any problems?

I need to get back under my car to adjust mine. I left the 2 mounting nuts too loose and when I launch hard, the shifter slides back and forth. The only thing that makes this shifter sucky and others like it like the 5.0 Pro shifter is that the back end is fixed. If you look at the stock shifter, rear mounting point allows the shifter to move back and forth with the tranny under load because it is allowed to slide back in forth on the rubber mount. When you tighten a shifter of this design down, it isn't allowed to move, causing all the vibration problems.

I'm glad my $120k mechanical engineering degree helps me understand how my Steeda shifter works :bang:

 

 

No problems so far...a little bit noisy, but it shifts much nicer. You are correct about the stock rubber mount. I think Steed could have reduced some of the tranny vibrations by using a "floating" rubber mount and perhaps using a softer rubber to dampen the harmonic distortions coming from the transmision brace and being amplified into the shifter assembly.

All-in-all, I am very happy with the mod.

Thanks again for sharing...you really saved me alot of time and frustration. :worship:

Mike

 

Glad it went ok

I went back under my car today and used threadlocker on everything. What I did was I used Loctite 242 on all the threads/nuts and tightened the 5 connections real tight, then I backed off a half a turn. It will hold and I get absolutely no tranny vibration at all, just some sweet shifting ca-chunks.

I didn't want to have any problems in the winter when I can't jack my car up to fix it. Besides it would be bad if the shifter got loose and dropped down on the driveshaft yoke below it. I wouldn't want to be in the car when that happens. That's why those 2 mounting studs are so long.

 

I was just at Costco and got an idea for a silicone rubber pad substutute for a vibration damper. They had a 9 pack of those anti-fatigue floor mat squares that has interlocking sides on it to make 1 big mat. It was $8.99 and the stuff is just the right density. Just cut it up and use 2 or 3 layers. You can find this stuff at Home Depot too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dustindu4 @ November 11, 2005, 8:29 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I was just at Costco and got an idea for a silicone rubber pad substutute for a vibration damper. They had a 9 pack of those anti-fatigue floor mat squares that has interlocking sides on it to make 1 big mat. It was $8.99 and the stuff is just the right density. Just cut it up and use 2 or 3 layers. You can find this stuff at Home Depot too.
[/b][/quote]

Digging this one up [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img] Dustin thanks for the tip above about the Loc-Tite, I'll definitely do that when my Hurst shows up tomorrow. On the silicone rubber padding idea - do you mean to cut small pieces of it to put between the car sheet metal and the rear of the shifter?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MTAS @ April 13, 2006, 11:58 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
On the silicone rubber padding idea - do you mean to cut small pieces of it to put between the car sheet metal and the rear of the shifter?
[/b][/quote]

yes, it dampens the vibration