Welcome to another article made especially by me, NHerron. I enjoy fiddling with the car on days which time permits, and it's always an adventure. This time happened to be occupied by the badly worn out shifter and I figured why not go with a shorter throw at the same time. This article is more for the 2G users, sorry 1G guys 
.
So off I went to read up on short shifters. Lots of threads on the subject but not a lot of truth to them specific to brands. Everyone wants what they can't have and that's the B&M SS, the bees knees of SS brands. Well they are no more in production and what we have been left with is the MeganRacing SS and the MiragePower SS. I'm not including the other style SS, which looks like a couple twigs got to fighting in a metal casting plant.
B&M was the most expensive. Megan comes in second and Mirage comes third. You can tell each one apart according to the color of the shifter pivot. B&M is blue, Megan is purple and Mirage is Red. I decided to go with MiragePower because I've read enough on Megan but hardly anything on Mirage. Plus, I know how cheap some people are here and since Mirage is the best price I figured I'd be the lab rat.
All three shifters are basically the same minus the identification color and some machining tolerances. That's what I want to emphasize. It seems the two latter brands aren't as strict on tolerances as B&M. With that said, I had to grind slightly and knurl the pivot shaft to make fitment 100% solid with no slop. Anyhow, with any of the brands, each one is very strong. How strong?
Let me quote the member 'Defiant'
There has also been some talk on the thread pitch for the shift knob not being the same as stock. On the MiragePower shifter I got, it was in fact the stock M10x1.25.
OKAY let's get this slideshow started. I know how we all love detailed pictures and I got your fix coming right up. You ready? Set, go!
Here is the packaging it came in. Just what you should expect in a small name. No instructions and everything scattered hither and yon. But have no fear, this should really be second nature if you own a DSM.
Ah, the side by side pictures. Unfortunately the shiny will all be covered up by that shift boot -hence my old sig 'Cars pretty on the inside, but not out'. Just kidding. ..But that is my hood in the picture above
In the picture below you can see why this is a SS. Since the fixed pivot vs the cable is further apart, the distance the threaded end moves is less -at the cost of leverage. Imagine an 8-foot 2x4. Pick up only one end and when it's at waist height, measure the distance to ground. Now measure the distance to ground from the other end. Big difference right? That's the principle. The top end moves less while the bottom moves more. The same effect can be had by modifying the opposite end. By literally cutting the threaded end down the same distance a proper SS would increase distance on the bottom. Now, that will work but wow is that tacky. Most enthusiasts would cringe at the idea but to each his own.
Here is the stock vs Mirage threads. Same threads.
This pile of hardware I had no use for. Literally a pile of extra crap. These guys must have made a run down to the hardware store, grabbed one of everything and dumped it all in the mailing envelope. There's really nothing to complain about, it's better than coming with nothing at all. Besides, we all collect random hardware anyway.
Here is the overview of the hardware I choose to use and where to use it. I mostly used the B&M instructions to get an idea of what to put where.
This threaded rod thing threads into either hole. The top one shortens throw and the bottom one shortens throw even more. Either way, thread this into a hole. First use blue Loctite, and thread the rod in and out a couple times to get the Loctite dsitributed and to set up. Then take the rod out, add another drop of Loctite and assemble for the last time. You'll notice it's hard to tighten after it's been threaded in a couple times. And that's a good thing, it's how Loctite works
When the rest of the shifter is assembled, you slide the shift cable end onto the protruding rod and secure it with the supplied c-clip.
This is the needle bearing. I was surprised it fit pretty snug, not loose and but too hard to press in either. I used whatever grease I could find for this bearing.
In the third picture up, you'll see two dark colored washers and a regular one. Grease them all up, this will cut down on friction to prevent the nut from coming loose. In fact, just grease everything in that assembly minus the threaded portions. Those will get the Loctite treatment like the 'threaded rod thing' did above. But NHerron, that nut is a locking nut anyway! You're right. But Loctite will only help and you really don't want anything loosening up. Ever. Right? From what I've read, this seems to really piss people off when it happens. So don't be them and hope this crap stays together with no extra effort on your part.
I'd like to mention one more thing about securing threads. Before you thread the dual threaded pivot bolt on (or stud), you can 'stake' the female threads of the silver shifter itself. Just take a chisel and bang up some of the final threads a bit. Along with Loctite, you shouldn't have any problems with things loosening up. If you're wondering how to thread this stud into the silver shifter, I'll give you a hint: Osmosis.
Okay quit that, it was a joke. It's not going to work and you're freaking people out. Take two regular nuts and thread them on one end. Tighten them against eachother real good and now tighten the stud in. Or thread a nut all the way on the stud until it stops and do it that way.
Now before we get too excited and put stuff together, wait a minute and make a couple checks first. Take the red shift pivot and slide it onto the shaft. Immediately mine wouldn't make it all the way on. the flat bracket part was in the way before the pivot slid all the way on:
Take whatever tool you want and grind down the metal. That is, the car metal, not the red pivot metal. Don't be like me and cut too deep and make a bunch of extra work for yourself by having to add metal after. And you definitely don't want to do that if you don't have a welder. But that would be the correct fix. If you did happen to cut too deep, you could probably get away with using JB-weld and mix in some metal powder for extra durability. You don't want ANY slop in this piece. None, nada, nathan.
Now that you got that piece slid on and it doesn't rock back and forth at all, keep looking for any hint of movement. You might find another bit of slop somewhere, I did. And I found it in the ID of the pivot being a tad too big for the shaft. So what you can do here is what's similar to a process called 'Knurling'. You make bumps on the OD of the shaft so it more closely matches the ID of the pivot. Simply find a chisel and tap a couple raised bumps into the shaft. Check for a close fit every couple taps and it shouldn't take long. I made the clearances tight so I had to actually tap the pivot on. Remember, this piece doesn't need to move whatsoever, it's just a new mounting point.
Right on. You're done with the hardest part and hey that bad boy is going to be 1000% just like those precious B&M's (where's my whack it icon??) Best part about it, only cost ya about 45ish dollars.
From here on it's pretty simple. Bolt the red pivot up to the shifter and get that all set up (reference the pictures above, 6 and 7). After that bolt the assembly to the cars shifter mount. Then slide the shift cable on and secure the clip in place.
And whala, you're good to go.
.So off I went to read up on short shifters. Lots of threads on the subject but not a lot of truth to them specific to brands. Everyone wants what they can't have and that's the B&M SS, the bees knees of SS brands. Well they are no more in production and what we have been left with is the MeganRacing SS and the MiragePower SS. I'm not including the other style SS, which looks like a couple twigs got to fighting in a metal casting plant.
B&M was the most expensive. Megan comes in second and Mirage comes third. You can tell each one apart according to the color of the shifter pivot. B&M is blue, Megan is purple and Mirage is Red. I decided to go with MiragePower because I've read enough on Megan but hardly anything on Mirage. Plus, I know how cheap some people are here and since Mirage is the best price I figured I'd be the lab rat.
All three shifters are basically the same minus the identification color and some machining tolerances. That's what I want to emphasize. It seems the two latter brands aren't as strict on tolerances as B&M. With that said, I had to grind slightly and knurl the pivot shaft to make fitment 100% solid with no slop. Anyhow, with any of the brands, each one is very strong. How strong?
Let me quote the member 'Defiant'
Right.
There has also been some talk on the thread pitch for the shift knob not being the same as stock. On the MiragePower shifter I got, it was in fact the stock M10x1.25.
OKAY let's get this slideshow started. I know how we all love detailed pictures and I got your fix coming right up. You ready? Set, go!
Here is the packaging it came in. Just what you should expect in a small name. No instructions and everything scattered hither and yon. But have no fear, this should really be second nature if you own a DSM.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Ah, the side by side pictures. Unfortunately the shiny will all be covered up by that shift boot -hence my old sig 'Cars pretty on the inside, but not out'. Just kidding. ..But that is my hood in the picture above
In the picture below you can see why this is a SS. Since the fixed pivot vs the cable is further apart, the distance the threaded end moves is less -at the cost of leverage. Imagine an 8-foot 2x4. Pick up only one end and when it's at waist height, measure the distance to ground. Now measure the distance to ground from the other end. Big difference right? That's the principle. The top end moves less while the bottom moves more. The same effect can be had by modifying the opposite end. By literally cutting the threaded end down the same distance a proper SS would increase distance on the bottom. Now, that will work but wow is that tacky. Most enthusiasts would cringe at the idea but to each his own.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Here is the stock vs Mirage threads. Same threads.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
This pile of hardware I had no use for. Literally a pile of extra crap. These guys must have made a run down to the hardware store, grabbed one of everything and dumped it all in the mailing envelope. There's really nothing to complain about, it's better than coming with nothing at all. Besides, we all collect random hardware anyway.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Here is the overview of the hardware I choose to use and where to use it. I mostly used the B&M instructions to get an idea of what to put where.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
This threaded rod thing threads into either hole. The top one shortens throw and the bottom one shortens throw even more. Either way, thread this into a hole. First use blue Loctite, and thread the rod in and out a couple times to get the Loctite dsitributed and to set up. Then take the rod out, add another drop of Loctite and assemble for the last time. You'll notice it's hard to tighten after it's been threaded in a couple times. And that's a good thing, it's how Loctite works
When the rest of the shifter is assembled, you slide the shift cable end onto the protruding rod and secure it with the supplied c-clip.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
This is the needle bearing. I was surprised it fit pretty snug, not loose and but too hard to press in either. I used whatever grease I could find for this bearing.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
In the third picture up, you'll see two dark colored washers and a regular one. Grease them all up, this will cut down on friction to prevent the nut from coming loose. In fact, just grease everything in that assembly minus the threaded portions. Those will get the Loctite treatment like the 'threaded rod thing' did above. But NHerron, that nut is a locking nut anyway! You're right. But Loctite will only help and you really don't want anything loosening up. Ever. Right? From what I've read, this seems to really piss people off when it happens. So don't be them and hope this crap stays together with no extra effort on your part.
I'd like to mention one more thing about securing threads. Before you thread the dual threaded pivot bolt on (or stud), you can 'stake' the female threads of the silver shifter itself. Just take a chisel and bang up some of the final threads a bit. Along with Loctite, you shouldn't have any problems with things loosening up. If you're wondering how to thread this stud into the silver shifter, I'll give you a hint: Osmosis.
Okay quit that, it was a joke. It's not going to work and you're freaking people out. Take two regular nuts and thread them on one end. Tighten them against eachother real good and now tighten the stud in. Or thread a nut all the way on the stud until it stops and do it that way.
Now before we get too excited and put stuff together, wait a minute and make a couple checks first. Take the red shift pivot and slide it onto the shaft. Immediately mine wouldn't make it all the way on. the flat bracket part was in the way before the pivot slid all the way on:
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Take whatever tool you want and grind down the metal. That is, the car metal, not the red pivot metal. Don't be like me and cut too deep and make a bunch of extra work for yourself by having to add metal after. And you definitely don't want to do that if you don't have a welder. But that would be the correct fix. If you did happen to cut too deep, you could probably get away with using JB-weld and mix in some metal powder for extra durability. You don't want ANY slop in this piece. None, nada, nathan.
Now that you got that piece slid on and it doesn't rock back and forth at all, keep looking for any hint of movement. You might find another bit of slop somewhere, I did. And I found it in the ID of the pivot being a tad too big for the shaft. So what you can do here is what's similar to a process called 'Knurling'. You make bumps on the OD of the shaft so it more closely matches the ID of the pivot. Simply find a chisel and tap a couple raised bumps into the shaft. Check for a close fit every couple taps and it shouldn't take long. I made the clearances tight so I had to actually tap the pivot on. Remember, this piece doesn't need to move whatsoever, it's just a new mounting point.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Right on. You're done with the hardest part and hey that bad boy is going to be 1000% just like those precious B&M's (where's my whack it icon??) Best part about it, only cost ya about 45ish dollars.
From here on it's pretty simple. Bolt the red pivot up to the shifter and get that all set up (reference the pictures above, 6 and 7). After that bolt the assembly to the cars shifter mount. Then slide the shift cable on and secure the clip in place.
And whala, you're good to go.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
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