pics

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now, for the work.

1. first, you will need to start on the shifter. this, i believe, has a 10mm bolt going through the bottom of it. just pull that and let the linkage fall (it won't fall far).
2. second, you will need to pull the shifter out from inside the car. this requires the ring puller that i mentioned earlier and pictured in this post. this requires a lot of patience. set the pullers where they squeeze together when you squeeze the handles together. put the ends in the holes in the rings and squeeze it together while pulling gently. will probably take a few tries. once that is off, you can just pullthe shifter and all of it's parts out of the car. set that aside, because, most shifters will need the two white parts that are on it. my former one didn't, so i threw these parts out and had to wait for a few weeks for another set to be sent to me.
3. third, you will want to pull the stock shift bushing. i know, you were expecting me to say drop in the new shifter. there is a method to my madness here; we all need a win every now and then to keep us going, so, if you disassemble completely first, then reassemble with all of the new parts, it keeps you moving and you feel like you are getting more accomplished. anyways, back to the work itself. the bushing is pretty tough to get out, but it is possible, so patience is the key. you will need to pull the nut that is holding the bushing on and slide the whole thing over (will take a little bit of persuasion). once it is off of the bolt, there is a metal sleeve inside of that bushing. the bushing will not come out unless you pull this sleeve (set aside because you may have to reuse it). after the sleeve is out, you can pull the bushing out by pushing it with a flat head screwdriver (requires some persuasion). with that out of the way, you are disassembled for these two things.

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assembly

1. first, the shifter. if you have a drop-in type shifter like the one posted at the bottom, you can just drop the shifter in and seal it up with some high-temp silicone. if you have the ball-type like the stock one, you will need to reuse the two white plastic pieces that are on your stock shifter. these come off with a little persuasion and you can re-lube them with some lithium grease or something thick and synthetic. i prefer synthetic because it doesn't break down the same way that dino grease does. after these are on their respective places, you can drop the shifter in carefully. make sure that it bottoms out in the hole all of the way and is leaning towards the rear of the car. then comes the ring (if you have the stock type). patience, patience. i have used these ring tools a hundred times and still can't get them right the first time. the ring needs to sit back in the channel the way that it did with the stock shifter (also posted at the bottom).
2. second, you need to move back under the car. you will need to put the two little plastic pieces that are in the base of the stock shifter (where it meets the linkage in pic 2 of previous post) in the new shifter in the same position. then, you just butt the linkage back up to the bottom of the shifter and put the bolt back through it. when you tighten the nut back down, you don't have to tighten it down really tight, just snug. shifter is installed now.
3. third, move to the front of the car where the shift bushings will go. drop the shift bushings in, one side at a time, and slide the sleeve into them (provided that the new bushings don't replace this sleeve). next, slide the linkage back onto the bolt that it was on and make sure that both of the side washers are back on it before tightening down the nut. here, it requires some persuasion and remember that most of the shift bushings that you buy will only replace the stock bushing and not any other parts, so don't throw anything out.

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now, you are finished up. the result is a shifter that is shorter due to shifter height and throw and a shift that is clean and easy due to the new bushings. in my case, my shift height is the same because i already had a megan short shifter installed. i wanted to change though because my wife drives the car more than i do and the megan was too heavy of a shift for her. i liked it though. oh well, just more parts laying around my garage. that was my shifter-work write-up. hope that you all benefit from it and don't feel that it is too long. i just wanted to make sure that i got every detail.

 

i'm looking at installing a short shifter to my 2000 DX protege...what brand of short shifter do you advise?

 

shifters are all up to the driver. if you like a heavy, solidshift, i would recommend something like a megan or twm. if you like the light feeling of a stock shifter, i recommend a mazdaspeed protege shifter like what i installed on mine. whatever you do, just remember that you need a heavy shift ball to balance the shorter throw. that is where the higher price tag comes in.

as for feel with me, i liked the megan shifter that i had, but i very seldomly drive my car anymore and my wife hated the feel of it, so i needed to put something in that had a lighter throw. if you like a heavy throw shifter, i may sell my megan. the height isn't a whole lot different (about 1 1/2 inches), but the throw is way shorter. a megan with the ball usually goes for about $100, but i am keeping the ball off of this one, so i could let it go for $35 + shipping. you need to figure out whether or not you will like it though before you buy.

 

bump. last weekend, i installed one of my headers and a high flow mid-pipe. i still haven't done the motor mounts because i haven't bothered with finding the front mount. i will run through the header installation and heat-wrapping process when i heat wrap my other header and install it.

 

long overdue, but here is a recent engine compartment shot. the header isn't very well wrapped, so that is why i am putting my other header on when i finish wrapping it. i will give another shot then. i will also have to get a shot from underneath to show the mid-pipe and bushings.

 

i no this was posted some time ago but iv been reading thru it and was wondering where the pics were. wouls really appreciate it if you would post them. im new in the game so dont really no wat to look for. thanks

 

****, nevermind, pics just popped up now. thaks tho