SaabCentral Forums banner

MPP Clamp, rear sway bar, short shifter installed

1K views 18 replies 5 participants last post by  Saabn 
#1 ·
Just came back from installing the shifter. For a while I had the clamp and sway bar installed which did wonders for steering and handling, but I didn't necessarily feel that "complete sportiness" until I installed the short shifter. Now both hands get perks of new installs. The feel now from the combo of all the parts is just inspiring...so much control and precision.

btw, does anyone know why the instructions for the MPP short shifter say that the shortest you can go is 6-7 threads from the top. What's the reason that you can't have the ball all the way at the top? Limitation with how the shifter selection rod and shifter can connect w/o issues?

Hats off to MP Performance too...
 
#2 ·
Blimey you hit the groung running. :cheesy:
Nice 3some to start the car off with. I have the short shifter over here in the UK. I got it as soon as it went on their site.

I am looking for a new shift boot and aftermarket knob but don't want some daft fast and Furious chrome thing.
As for the 6-7 threads thing. I guess that is maybe the limit of the mech. At that point you have the reverse lock disabled don't you? I reckon that is some short shift compared to standard.
I got all new bush's to fit the bottom of the shifter ect.
I will also be removing reverse lift cos that just gets on my nerves. Plus a bigger choice of knobs!!

Nice one

Dead
 
#3 ·
I cant wait to do mine next week. I installed my clamp and brace this week. And am so excited for the shifter. :D
 
#4 ·
Yes, at 6-7 threads from the top, I did get rid of the reverse lockout. That was a good thing since I found it really annoying that I had to do an extra step if I was being lazy and parked in front first.

Overall, the throws are shorter, much stiffer, tighter feel, and gear selection is notchier. Your shifting hand has a better "feel" of the engine. The only issue I had for installation was the alignment...the selector rod was being stubborn and took some coaxing to get it in all the way for me to lock it down with a metal rod as per the instructions. This even after i completedly removed the clamping bolt on the engine side. It should be noted that if you can't get into all your gears after connecting the shifter w/ the engine, it's because it hasn't been locked down 100% perfectly yet. Initially, when trying to lock down, i was a good 1cm away from the hole on the shifter rod when putting in a metal rod/screwdriver. I had to unclamp/adjust selector rod (read: really push the rod in hard with my hands on the rod, NOT on the shifter)/clamp a few times before i had access to all gears.

Last weekend, rear sway bar...This weekend, short shifter...Next weekend, Saab sport exhaust.
 
#5 ·
So basically to remove the reverse lockout all you do is remove the components labled on the diagram in the howto? And also basically what u meant about fitting the selector rod is that it has to be pushed in really hard before itll connect correctly?
 
#6 ·
BlinD said:
So basically to remove the reverse lockout all you do is remove the components labled on the diagram in the howto? And also basically what u meant about fitting the selector rod is that it has to be pushed in really hard before itll connect correctly?
Correct. Should be 9 pieces in total. Took me a while to make out every piece on the how to, but the design is intuitive enough that you'll figure things out. I did have to take out the ignition switch to remove a couple pieces. As for the selector rod, yes, I had to push in pretty hard. The closest hole to the shifter on the selector rod (there are two) is the hole you want your metal rod (or in my case a screwdriver) to fit into from the hole on the shifter housing while in 4th.

After installation, I did notice that getting into reverse wasn't 100% smooth. Could hear a strange noise when doing so. Popped off the boot, and saw that I needed to file the plastic piece that prevents you from getting into reverse by mistake a lot more. The strange noise was the holding spring really stretching as the reverse pull up needed to go really high to go over the plastic piece. I found I had to file it down quite a bit to get smooth action into reverse. Might be because I was closer to "just" 6 threads and not 6-7 threads :) I really did want the shortest throw i could get. Now everything is perfect.
 
#7 ·
I agree with you, the short shifter is great, i installed mine almost 2 weeks ago. I had already removed my reverse lockout a while ago and had a hard time adjusting the shifter (i wanted to get the shortest throw i could). As far as going past the 6th thread, the problem of hitting the floor arises, maybe someone could fab up some idea to eliminate that problem. This mod is well worth the money :cheesy:
 
#8 ·
Either of you have any estimate of how much shorter your throws are?
 
#9 ·
BlinD said:
Either of you have any estimate of how much shorter your throws are?
Most short shifter will eliminate 40-45% of the throe range.
Although I did once have a DUB that had a 'T' shifter and the throw was nothing really freaky. I think the stick moved half an inch either way and got all the gears. It was a real pain at first due to the lack of shift it made you hink 'is that in'.

So if the MP is anything like the idea that Eric did when he first built his own and that was a 40% shift loss.The MP will be a development of that so a bit more taking it to the 45% mark.
Can't wait to fit mine. Still looking for a new shift Knob.

Dead
 
#11 ·
That or itd be awesome to take a pic of your cars shifter sitting in 1st gear, and then 2nd gear. As reference.
 
#12 ·
eflum said:
Just came back from installing the shifter.
I'm getting there too very soon. But my only question is, do you had to make the shift boot shorter? I was wondering if I could keep the stock one made out of rubber after installation of the short shifter. I have a 1994 NG900s and I prefer the rubber shift boot than a cheap leather aftermarket shift boot. Is it possible to keep it after this kind of modification?

Thanks to y'all answerers!
 
#13 ·
I dont beleive the height of the shifter changes. Only the throws between the gears are shorter.

Eflum when you said before that you really had to push hard to get the selector rod clamped correctly. Were you pushing from inside the cabin towards the shift linkage? Or did you have to jack the car up? I sorta get confused when trying to understand what you wrote. Cant really figure out if your talking about getting the selector rod into the shift linkage or into the shifter housing. I'm doing my install tomorrow and want to make sure I have everything figured out beforehand.
 
#14 ·
I'm talking about getting the selector rod into the shift linkage on the engine side. The end of the selector rod that fits into shift linkage is etched rough (i.e. not smooth) so it grabs onto the inside of the shift linkage. I was pushing hard on the rod from the inside of the cabin. No need to jack up the car. As long as you don't have huge forarms, I was also able to put both hands on the shift linkage from the top and jiggle it around while a friend was pushing the selector rod in. Hopefully for you it won't be a tight squeeze, but for me it was!
 
#15 ·
Just got back from my car. Here are my measurements. Didn't have a measuring tape, but used a piece of string. Distance was measured from the top center of the shift knob:

-Distance from 1st to 2nd = ~4 inches
-Distance from neutral position to far left = ~1.5 inches
-Distance from neutral position to far right = ~1.5 inches

Anyone know what stock would be?
 
#16 ·
I had to do the procedure a few times, because i had to keep adjusting the shifter back. The most important information to really give is just make sure the selector shaft is lined up in the boot in front of the firewall and lined up with the clamp on the linkage. Once that is lined up get it in there as snug as possible and tighten the nut a little bit, just enough so that the selector rod doesnt slip out of the clamp while moving through the gears. Once you are almost there, just put it in fourth gear and tighten the linkage down tight. The reinstallation part is alot easier with two people, but with patients you can do it by yourself if you have to. I did not need to push on the selector shaft with any kind of rod or anything, i just moved the shifter down (i.e. 2nd and 4th gear) Maybe thats just me, but it worked fine. If you need any help or anything while you are installing post back on here and see if anyone can help, but ERP's write up on the MP website is very good. I dont think anyone will have too much of a problem with the shift boot. Hope this helped somewhat, just my .02$
 
#17 ·
Well I just got in from the garage from the install. It really isnt that bad at all! It was pretty simple for me to get the selector rod into the linkage. I just took some grease and greased it and the rod up a tad bit. Told my girlfriend to shift from 3rd to forth very slowly. And guided it right in. Havent went for a drive yet but Im very impressed with the shorter throws.I also removed the reverse lockout and am 6 threads from the top of the top of the shifter.
 
#18 ·
Wow back from the ride. Pretty impressive difference. 1st to 2nd is awesome! Theres like no bog time inbetween. I'm lovin it! :p
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top