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

[Kempo]

Great job John. Looks really good.

[Roger Reid]

John, I noticed in your last photo that you moved the shifter position reaward. Try putting the engine cover on and while sitting in it check for elbow room while shifting.

[txbuilder]

Pushing the shaft further through the ball so that it is longer on the bottom will increase the shift effort needed and will shorten the throw of the upper end.

[kabacj]

Pushing the shaft further through the ball so that it is longer on the bottom will increase the shift effort needed and will shorten the throw of the upper end.

Yes you are correct. My mistake. The point of lengthening the lower section was to get the shortest throw rather then ease of shifting. Thanks for the correction.

Since I am really guessing here on the balance of effort and throw I made the disassembly easier to do in the car with the c clip so I can remove the shift rod from the car, press the rod up through the ball to make it easier to shift. Of course to a point as I still need to move the cable the required distance . Right now the lower shaft length is setup to the shortest upper throw possible. (I could get a little more through if i start cutting into the cage as it hits the front left mount when you push the knob to the bottom right. Ill see how it is now before I start cutting.

John

[kabacj]

John, I noticed in your last photo that you moved the shifter position reaward. Try putting the engine cover on and while sitting in it check for elbow room while shifting.

Hi Roger.

I did move the shifter as far back as I could get it without the cables hitting the frame. I also trimmed the plastic body of the toyota shifter base and modified the factory five metal bracket to get the shifter rod pivot an inch lower.

As suggested I put the engine cover on to see where my elbow ends up. My elbow is three or so inches from the cover when im pulling back into second. If anything the seat bolster hits the back of my tricep more then i would like. If i tip the seat back I think I can fix that. It's a good point that I should move the shifter base around to set the optimal shifter position.

Before I trimmed the shift rod I was moving the shifter base back so reverse which is the top right hand position was not such a stretch. I'll have a 5 point harness in the car. When I'm strapped in, there is no leaning forward. With the shorter throw I can experiment moving the shifter forward to see what's optimal.

I'm 5'7" so I'm setting the car up so it's optimal for me. I do want the car also to work for my tall buddies when I let them take the car for a spin. My seat is very adjustable so I hope the car will work for my 5'4 sister or my 6'2 friend. I'll see what can be done for the shifter position.

Thanks for the comment.

John