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Okay, so these have been a hot topic (see the sticky at the top of the forum), and I need to give credit to Wodan and Illinipo for their assistance in this. So, I went through, and figured this all out for people for if they want to save money. This mod ends up doing what the Steeda/FR one does, moving the mount up the notch. Other how-tos have been done for STS's but this is for adjusting the stock, and to show people what it is like if you have the rev. lockout, and for those who don't.
Here is what i did. i did the modification tonight, and was happy, but then while driving, my mount slipped back down to stock! so, i went back in, and checked it out. the screw for the mount would not tighten down all the way, so it would go up, but when shifting into 2nd and 3rd, it would pop back down. part of the problem was the rev. lockout, as it was pushing downwards with its spring. i also wanted the mount even higher. but how to do this??
what i did was slid it up as far as it would go, without the mount spinning. this left a good part of the notch exposed, but still left the issue of it sliding back down. to fix this, i used a small hose clamp. i put it over the notch and tightened it down. now, the mount will not slide down, but you have the issue of it sliding up, and popping off the notch (since it is just sitting on it now). what i did was used the rev. lockout to my advantage. it pushes back down on the mount from the shift knob.
i had noticed that the knob could be turned 3 more full turns if i muscled the hell out of it. the 3rd turn, i needed 2 hands and leverage. this lowered the knob about an eight/quarter of an inch, and forces the rev. lockout back down on the mount, so it is now tightly in place. as noted before, this left the problem of the boot catching! soooo, I did the usual and cut it down, but that was still not enough. the bar was still hitting the console itself in 1st and 5th. so, i used a razor and scraped off some of the console, where the boot ring goes (you cant see it). this allowed plenty of free play.
all in all, HOLY CRAP, what a difference!! i cannot believe it. it is like night and day. it just snaps in and out, and is so tight. mind you, i also lowered the overall height just by those 3 extra turns i got out of the knob (took some power). all in all, i would say to do this, see what you think, and then decide if you need to buy an STS. remember, you can also hack off an extra bit if you feel you need to. in my setup, i cannot do that, as i am using the rev. lockout to keep the mount in place. a way around this, or if you do not have the rev. lockout anyways, is to just put another clamp above the linkage mount (the thing you slide up the rod) to keep it in place. you could then dremel/hacksaw off some of the threads, or do more, and rethread it. your choice. what i love about this is that you get the shorter throw, but keep most of the height, and its all customizable to how you want it, for free.
Andddd now....PICS!
First, what is being changed....we are moving the top mount up the notch. Below is an example of the notch, from Omnifocus on FJ, via Illinipo:
![]()
So, first, remove the boot ring by pushing lightly on the rear of the ring. There are tabs, one on the rear, 2 on the front:
![]()
Rear tab:
![]()
Front tabs:
![]()
This is what it looks like under there (if you have rev. lockout):
![]()
If you dont have reverse lockout:
![]()
Now, unscrew the knob. If you have rev. lockout, there is a spring, shown here:
![]()
Now, I know the pics are a bit fuzzy (did this tonight), but you can see what i mean. The mount for the linkage I moved up is held tight around the notch by a screw. Undo this (pen is pointing at it below), and use a flathead screwdriver to open the mount enough that it will slide up. You will know how far is too far, b/c once off the notch, the mount spins around the rod. Just slide it down til it is just on the notch enough to keep it from spinning:
![]()
Notice the clamp above. That is what I mentioned, to keep the mount in place, from sliding down. Pointed out here:
![]()
![]()
So, the mount wont slide down. If you have the rev. lockout, here is how it holds the mount from sliding UP (see how the silver piece locks down on the mount):
![]()
If you do NOT have the lockout piece, id say just use another clamp on top of the mount, to keep it in place. i tried it,and it worked fine. you would have to do that if you chopped the rod any shorter.
Now that you have that done, you can put the knob back on. Here is the clearance issue though, for the linkage rod:
![]()
Here is the fix: chop off the front of the lip of the boot ring, and then the console itself:
![]()
![]()
Finished, notice you cannot see where I cut the console:
![]()
Then, just pop the boot back in, and play around with your new shifter. See what you think! Like I said, may want to chop the stick. Whew! K, I am all done. Hope you guys find this as helpful as I did. Now, this was all drawn out, but it really only takes about 30 mins. It is really easy, but lots of people have never seen under their shifter boot, and may be intimidated by the thought of modding it. Thought I could shed some light. Again, thanks to Illinipo and Wodan.
Here is what i did. i did the modification tonight, and was happy, but then while driving, my mount slipped back down to stock! so, i went back in, and checked it out. the screw for the mount would not tighten down all the way, so it would go up, but when shifting into 2nd and 3rd, it would pop back down. part of the problem was the rev. lockout, as it was pushing downwards with its spring. i also wanted the mount even higher. but how to do this??
what i did was slid it up as far as it would go, without the mount spinning. this left a good part of the notch exposed, but still left the issue of it sliding back down. to fix this, i used a small hose clamp. i put it over the notch and tightened it down. now, the mount will not slide down, but you have the issue of it sliding up, and popping off the notch (since it is just sitting on it now). what i did was used the rev. lockout to my advantage. it pushes back down on the mount from the shift knob.
i had noticed that the knob could be turned 3 more full turns if i muscled the hell out of it. the 3rd turn, i needed 2 hands and leverage. this lowered the knob about an eight/quarter of an inch, and forces the rev. lockout back down on the mount, so it is now tightly in place. as noted before, this left the problem of the boot catching! soooo, I did the usual and cut it down, but that was still not enough. the bar was still hitting the console itself in 1st and 5th. so, i used a razor and scraped off some of the console, where the boot ring goes (you cant see it). this allowed plenty of free play.
all in all, HOLY CRAP, what a difference!! i cannot believe it. it is like night and day. it just snaps in and out, and is so tight. mind you, i also lowered the overall height just by those 3 extra turns i got out of the knob (took some power). all in all, i would say to do this, see what you think, and then decide if you need to buy an STS. remember, you can also hack off an extra bit if you feel you need to. in my setup, i cannot do that, as i am using the rev. lockout to keep the mount in place. a way around this, or if you do not have the rev. lockout anyways, is to just put another clamp above the linkage mount (the thing you slide up the rod) to keep it in place. you could then dremel/hacksaw off some of the threads, or do more, and rethread it. your choice. what i love about this is that you get the shorter throw, but keep most of the height, and its all customizable to how you want it, for free.
Andddd now....PICS!
First, what is being changed....we are moving the top mount up the notch. Below is an example of the notch, from Omnifocus on FJ, via Illinipo:
So, first, remove the boot ring by pushing lightly on the rear of the ring. There are tabs, one on the rear, 2 on the front:
Rear tab:
Front tabs:
This is what it looks like under there (if you have rev. lockout):
If you dont have reverse lockout:
Now, unscrew the knob. If you have rev. lockout, there is a spring, shown here:
Now, I know the pics are a bit fuzzy (did this tonight), but you can see what i mean. The mount for the linkage I moved up is held tight around the notch by a screw. Undo this (pen is pointing at it below), and use a flathead screwdriver to open the mount enough that it will slide up. You will know how far is too far, b/c once off the notch, the mount spins around the rod. Just slide it down til it is just on the notch enough to keep it from spinning:
Notice the clamp above. That is what I mentioned, to keep the mount in place, from sliding down. Pointed out here:
So, the mount wont slide down. If you have the rev. lockout, here is how it holds the mount from sliding UP (see how the silver piece locks down on the mount):
If you do NOT have the lockout piece, id say just use another clamp on top of the mount, to keep it in place. i tried it,and it worked fine. you would have to do that if you chopped the rod any shorter.
Now that you have that done, you can put the knob back on. Here is the clearance issue though, for the linkage rod:
Here is the fix: chop off the front of the lip of the boot ring, and then the console itself:
Finished, notice you cannot see where I cut the console:
Then, just pop the boot back in, and play around with your new shifter. See what you think! Like I said, may want to chop the stick. Whew! K, I am all done. Hope you guys find this as helpful as I did. Now, this was all drawn out, but it really only takes about 30 mins. It is really easy, but lots of people have never seen under their shifter boot, and may be intimidated by the thought of modding it. Thought I could shed some light. Again, thanks to Illinipo and Wodan.
