Installing a PRD Short Throw Shifter
Installing the shifter should only take about 45 minutes to an hour at the most.Listed below are the tools that will be needed to complete this job:
The first and easiest place to start on this installation is to take off the center console, this is done by grasping the inside of the shifter boot area and carefully pulling upwards to release the clips, unplug the cigarette lighter and lamp power when available. Carefully remove the upper rubber boot (left photo below). Next, remove the retaining snap-rings. This can be done with a pair of very small needle-nosed or snap-ring pliers (middle photo below).
The next thing to do is secure and raise the vehicle. Next, loosen a couple of screws so that the shielding can be moved a bit. This is done to allow easier access to the bottom part of the shifter and the shift linkage. Remove the bolt that attaches the shifter to the shift linkage (right photo above). Remove the bearing from the shifter and save for later re-use.
Keep in mind that you may have to unbolt the exhaust y-pipe from the front of the catalytic converter. To do this, you'll need a 17mm socket or wrench (the wrench especially if the bolts are rusted). If you have the shifter in 4th gear, and you have long wrenches, it may not be necessary to unbolt the catalytic converter from the exhaust y-pipe.
Once this is done, pull the shifter out of the interior cup assembly. Grease the pivot ball of the new shifter with white lithium grease (a small amount is included, if not please make sure to use white lithium ONLY!) and re-insert into the cup assembly. See below for pics of member Lino Sacman's shifter.
Liberally grease the bearing and plastic caps,
using the remaining grease and insert into the PRD shifter. Reconnect the
shift linkage to the new shifter and tighten the bolt. Connect the heat
shielding (if removed) and the exhaust y-pipe to the catalytic converter (if
this was removed). At this point, the vehicle may be lowered.
Reinstall the snap rings and the plastic boot. When installing the boot,
it should make a small popping sounds when it seals. Reinstall the console
and you are done!
Here is the finished look. The first pic is
from the PRD website, while the other is from my car. The height of the stick is approx 1.50" shorter than the stock
height. Play with the shifter a bit. You'll notice that there
is now some additional effort to slide through the gears. This is normal
due to the shortened throw of the PRD shifter. Now, the only thing left to
do is to test drive the car!
Original text and pictures, courtesy of Probesport. Additional text, information, and pictures by D. Tolentino. Illustrative photos courtesy of Lino Sacman.