[DIY] Skunk2 Short Shifter Install

Skunk2 Short Shifter Install
I nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!
http://i44.tinypic.com/xc7r86.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/11vp1c0.jpg

This guide is for the EK and EG chassis (slight diffrences on the EG chassis is just the interior center console removal. It should also be pretty relevant to DC2 chassis as well. So theres alot of misconceptions about short shifters in general. Some include hacksawed shifters working better, it destroys syncros, it ruins transmissions. Short shifters are not just shorter on the top, but longer on the bottom which keeps a correct placement of the gear knob, so hacksawed shifters are not better, it just makes your knob sit lower. Short shifters do not destroy syncros or ruin transmissions, poor drivers do. More info here.

Working Time: 1-2 Hours
Difficulty: :honda::honda:

Now, lets get started. Heres a list of the stuff you'll need:
Jack Stands/Car Ramps
Temporary Jack
Metric Socket Set (3/8 and 1/4 drive preferred)
Metric Hex Key Set
Optional: Metric Combination Wrenches
Vice Grips
Phillips Screwdriver
Grease
Skunk2 Short Shifter

PART A: The Interior
So the first step, before you jack up the car is to do all the interior bits first.
http://i39.tinypic.com/s4qhrb.jpg
Remove the center console 3 screws on each side.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2m4q242.jpg
Remove your gear knob. Its threaded on like a nut, so just turn it.

http://i40.tinypic.com/1iy2dx.jpg
Pull apart your center console from between forward and rear portions.

http://i39.tinypic.com/120tqj4.jpg
Pull the front portion out, be careful with the front section where the cup holder/pocket is.

http://i41.tinypic.com/23usc5g.jpg
You should be left with something like this.

http://i40.tinypic.com/r29ggp.jpg
Now remove the rubber boot from the chassis and shifter. Flip it up from the outside as shown. Careful with taking it off, any rips will net a trip to your nearest Honda dealer for parts.

Continued in the next post...

PART B: Under the car
Please use Jackstands or Ramps to elevate the car, Temporary Jacks are exactly what there called, TEMPORARY. The way I did it was to drop the exhaust; some people prefer to take the whole linkage out, but I had my rear bumper off anyway to clean out all the caked up sand and dirt up there.
http://i43.tinypic.com/28lvpc0.jpg
First I used a temporary jack to lift up the exhaust by the resonator, just to take some of the pressure off the rubber hangers

http://i41.tinypic.com/17em8j.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/11juq9c.jpg
Slide the rubber hangers off the mounts. You might need to remove the left rear wheel.

http://i40.tinypic.com/jh7i92.jpg
You can leave the exhaust resting on the LCAs.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ykc5g8.jpg
Time to get dirty... First loosen the shift linkage from the shifter.

http://i44.tinypic.com/14cfhvs.jpg
Now Loosen the two 8mm nuts, you won't be able to get them off as you'll soon see.

http://i42.tinypic.com/20glkg.jpg
Now remove the two 10mm bolts, at this point the other linkage will drop. If its stuck there, just tap it a bit and it'll come down.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2m7b5zd.jpg
Heres why that 8mm nut wouldn't come off...

http://i44.tinypic.com/219759t.jpg
Gentle vise-grips on the two flat sides fixes that problem.

http://i43.tinypic.com/34y8fgm.jpg
Now that the shifter is out, you can take the retainer plate off. Be careful not to tear the rubber boot. Wetting the rubber boot helps with easing it off.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2z5oisy.jpg
Now take the rubber boot off the shifter, go slow again wetting it helps.

http://i40.tinypic.com/1zd4wgy.jpg
Comparison of the OEM single bend vs Skunk2 Dual Bend

http://i42.tinypic.com/34s2ueq.jpg
Spread some grease on the ball. :D Don't forget some lube on the inside of the rubber boot too :cool:.

http://i40.tinypic.com/125qqdj.jpg
Slide the boot onto the shifter.

http://i39.tinypic.com/w1v0va.jpg
Since were out from under the car, prep the new Skunk2 bolt with 2 of the rubber washers from the OEM shifter (it should help protect the bearing from the elements). This is the order I installed it in. The spacer on the top is only used for DC2 applications.

PART C: Finishing up
http://i40.tinypic.com/1zqt4rb.jpg
Back to the shifter, put the retainer plate back on the boot. It only bolts up one way, its also a good time to make sure your shifter is facing the right way ~ leaning toward the back.

http://i43.tinypic.com/20usn5c.jpg
Bolt up the 8mm nuts with the vise-grips.

http://i40.tinypic.com/3589jx1.jpg
Bolt up the 10mm bolts, and slide the Skunk2 bolt into the shifter with all the hardware shown before.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2eunbjn.jpg
Tighten down the nylon locknut with a deep socket and hex key (Combination wrenches work too, but I'm lazy). After that slip all the exhaust hangers back on.

http://i42.tinypic.com/50nz21.jpg
Lower the car, and jump in and put the rubber boot back on. Try it out, make sure theres no binding. It will be stiffer than what your used too, this is due to the solid bearings on the Skunk2 piece.

Now, just put all the center console pieces back on, reverse how you took them out.

Final Thoughts: The Skunk2 piece is heavy and solid. The weight should aid in the shifting, quality is pretty top notch. Also I've never heard of any Skunk2 shifters snapping like those eBay no named ones.

http://i42.tinypic.com/mt8i11.jpg
Enjoi.

+1 man nice work. :)

great work man, subscribed for when i get my skunk2 shifter from the states!

Nice DIY. How much are the SKunk2 shifters worth?
When I put my short shifter in I was lucky enough to know the owner of a wheel and tyre shop so we put it on the hoist and didn't even drop the exhaust, just worked around it.
One thing I experienced with my install was it is easy to over tighten the bolt connecting the shifter to the linkage. So I suggest you check the feel of the shifter before putting the exhaust back on and packing all your gear up.
Dual bend looks good, well done.

I've got another one ~ check my for sale thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_EG4

One thing I experienced with my install was it is easy to over tighten the bolt connecting the shifter to the linkage. So I suggest you check the feel of the shifter before putting the exhaust back on and packing all your gear up.

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How did you over tighten it? The bottom of the shifter comes with bearing and i have no problem to tighten it. If its the feeling that is hard; that's because short shifter feeling and you're not use to it.

This great DIY +1

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chchchino

How did you over tighten it? The bottom of the shifter comes with bearing and i have no problem to tighten it. If its the feeling that is hard; that's because short shifter feeling and you're not use to it.

This great DIY +1

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I've had the shifter in for months now, and it was over tightened by the guy I had helping me. Any bolt can be over tightened.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by end7

I've got another one ~ check my for sale thread.

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Thanks, I was just curious about pricing. Short Shifters certainly aren't cheap. But you get what you pay for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_EG4

But you get what you pay for.

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+1 on that. plenty of stories about people snapping shoddy shifters, pretty sure i wont break this one :thumbsup:. on a related note, the EK OEM single bend is slightly longer than the EG OEM single bend :eek:.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_EG4

I've had the shifter in for months now, and it was over tightened by the guy I had helping me. Any bolt can be over tightened.

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Make sense. I got mine installed by DIY too, the feeling is stiff, is that over tighten? How to check if it is?

http://i40.tinypic.com/3589jx1.jpg

the bottom of the shifter as you can see in this pic. that bolt and nut you dont tighten the shit out of as your shifter wont move. thats why they give you a (cant remember the name of the nut) the one with plastic in it so it doesnt move no matter if its tight or loose. i found this out when i did my shifter afew weeks ago.

+1 Its called nylon lock nut, LowEk :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by end7

+1 Its called nylon lock nut, LowEk :)

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thats the one. cheers man. :)

hey, just need a bit cleared up, with the rubber bushing placed on the inner side of the shift linkage, do you place the washers on the inside also or would you place it outside where the actual bolt and nylon nut meets the shift linkage?

I placed the washers and the rubber bushings on the inside of the linkage, since there was a gap

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chchchino

Make sense. I got mine installed by DIY too, the feeling is stiff, is that over tighten? How to check if it is?

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If you can get under there and fit your hands in with the allen key and spanner, loosen it off then tighten it until the nyloc nut only just touches the bracket on the shift linkage. A bolt that size would only need like 10-20nM of torque applied, which is very small.
Because it's a nyloc it shouldn't loosen off.
Yes it's normal for the short shifter to be a bit heavier, but I feel it's more direct when shifting. When mine was overtightened it took two arms reefin' back on the thing to change.

clear good step, very good write up!

just did buddy club one

feels sick:p

BTW, OP's under carriage is so0o0o clean

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bludger

just did buddy club one

feels sick:p

BTW, OP's under carriage is so0o0o clean

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BuddyClub FTW man :thumbsup:
did you get the dual bend?

yeah, I got dual bend.

Now the car is stuck in the backyard from a flat battery. waiting for friend to come over so i can start my car :(

Hey, what kind of grease should i look for for the ball part of the lever? would WD-40 be sufficient or do i need a specific type of lubricant? a specific brand and type would be awesome. thanks!

get general purpose grease.

castrol, nulon.

etc.

wd40, er, no

thanks bludger

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_EG4

If you can get under there and fit your hands in with the allen key and spanner, loosen it off then tighten it until the nyloc nut only just touches the bracket on the shift linkage. A bolt that size would only need like 10-20nM of torque applied, which is very small.
Because it's a nyloc it shouldn't loosen off.
Yes it's normal for the short shifter to be a bit heavier, but I feel it's more direct when shifting. When mine was overtightened it took two arms reefin' back on the thing to change.

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Absolutely yes! After I installed mine with the overtightened nyloc nut, it was quite stiff and not quite smooth in changing gears so i only tightened it so the nut was just touching the bracket of the shift linkage and its much smoother.

OP should mention this cos its annoying to get back under the car!!

Great steps btw!

good stuff. diy is the way.

+2

cheers

thanks for the guide, very informative

Cheers for the guide. I have a question though...

just wondering will these shifters be the same as OEM...? I just bought one of ebay not realising that it might actually be the same throw as a stock EK1 VTi shifter :( It looks almost exactly like your picture of the original

http://justjap.com/store/images/P/sh...ondasilver.jpg
http://justjap.com/store/product.php...0&cat=0&page=1

The skunk2 has complete different feeling/throw. The shape difference is on the picture (side by side) from ebay im not sure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by end7

The skunk2 has complete different feeling/throw. The shape difference is on the picture (side by side) from ebay im not sure.

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Hmm i've just been looking at other single bend short throw sticks on ebay and it seems the distance from the bearing end to the pivot knob (??) is very short in stock items but longer in short throw ones. I guess the longer it is the more pivot the stick has?... Then the double bend shortens the throw even more.

Well guess i'll still go ahead with the DIY and hope I'm right!

Here's another side on pic of a shifter similar to mine. You can see the gap i mean...
http://www.dnamotoring.com/speeddadd.../SS-HC88-R.jpg
Compared to OEM
http://i40.tinypic.com/1zd4wgy.jpg

Edit: Yeah think i'm right with that. The short throw gear shifters move the pivot point further up the shaft so less movement creates more throw... found this comment on another forum

Quote:

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It moves the pivot point higher up the shift rod causing you to move the shifter less distance, while it pivots more. Its fairly hard to expain without a picture.

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http://www.team-integra.net/forum/di...g+Common+Topic

Anyway hoefully someone else might find that useful? :)

the longer, the shorter.

but bare in mind that it also mean the effort you put into your shifting work must multiply. You just get used to it after a while and grow more muscle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bludger

the longer, the shorter.

but bare in mind that it also mean the effort you put into your shifting work must multiply. You just get used to it after a while and grow more muscle.

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Nice, maybe I'll just change gears more and stop paying $60 a month to the gym I never use? ;)

Skunk2 single and double bend has same throw distance. What makes them difference is the position of the stick while u are driving. Double bend will be closer to the driver.

put in my JRR shifter yesterday. went in fine thanks to this DIY

Only thing i did differently was not worry about dismounting the exhaust and to make things easier, removed both ends of the gear stick connecting rod(?) from the gearbox...just made it easier to remove the old gear stick. Was a bit fiddly fitting everything back in with the exhaust still in place but was ok. Really happy works like a bought one :)

I've fitted a Skunk2 single bend shifter into my ED9 CRX and i can tell u the throw has been reduced.....and it is one of the best mods you can do.

agreed

where can i get the shoft shifter and how much :(

pm sent