300zx Short Shifter 1st is difficult 2nd is gone

Nissan 300ZX technical discussion forum: Maintenance, performance, installations, modifications, how-to's and troubleshooting.
astewart62
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:20 pm
Car: 1995 Nissan 300zx

Post

Hey guys im very new to the Z community and this is my first car, i bought this short shifter, https://www.amazon.com/Ispeedytech-Niss ... fter&psc=1
I installed it exactly as i had seen on videos and etc. But when I went to go throught the gears, 1st is incredibly difficult to go into and 2nd seems to be missing. 3rd-5th and Reverse are perfect and shift into beautifully, any thoughts on the issue?


itsa300zx
Posts: 1243
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 9:39 am
Car: 1990 300zx NA W/TT swap
2011 Nissan Rouge S
2008 Highlander SR5
Location: up North

Post

I have installed quite a few of those types of shifters for others and 95% of them have problems with either 1st/2nd or 5th/R. Chances are that even if they do go into gear with some effort, it may shorten the life of the synchro gears since a slight pressure remains on them. (ie like constantly applying pressure on the shifter while in gear).
They all have gone to a modified stock short shifter instead. Seems like the pivot point on those assemblies limits the side movement of the shifter. Sorry I never bothered to figure out where the shifters are limiting the movements and just asked the customers to return them.

astewart62
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:20 pm
Car: 1995 Nissan 300zx

Post

itsa300zx wrote:
Sat Jan 12, 2019 11:48 am
I have installed quite a few of those types of shifters for others and 95% of them have problems with either 1st/2nd or 5th/R. Chances are that even if they do go into gear with some effort, it may shorten the life of the synchro gears since a slight pressure remains on them. (ie like constantly applying pressure on the shifter while in gear).
They all have gone to a modified stock short shifter instead. Seems like the pivot point on those assemblies limits the side movement of the shifter. Sorry I never bothered to figure out where the shifters are limiting the movements and just asked the customers to return them.
So would you recommend i return it and buy a higher quality one from Z1, or if I were to modify the stock shifter, how would i go about it? Thank you for the help by the way!

itsa300zx
Posts: 1243
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 9:39 am
Car: 1990 300zx NA W/TT swap
2011 Nissan Rouge S
2008 Highlander SR5
Location: up North

Post

Here is a write up but pics are down. Z1 shifter is good too, but I do not like the plastic ball bushing pivot that they make, IMHO, its very cheaply made. I’ve bought several rebuild kits and that’s the weak point of their shifters.

http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.as ... _id=903488

I’ve been making short shifters for about 15 years, I might have one left.
They are $75 shipped if you return yours as a core charge. Otherwise they are $95.

I can email some pics if you wish, once I find the shifter.

Peter

itsa300zx
Posts: 1243
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 9:39 am
Car: 1990 300zx NA W/TT swap
2011 Nissan Rouge S
2008 Highlander SR5
Location: up North

Post

Here is a video of the basic steps to mod the oem shifter.
https://youtu.be/MeqT9WDTi9o

User avatar
brian300zx
Posts: 115
Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2016 7:42 pm
Car: 1990 300zx TT
Location: SoCal

Post

You probably tightened the bolt that goes through the shifter too much. Try to loosen it until you can go through the gears. I’ve take mine out and re installed it a couple times and it’s pretty easy to over tighten that bolt.


Return to “300ZX (Z32) Technical”