Maybe it's just me and that is totally possible, but I can't seem to find the correct torque for the two 10mm nuts on the shifter bushing ?? Replacing the stock one with the Steeda piece and and the directions just say "torque to specs" with big, bold lettering telling you not to over tighten them. If anyone has this info it would be appreciated !!

Thanks

 

It's 97 in/lbs.

Yeah - inch pounds. When I was installing my shifter I was aggravated that info wasn't on the install sheet, but I had a mechanic look it up for me.

Let us know how you like the Steeda piece. I really like the improved feel of mine.

 

Much appreciated....thank you. I think I watched every install video I could find and read the PDF's and they all just said torque to specs !!

Quite sure it will help a great deal....thanks again !!

 

No need to over think stuff like this. You can use a standard torque chart in the back of any shop manual for the size and pitch of the bolt or nut. Anything this size shouldn't be hit harder than 10 lbs/ft...the spec above is actually around 8 lbs/ft. Use some gentle loctite for security, not the HD kind that requires heat to remove, etc.; that's a recipe for stripped/snapped studs if you have to remove it later.

The Steeda piece is really nice. Tight squeeze getting it in over the driveshaft but, very solid, with either bushing choice. Black does transmit more vibes and noise but red is virtually indistinguishable from stock but improves shifting a lot.

 

Thanks for the info.....much appreciated. I'm looking forward to putting it in. I'll try the black bushing first and then go from there. Interested to see how the shifting feels especially since I also took the clutch assist spring out.

 

I did black first too, but the shifter rattles with it a little bit and the intrusion of sound was noticeable. Not terrible but, noticeable. The degradation of shift quality with red was actually pretty indistinguishable, though, on the other hand. I have 75+ passes on the car on the red bushing.

 

Does the bushing help a lot with making the 2-3 shift? I feel like its 50/50 whether I'm going to miss 3rd gear every pass at the track

 

It does but like all narrow-gate 6 speed cars, technique is really important.

Honestly, all you have to do to make 2-3 nearly every time, is the open palm shift. Manhandling the shifter, like we had to do with an old Toploader, is recipe for missed shifts, on this, or any 6 speed car.

The bushing will give you far greater confidence on all shifts and take a lot of the engagement imprecision in the stocker out.

 

I couldn't agree more. It's technique that's the key. I was able to power shift with the stock shifter and bushing using the "open palm" shift although it always made me nervous. I installed the Steeda shifter and the black bushing and although it was a tremendous improvement over stock, I still shift with an open palm and let the centering spring do its job. No missed shifts.

 

Cool ill try the open palm shifting next time. I went ahead and ordered the steeda bushing too since it seems like it should be a large improvement for not much money.

 

This may be helpful when installing the bushing. Some people have complained that they were unable to clear the drive shaft when installing the bracket. Some have lowered the drive shaft to get the bushing on. I had the same problem with my car on ramps. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to slide past the ds. The solution for me was, with the car on ramps, to jack up the driver's side at the rear lift point until the rear driver side wheel was just off the ground. That done the bushing went on easy. It might not be a problem if you're using jack stands. Also - Steeda gives you two bushings. The black one has a cut in it which allows it to easily go on the rear of the shift box. You then slide the bracket over the bushing. The red one is uncut. I don't think it makes the install any more difficult but removal might be. Even though I used the black bushing, I cut the red one with a utility knife in case I ever decide to use it. Whichever bushing you use you will be very happy with the result.

 

Installing or removing red is no big deal. a little WD or similar and a big screwdriver and it pops off, no cut. I would not cut that bush, as it is markedly softer than the black one.

If you are a little tight to the DS, you can also just dress the corner of the billet bracket slightly with a hand file. A few thou is enough for it to go right on, no issues.

 

Mine would have required a lot more than a few thou to clear the drive shaft. For me it was easier and quicker to jack the rear. If you cut the red bushing cleanly which is easy to do, it should have no effect on wear or performance since it's held firmly in place and surrounded by the bracket. If the red comes off that easy though, then it's not necessary.

When you switched out the black, did the bracket slip off the bushing easily? I'm using the black and doubt I'll switch it since I don't have a noise issue but since the bushing sits pretty tightly in the bracket I was curious how hard it is to slide it off.

 

You will materially affect the stiffness of the red bushing by cutting it. The bushing stabilizes not just vertically and left to right but also front to rear. The black bush is so stiff this is of little consequence, the red one is less so.

Another way to get this in w/o doing anything is to lower the centre bearing slightly or pull the trans mount bolts out (trans supported) and lower the trans slightly.

The bracket slid off the black bushing without issue. I had used a little silicone brake grease on it when I put it together though, as I always do with poly bushes, as I've seen enough of them stick and tear over time.

 

We're not going to agree on this but I'd point out that the Joe Heck Racing Bracket, which is very similar to the Steeda, uses a two piece poly bushing with no issues. The poly bushing is their softer bushing.

I considered loosening the bolts on the ds or the trans but felt that jacking at the lift point was a much simpler solution.

I used the grease Steeda provided. Looks like it might be the stuff Energy Suspension sells. So far no noise or rattles from the black bushing which I installed about a year ago. In cold weather you do hear - if you really listen - a little gear noise but it's a good sound.