Toyota cable shifter modification

[kabacj]

As part of the Mendiola transaxle kit Factory Five include shifter cables, a cable shifter from a late model toyota corolla / matrix. The shifter works just fine, but the throw is a little long for my taste. As Kempo documented in his picking up speed thread. One solution is to purchase an aftermarket short throw shifter. I wanted to see if I could modify the shifter that comes with the kit.

Step one is to disassemble the stock unit. To do this you un clip the two spring clips holding down the top of the shift ball retainer ring on the top of the shifter. Next cut off the retainer spring/washer holding the dowel on the top rear of the ball retainer ring. A small cut off wheel works well for this. Next hit the bottom of the shift rod with a rubber mallet until the retainer ring pops off. The ring has teeth that act much like a zip tie and move easily one way only. A few firm taps release the hold. Prying will not get the ring off without hacking up the plastic.

Now with the shift rod out I took a measurement.



Next I cut 3.5 inches off the upper section of the rod cutting out the bend. I then pressed out the remainder of the rod setting the ball in a piece of 1 inch dia pipe.

After squaring off the ends of the rod and beveling the edges so I could get good weld penetration I welded the rod up.



I then pressed the rod back into the ball pushing the bottom section 12mm further down to counter act the loss of leverage by shortening the upper section. This is about as far as you can go without hitting the bottom cage at max throw.



Finally I cut a groove into the dowel that both holds the detent spring and holds down the shifter ball retaining ring to replace the one use spring washer with a C clip.



The result of all this is a shifter throw from front to back of 5 inches which matches the nice short throw of my wifes Audi S4. The height to the sitting driver and throw are much more comfortable then the stock Toyota setup.



John