Shift Panel Removal Caution - Service Tip
 

Here you go -> http://www.finishlineperformance.com...10-06-1602.pdf

Nice. Yeah, that'd work. I put a finger in there.....Mazda put a plastic tool in there. The tool probably works better.

The yank-the-bloody-thing-off method expounded by Richard is cheaper I s'pose :) .

There is the "yank the bloody thing off method", and there is the "careful not to break something method".

I know which one has resulted in less broken clips ;) (just seeing if anyone is listening. Hehehe)

Cheers,
Hymee.

Thanks for the DIY. I installed mine last night in about 35 minutes with no problems except the wire clips were difficult to remove. I got them off by carefully prying the wire tie out of the retainer with a small screwdriver and then unscrewing the clip. The new shifter is awesome.

Hey Gomez, did they ever come out with that service bulliton on how to remove the console top? I'm about to do several cars and my latest way still has a failure about 20% of the time. But thats better then the old way.
I still feel bad when it's someone elses car, I have to warn them it could be theirs.

You know you didn't do any work last month and I still sent you a check. I wanna help pay the brick layers ya know. The plumbers ain't cheap either. :ylsuper:

AHA!!! So now the truth comes out!! You break tabs with the "give the bloody thing a good hard yank" method. One in five break, hey? I'd say thems poor odds, Tiger.... :) . Never heard of the tortoise and the hare??!! Slow and steady wins the race.... :angel:

Back to your original question. I see now that your need for speed extends past your racing exploits and current career. Take a slow look back up this thread to post 151. About four posts prior to your last post. All will be revealed.

Thanks for the check. I've paid the brickies and the plumber. It's the freakin' painter who's sending me broke now.

Cheers,

Gomez.

Struth, I need to buy on of those windscreen setting tools :o

I don't get Acrobat reader. So I can't see what it says.
Next I was wrong about 20% once you put it into real world as one broken for five installs it came clear. I have only broken one clip since I started using this method. I know there have been way more then five cars so maybe it's 10% or less. :bootyshak

What does this have to do with windscreens, Hymee?


Wait till the cabinet makers get to you!! You ain't felt nothin yet.

this is what works for me..

with this photo pull straght up... and this photo was done with no help... that was the challange..

beers :beer:

Right. We need to get you sorted.

Start here...... http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Go there and follow the instructions to download the Acrobat Reader for your operating system. A whole new world of info will then open up for you. Lots of good stuff on this site that requires this program. PM me if you run into trouble.

My computer will not take it. I have tried, I even gave them money for the extra programs. I thought that would help but it didn't. They got my money and I got nothing but frustrated.

Bugger. Send money to me instead. BTW - Adobe Reader is free.

Whadya mean your computer will not take it?? Click the link and follow the destructions.....

Always with the "Yank" jokes.. When are you bloddy Lymes gonna learn. :Eyecrazy:

It wouln't work. It will not take it. I bought the extra stuff from them to see if it would help. Small price to pay if it worked.
I gotta get a new computer, that's all there is to it.
This one hates me. It always has, ever since that one night with two girls. :Eyecrazy:
And that was when it was very young. :mdrmed:

Standby......I'll sort you out.

Gimme 10.....

Saving Richard Pic 1

Saving Richard Pic 2

Saving Richard Pic 3

There you go....that's it, Tiger :) .

......that would be "Limeys", you crazy mixed up Yank :)

And BTW, Hymee and I are not Limeys.......we are Aussies :)

Limeys are Poms (Englishmen). End of lesson :) .

I installed mine and now have a whining noise. I think it is just the normal noise of the transmission but it is way louder than before. What could this be?

I think if you took a poll of those who have the shifter, most would say that they have the same noise you are hearing. Don't worry about it, you'll get used to it in time, as with the short throws....what is interesting is to jump into an 8 without the shifter...you'll know why you were so excited about the short shifter...and why the noise is something you can live with.

One explanation I was given was the noise if from the vibration of the metal used in the shifter...the stock part uses a different metal and has less vibration...I don't know whether this is true or not...

Did you take out the green fuzzy thing?


BTW, if that works for you thank the Ausies again.
Cleverbastardsthattheyare.

Ok, finally installed my shifter tonight. :cussing:

First, the bloody tab that everyone mentions to be careful with. Well, I spent more than half an hour trying to release it until my finger hurt. I'm not sure if I were pulling on something else, but the thing wouldn't badge. In any case, I decided to follow the directions as per Mazda's bulletin. I used a knife for that instead of the plastic stick. I tried and tried as per direction until the f***** thing broke. Oh well. The rest of the clips came off with ease. After I put it the cover back on, it fits well - nothing is sticking off, even with the broken clip.

After that, I went through my tools to discover that I only have 10mm short sockets. Had to make a trip to Canadian Tire to buy the long one. After that, everything was smooth.

No problem with reverse...Went for a quick test drive and I have to admit that the shifter feels pretty nice. Nice and solid, precise. Almost no vibration at all - factory shifter had much more vibration. It's very quiet, no whining noise as described by some and overall quieter than stock. My vehicle is a 2006 Shinka. Not sure if that had anything to do with fit of the shifter, but as I mentioned, none of the problems mentioned by others.

Will have more extensive test drive on the way to work tomorrow morning.

Very nice shifter, Paul. :ylsuper:

Richard makes a nice shifter as well ;)

Nice to hear you don't have any noise issues.

Cheers,
Hymee

:o:

hey thanks for the diy. I juss installed mines and loving it.. Like everone else i thought the clip/tab part was the hardest..but after awhile i got mad and couldnt wait any longer and pulled the tab towards me and up..whoa the whole panel came off without breaking the clip hahaha,lucky me i guess...

haha... i spent 20 minutes trying to get out that tap only to come back and continue reading to find that i was pushing it the wrong way. and so i went about pushing it the other way and it came off quick.

the tap pisses everyone off. except those that just grabbed it by the shift boot and pulled. easy for them...

I installed mine, and heard the whine in 5th and 6th when first trying it before putting the console cover back on. With the cover back on, I do not hear the noice. I did take the green fuzzy thing out.

I was wondering, on the stock shifter the plastic on the bottom bushing goes a bit below the metal ball on the end of the shifter. On the short shifter, the bottom of the plastic is even with the metal ball, and does not cover it. Could the metal on the bottom of the shifter be touching the metal on the shifting rod in certain gears or at certain times? That could transmit a whining type of noise.

Thanks for the this DIY. Had a bitch of a time trying to get that right hand clip off. I ended up doing the brute force method of pulling up on the boot. But still the right hand clip would come undone ... in the end I broke it. The rest of the install was easy from there. I did find a surprise guest in the upper boot ... there was a spider! (dead of course). I can now see what you guys were talking about with regards to the "bolt action" vs the soft cushy OEM. I'm getting a little more noise than before but I have my stereo on most of the time anyways, so it doesn't matter.

Thanks again to Gomez for the DIY and thanks to Richard Paul for this great product.

45 minute install thanks to gomez and i didnt even have the correct tools had to do with what i could find

great write-up! no problems with install... not even the tab, i just yanked up. hardest part was fixed when i re-read the stuff about that metal thingie sticking out has to face the right side (it was for the reverse gear)

Fix the broken tab (clip) near the parking brake boot
 

I also broke the infamous tab during the RP shifter installation. I found the best way to repair the tab is to install a new A-Clip. There is an unused A-Clip post (YELLOW circle) near parking brake boot. I simply purchased a new A-clip (GREEN Arrows) and installed over the post. Everything is back as new.

Here are the steps:
1. buy the A-Clip ($0.71) from Mazda
2. use a flat head x-acto knife to carve out the groove on one side (make the post "I" shape)
3. heat up a flat-head screw driver and burn a slot for the clip to latch in
4. clip the A-clip over the post

Make sure you measure the slot position carefully for a tight fit.

-RX8Z88M

I just wanted to say good job Gomez and the rest of the crew for putting up such a great DIY. I installed the short shifter yesterday, and wow. I had no idea a shifter could make that much of a difference in the overall satisfaction of the car, but I stand corrected.

Excellent job all and thanks. I didn't quite break the tab, but I did bend it a bit. I don't seem to have any problems shifting between 5th, 6th, reverse, nor do I hear any whining.

Does the noise happen because the nuts that hold the plate down isn't torqued?

No.

Gomez.......good DIY. I have one suggestion that worked really well for me, it's a small portion of the install, but will save some aggravation.


Here's what you said:


Now you need to undo the four nuts indicated by the orange arrows. Two of the four nuts have wiring harness clips over the threads. These are a pain to get off. I used a small flat bladed screwdriver to separate the clip from the thread....others have had success using a straightened paperclip bent into a "U" shape.

In this step, if you look down straight into those wiring clips(right down beside the bolts), you will notice two little tabs on each side that are inside the overall plastic wiring clips(these grab the threads on the bolts). Using just a small set of needle nose pliers, you can insert right down beside the bolt and the spread the two tabs that grab the threads(and with fingers on the other hand lifting up), they come of really easy.

Dave


Interestingly enough, I was in there doing the AFE shifter and replacing my parking brake with a totally new one. Jeez, that was fun...........remove passenger seat(actually you can just loosen it, but I took it out for more room), then you take out the ENTIRE center console from the ash tray to the trunk pass through! The instructions I had were in Japanese and were of no real use except for some drawings. I winged it with those and the brake took about 2 hours as I went really slow and was methodical about that. Shifter was only about 35 minutes!

^post pics of the park brake!

Okay, you asked........and I don't want to hijack the thread so here are a few shots with the short shifter installed along with the leather parking brake. I'm not the best at photos so I took a bunch and you'll have to sort them out. :uhh:
Some were taken with a flash and some were not.

Couple more.
Cleaning day is tomorrow as I kinda made a mess having a good portion of the interior dis-assembled for that brake.
Last one is my current engine bay for the hell of it! :rolleyes:

^oh, I thought you were the one who bought the momo park brake. In any case, nice work. It looks really good! and nice ss too! haha

Edit: why the hell do you have a steering wheel cover?!?!?!?!?!

Ha Ha.........daughther gave it to me for fathers day........what are you gonna do????? I'm trying to wear it out as fast as I can. :rolleyes:

i got mine at ssx and had it installed at ssx

Anyone have a pic of the fuzzy green thing?

bump!

bump!

???????????? Don't get it?
What fuzzy green thing?

I think its part of the updated shifter^

You mean the sort of green fuzzy in this picture on this thread?
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...46790#poststop
This is the supposed sound deadening wadding that comes with the car normally.
People were finding in some cases that taking this out actually reduced the noise when the SS was installed, but I believe that has been corrected in other ways. Mine is still in there and to tell you the truth.......I don't have any cabin noise from the transmission or gearbox. Maybe RP will chime in if he sees this or LittleJohn or Gomez.