Evo 4 shifter assembly in Evo 1-3?

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dsm2evo

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I have seen this done before, does anyone have a breakdown of what all is needed and what needs to be modified? My shifter assembly is just way to sloppy and even after redoing all the bushings it still feels like it's in neutral in every gear. This makes it incredibly hard to find a gear when going for spirited drives.
 
Yes gear box has solids and skateboard bearings, and the whole assembly was completely rebuilt and new solid bushings under the assembly.
 
I honestly don't know why people bother with the E4 shifter setup! I track my CC with a stock standard CC shifter assembly linked to a dogbox. I've replaced all the bushings in the shifter assembly and have solid mounted the shifter base. Am using the brass bushes in the gearbox linkage ends of the cables.

I do have two pairs of the brass shifter bushes for the pivot arms on the shifter assembly on the way so that will hopefully firm things up even more.
 
As hard as it might be to consider - your gearbox might need a bit of a freshen up? If the de-tents in the gearbox are worn or slipping, it'll feel sloppy.

I had dramas with my gearbox until we disassembled it and tightened a few things up. We also packed the de-tent ball springs with washers to increase the de-tent feel. Made the shifts a bit more "clicky".
 
I have recently refreshed my shifter and shifting is absolutely perfect.
6x bushes in the shifter assembly
Solid bushes as gearbox end of cable
Already had solid base bushes

I was looking in to doing the later model conversion before 'upgrading' my shifter; I have a E6.5 shifter which I believe will fundamentally the same and the E4.
The shifter base is flat, where as ours is stepped.
So, pack one end up and the shifter base looked as though it will physically fit.
As for the suitability of the cables, im not sure.

Ive got both shifter cradles at home so can take some photos.
 
There's a guide on how to do the later model shifter change somewhere out there and the cable interfaces are different from what I recall. At the end of the day I figured it just seemed like too much of a headf**k for what the perceived benefit would be.

If you've addressed all the bushings in the shifter assembly and cables and the shift feel is still not satisfactory, then you might have to take a look at your gearbox internals as it could be a warning sign things are on the way out inside the casing.

Like I said - packing the springs for the de-tent balls made a notable improvement to the shift feel and is something you can do with the gearbox in the car (the 3x bolts for the springs/ball-bearings are accessible from the front of the gearbox casing - just don't let the springs shoot out when you take the bolts out!)
 
ENGINR said:
There's a guide on how to do the later model shifter change somewhere out there and the cable interfaces are different from what I recall. At the end of the day I figured it just seemed like too much of a headf**k for what the perceived benefit would be.

If you've addressed all the bushings in the shifter assembly and cables and the shift feel is still not satisfactory, then you might have to take a look at your gearbox internals as it could be a warning sign things are on the way out inside the casing.

Like I said - packing the springs for the de-tent balls made a notable improvement to the shift feel and is something you can do with the gearbox in the car (the 3x bolts for the springs/ball-bearings are accessible from the front of the gearbox casing - just don't let the springs shoot out when you take the bolts out!)

I just finished rebuilding my trans and everything is to spec or slightly tighter tolerance so I doubt my trans is the issue. This problem is my assembly even after being rebuilt it feels as though I'm in neutral when in gear. I'm not the only Evo 1 owner I know with this issue either. My only other thought is that my cables are just that worn but that's a stretch I think.
 
It's kinda hard not to do solid bushings wrong lol, nor is this Evo my first project. As for the trans rebuild like I said it's to spec or tighter in areas so slop wouldn't exist inside. I'm fairly certain my assembly is ready for the bin or new cables. But if I'm getting a new assembly id rather upgrade to a newer gen style. Yea it's work but I'd rather my gearbox feel more updated.
 
If you've rebuilt the gearbox then that rules that avenue of investigation out!

Are the cable support brackets bolted to the gearbox? I know it sounds stupid but the rubber isolators can flog out and the bracket moves - which would cause a sloppy shift as the cables themselves are free to move.

Otherwise might need to look at the cables.
 
dsm2evo said:
It's kinda hard not to do solid bushings wrong lol, nor is this Evo my first project. As for the trans rebuild like I said it's to spec or tighter in areas so slop wouldn't exist inside. I'm fairly certain my assembly is ready for the bin or new cables. But if I'm getting a new assembly id rather upgrade to a newer gen style. Yea it's work but I'd rather my gearbox feel more updated.
I was more referring to the nylon bushes around the shifter mechanism mate. And saying you may not have done that properly. Oh forgot to add the "lol"
 
Also...if you had addressed all the bushings in the shifter properly then why you it be "ready for the bin"
Again...why I suggested you may not have done the job correctly.
Not saying you were a fucking idiot...............I wouldve just said that straight out if thats what I was implying.
 
evo-gsr said:
Also...if you had addressed all the bushings in the shifter properly then why you it be "ready for the bin"
Again...why I suggested you may not have done the job correctly.
Not saying you were a fucking idiot...............I wouldve just said that straight out if thats what I was implying.
haha sorry I wasnt meaning for my comment to be taken as though I was being a dick haha, and this comment got me laughing too lol.

here is what I have done, I started with the plastic bushings in the shifter housing itself, I went with a copper insert and ditched the hard plastic,

2eg8i3d.jpg


then I added solid bushings to the base of my shifter assembly,

30vlybp.jpg


and finally I added bearings where my stock rubber bushings where on the trans,

14sf5eh.jpg



if I haved missed any other areas for slop please let me know as I am pretty sure these are the only places that would cause such problems. I will say it made it A LOT better but it still feels bad even for an older car.
 
I've just ordered two pairs of the brass bushings in your first pic and have elevated solid mounts for the shifter base to raise the shifter up.

What is the cylindrical bushing in your 2nd pic? The factory setup uses a cylindrical bushing that the plastic ring bushes slip onto either end - is the one in your pic an upgrade?
 
ENGINR said:
I've just ordered two pairs of the brass bushings in your first pic and have elevated solid mounts for the shifter base to raise the shifter up.

What is the cylindrical bushing in your 2nd pic? The factory setup uses a cylindrical bushing that the plastic ring bushes slip onto either end - is the one in your pic an upgrade?
Shane, it goes in between the upper gearbox link - it isn't a bushing as such - more of a shaft. Refer to the attached marked up - ive circled it in red. You get this ion a lot of kits when you buy the solid shifter base bushes.

dsm2evo, Regarding the copper bushes - nice. I looked in to them but postage was a killer. How many did you install. There are actually 6x bushes that need to be changes to eliminate the slop. I've highlighted the 4 that you probably changed in yellow; there are 2 more bushes that you need to replace which have been circled in blue.
 

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