1G First gear Shifter cable side to side adjustment

[9 T GSX]

Link to all things ive done so far: http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/gears-crunching-poor-shift-quality-etc.505084/

In addition to the above Ive changed a few things since I wrote that post. Car now has a JNZ short shifter and new shifter cables.

On the side to side cable adjustment, I noticed this cable was too long even when adjusted as far down as it would go. So I got it as close as it would let me. Shifter as of now is pretty centered.
My new issue is with the car off I try to select 1st but it seems that the shifter is/cant not going over far enough to get me in the right position for it to go into first. What I do to get to go into 1st is put the shifter back in neutral then go back to putting it to first and that usually works, sometimes I have to do it 2 times, or if I let the car roll forward a tiny bit it will go in while I'm still trying to select 1st gear.

What exactly are you adjusting with this cable? Does it adjust how far over the shifter can/needs to go left and right to be able to select a gear such as 1st gear Can you go to far to one side? Would cutting a few threads off the cable end that screws into adjustment collar help with getting the eyelet closer to the pin on the arm so it can slide on/off easily and being more centered in my case? Was thinking about taking off the rubber bumper on the bottom of the shifter to if that would help to get the shifter over farther, not sure if its even touching the shifter cage though.

 

[boostdawd]

Check the shifter linkage mounted on the transmission. Ensure that it is not lose. There should be 2 12mm bolts there.

As far as the adjustments on the shifter, if u take a look at the shifter itself try to adjust it to be as centered as possible as to prevent it from hitting the rubber stoppers.

 

[Vegas Smith]

Whoa, wait a second.....you have a 2G transmission in a 1G DSM but you kept all your 1g clutch/shifting system? I'm pretty sure you can't just do that. Check this thread out:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-2g-transmission-driveline-compatibility.402630/

 

[9 T GSX]

I'll check the bolts on the bracket, pretty sure they are good.
Vegas smith: no worries everything has been swapped/changed to fit in the 1g.

 

[Vegas Smith]

Are you absolutely certain you have the correct shifter cables, shifter base and shifter lever for transmission? I know first hand that if any of these are off (90 vs 91+) you will get weird inconsistencies with shifter cables not long/short enough. I literally just went through this 2 weeks ago on mine. I would really make sure you know for certain you have the right stuff all throughout your shifter circuit by comparing pictures etc. I kept assuming stuff was right based on what previous owner told me and every time I was wrong.

 

[DSSA]

I wanted to note a couple of things, as while I don't claim to be the most knowledgeable on these systems (trans/clutch/shifter), I've rebuilt the transmissions since 1998, worked on these cars since 1996, and have built these shifters since 2000-ish.

The above posters are definitely correct in the aspects to look at, heed their advice.

Additionally, the short shifters will not always sit exactly center in the console, especially if you're basing it on the upper part of the stalk. Adjusting the cables solely on the position of the shift lever isn't the correct way to do it, regardless of what shifter you have in there. The throw front to back should be fine with the way the cables are from the factory, but a *slight* (it shouldn't be anywhere near maxed out on the adjustment unless something is incorrect in the system, or the cables are thoroughly stretched) adjustment is sometimes (but rarely) needed.

This is a good (but old-school) article on getting the shifter aligned "in the ballpark". At this point I will go out under the hood (with cables disconnected again on the shifter) and manually shift the car in to 1st gear using the levers on the top of the transmission. Once this is done, I will go in, and attempt to slide the cable back on the shifter. You then put the cable onto the shifter. Then I will go out and manually shift the transmission into 2nd gear by the levers on the top of the transmission. If it pushes back before you click it into gear, you want to loosen the front to back adjustment a bit. If at complete engagement of the transmission shift levers on the transmission goes in to second and you can still pull back to the bump stop inside the car (meaning, pull the lever back--the lower portion should be at the front bump stop) then adjust it a little longer on that cable.

If this is one of the shifters built in the last two years (meaning you purchased it new from us, and not used), it should already have one of our metal shift stops installed. Prior to that, you needed to install a rubber 90-style or 3000GT stop. We decided to just make it part of the build at that point in time.

The other "normal" checks should always be done when installing anything new in the transmission/clutch/shifter assemblies: Make sure the clutch is bled properly (not just bled like a set of brakes where you simply have someone pump the lever, hold it down and crack the bleed on the slave cylinder--you need to bleed the slave properly as well by squeezing it closed), the clutch adjustment has the correct play, etc.

I hope this helps you get this issue resolved.

Josh
JNZ Tuning

 

[Vegas Smith]

Nice, I will be doing this myself^^

 

[9 T GSX]

Checked the bracket bolts on the trans and I got maybe a 1/8 turn on them.
Im 99.5% sure everything is a matching as I pulled everything from the same car. But anything is possible. The .5 % is because when I went to put the front to back cable on after I tightened up the 2 bolt on the firewall and the rubber piece on the floor I noticed it was about 1/2 inch "guessing here" too short, I had to loosen everything back up and pulled the cable in the car more the it fit. while the side to side cable was too long while the shifter was in its "home" position, even with the adjustment all the way in.
Perhaps the 2 cables so how got switched around? Might try switching the cables.

DSSA: I may try some of those tips although we cant really adjust the front to back with the new style cables. I have noticed that when shifting to 3rd that the bump stop comes no where near the shifter stops, while when shifting 4th I get a good click noise and the bump stop is touching the shifter stops on the shifter.
I also checked to see if the rubber piece on the bottom of the shifter was touching the back of the cage and it is not.
It goes into gear its just hard when at a stop and it just feels like I cant get the over far enough for it to go into 1st.

 

[DSSA]

Checked the bracket bolts on the trans and I got maybe a 1/8 turn on them.
Im 99.5% sure everything is a matching as I pulled everything from the same car. But anything is possible. The .5 % is because when I went to put the front to back cable on after I tightened up the 2 bolt on the firewall and the rubber piece on the floor I noticed it was about 1/2 inch "guessing here" too short, I had to loosen everything back up and pulled the cable in the car more the it fit. while the side to side cable was too long while the shifter was in its "home" position, even with the adjustment all the way in.
Perhaps the 2 cables so how got switched around? Might try switching the cables.

DSSA: I may try some of those tips although we cant really adjust the front to back with the new style cables. I have noticed that when shifting to 3rd that the bump stop comes no where near the shifter stops, while when shifting 4th I get a good click noise and the bump stop is touching the shifter stops on the shifter.
I also checked to see if the rubber piece on the bottom of the shifter was touching the back of the cage and it is not.
It goes into gear its just hard when at a stop and it just feels like I cant get the over far enough for it to go into 1st.

Ahh...new cables. Yes, the replacements omit the second adjustment.

This sounds more like a side to side adjustment anyway.

Same thing applies with "centering" the shifter--that's not going to properly adjust it.

Adjust the cable slowly until you can push it to the left enough to engage first easily (slowly, one to one and 1/2 turns). At that point, you should be able to easily engage 5th and Reverse as well. If not, I would start checking other things. There are a lot than can affect this, however, they typically have to be excessively worn to cause this sort of issue.

You also stated that the shift cable bracket is tight, but do you have the centering washers in them. The holes for the bracket (where the two brackets connect) are oversized, and if you don't have the centering bushings/washers in there (or equivalent), you need to center the bracket holes on the bolt holes before tightening securely. Here's a diagram where the part in mention goes (red arrow, as Mitsubishi doesn't sell them separately and has no PNC/Part number for them):

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There are several other parts that can affect throw, however, as mentioned they have to be pretty worn to cause this issue.

I think the problem lies in the adjustment, but if you cannot get it resolved with adjusting the side throw, feel free to post back.

On a side note, I've sold hundreds of these shifters over the years (especially before Mitsubishi discontinued the raw parts we use), and have yet to see an issue like this caused by the shifter. That said, if there is a problem with the shifter, or you go through all the possible solutions with no resolve, feel free to send it back in for an inspection, and worse case, an exchange for another just to make sure it isn't an issue.

Josh
JNZ Tuning
www.jnztuning.com

 

[9 T GSX]

I will try and get some pics or video of my shifter assembly soon, just to help better visualize the problem. But yes I have those centering washers which are not very old and they are torqued to the right spec as well. All the shifter bushings are new as well. I wasnt trying to say it was the shifter that is the issue,trying to figure out this problem.

Ah I just noticed you mentioned 5th and reverse, Reverse is a pain to get into as well but same steps apply for engaging the gear try it once,try again usually goes in etc. But 5th goes into gear so smoothly i sometime second guess my shift thinking im in 3rd but its in 5th.

thanks for the continued help guys

 

[Vegas Smith]

@DSSA Could you explain the two-level stepped bushing that goes between the shifter-cable connector(23901?) and the smaller flange that then bolts to the transmission. Do these two bushings sit in the middle of the two flanges and cushion between them or do the metal flanges directly touch each other? I know that's hard to understand, sorry.

 

[9 T GSX]

@DSSA Could you explain the two-level stepped bushing that goes between the shifter-cable connector(23901?) and the smaller flange that then bolts to the transmission. Do these two bushings sit in the middle of the two flanges and cushion between them or do the metal flanges directly touch each other? I know that's hard to understand, sorry.

Best pics I could find but basically 1 bushing on each side of the bracket. These are aftermarket as the stock ones have a rubber coating around them.

Aftermarket:

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Stock bushing

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[Vegas Smith]

Thanks, where can you get the aftermarket ones?

 

[9 T GSX]

I believe the guy said these were made by jon shepard. Chances of them being available are probably nil. But ya never know what's out there.

 

[Vegas Smith]

Haha, true.