UUC Short Shift - Piece of cake... Mostly (m) (archive)

All told it was really pretty easy. There are two procedures that were somewhat difficult though.
To remove the shift lever you need to pop the nylon cup out of the aluminum carrier. They included a tool desined to do this but you need to do it from underneath the car and the angle is really bad. Additionally there is a metal panel that sits between the muffler and the shifter which you can't remove without removing the muffler. It gets in the way. My hand was cramping from trying to get that sucker out. Ended up doing it the alternate way which was from the top with a couple of flat blade screwdrivers. It was a pain but I could definitely do it more easily having done it once now.
The second thing, which was much more difficult, is that you have to remove the linkage arm in order to install the delrin bushings. It's held on by a metal clip which is above the driveshaft. I had the car raised as high as the jack would lift it. It's a really tight space and the clip is really strong. They actually include a replacement with the clip 'cause it would be really easy to break it while trying to get it off. There is no way to see what you are doing and you'd better have strong hands. Getting that clip off was by far the most time consuming part of the whole process. My hands are still sore.
Mechanically, it's really a straight forward process and once you get everything out it's easy to put in the new parts.
I was really surprised at how sweet it feels now! The throw was significantly reduced and the cartridge bearings with the delrin bushings have made a huge impact on the feel of the travel. Really smooth.
Everything about this kit is top quality. I am a very happy driver! My only complaint is that I'm not going to be able to really open up and drive for over 2 weeks 'cause of my trip...

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com

Follow Ups:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Z3 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.