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B&M shifter

20668 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  McDuff
This isn’t much of a modification, however I haven’t seen too many write ups or reviews of this shifter. And to be clear, this is of the shift lever itself, not the short shift kit that replaces the shift mechanism.

The reason this all came about was not due to a need for performance; I was driving to work when the knob spun in my hand. I thought, “no big deal, just a loose knob.” However, that wasn’t the case and the entire lever was spinning. This caused a problem because the lever has a bend to it, and when it would spin, you would think you were shifting into third (manual transmission, to be clear), but you could be lined up with first or fifth depending on orientation. It became a requirement to look down and make sure the know was upright so you knew where you were shifting to.

Searching for a quick oem replacement, I found it easier to locate a B&M shifter. I tore the old one out and found that the shift lever uses a rubber sleeve to join the transmission shift stub, which I assume is there to quell vibrations and notchiness. The rub sleeve had been vulcanized to the surrounding metal sleeve from the factory, but had separated on mine. Decision made: I wanted that crap out and ordered the B&M.

Install was easy and I took it for a test drive. WOW!!!! All the rubberiness and indistinct feeling to the shift is gone. The weight and feel is very good, direct without being overly heavy. The shift detents are crystal clear and driving is more enjoyable. May sound crazy, but it’s well worth the minimal effort to replace the sloppy oem part with this high quality piece. Cheap improvement to the driving experience!

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Yeah, I have an occasional 1st gear pop out but so far it has been tolerable. I really hated the slop of the factory lever so that was my first mod. I'm ashamed to admit it but I went with the Chinese knock off stick from Amazon when it was available for under $100. I have a hard time swallowing $150-$225 for either stick now with the new post-covid pricing. The aftermarket stick does work a lot better with just O-ring as an isolator versus the super soft and big factory rubber isolator. The Dorman shifter looks interesting and very similar to the B&M shifter and I have seen prices that are about $100 cheaper than the B&M shifter which is still too much in my opinion.

I also added/combined an additional transfer case mount to eliminate a lot of drivetrain slop. It has worked very well and has significantly lowered my desire to pay much for an improved shifter tower.
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