Street Build Red5.

[miliman13]

DSM - K series shifter cable upgrade: 50$
As far as I know I'm the first to document and do this.
I took some measurements of the cable in the car as a starting reference when searching online.
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/d...-of-the-shifter-cables.548540/#post-153940722

I noticed my car would not want to shift and it was stiff at the shifter, but I recall my car use to shift very well, so I refused to believe the un-experienced who said, " bad trans bro ".
I disconnected the cables at shifter and at trans and began diagnosing each component of the system and concluded one shifter cable got damaged (while it sat for 7 years ?????), and I was able to confirm this as well when I would push or pull the shifter it felt like it "flexed".

So, I took a chance based on images alone, and I settled on this K series cables since they are supposed to be better than stock (the K series stock ones are only 30$) and they come with adjustable end links and a swivel for a good fitment, they are an EXACT fit to the 2G DSM... you don't have to modify anything. You don't need to use the clips, the provided collars work with our brackets, except for one in the interior, due to a bolt that gets in the way you can either remove bolt or use the retainer clip again.

It used to feel like I had bad gears but mostly a bad first gear, wow that issue is gone, I have not driven the car yet, all testing has been with car off.

I'm still testing it and believe I will need a short m6x1.00 (1/4-28) male to female extension to get the placement perfectly, what I mean is these shifters feel like they have a shorter throw, so fine tuning the positions are needed to get a solid engagement from (1st gear all the way to reverse) since depending on where you adjust the end links you can feel resistance either moving shifter left or right making either 1&2 a Lill resistant or 5th and reverse.

One remedy to this is using the OEM shifter responsible for the left and right motion; the OEM shifter cables rubber gromet allow for you to remove the old, damaged shifter and replace it with another, leaving you with one OEM and one K series, this would resolve the forementioned issue about the left and right range being a little tight. I will be attempting both using the extension and the OEM cable once its driving for data collection and feedback.

 

[miliman13]

Apologies for music in video, it was playing while recording.

This video shows how quickly and smoothly the shifter
Cables work during testing.

I struggled to get into gear before
Now it feels like a new car.

 

[Moonlight GSX]

Apologies for music in video, it was playing while recording.

This video shows how quickly and smoothly the shifter
Cables work during testing.

I struggled to get into gear before
Now it feels like a new car.

Those shifts look 100x better, looks like I will be changing those out just because. Not to mention the cost isn't that bad at all either, nice find!

 

[miliman13]

Those shifts look 100x better, looks like I will be changing those out just because. Not to mention the cost isn't that bad at all either, nice find!

Yes Sir, I agree the shifts are much better!
Thats great news I hope you post and share when you do.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Definitely interesting! Nice investigation and in for results!

 

[miliman13]

Got some feedback and request for more info; so, I’ll update:
NOTE: The swivel end link is too tall to allow for use of a safety pin, since the end links are not very flexible, I doubt this will ever back out and come loose, i tried pulling on it. You can shave down the collar to allow for a pin or ignore it like I plan to. All other end links allow for pins/collar.

The interior gromet separates into 3 pieces one will need to be cut long ways

Use gloves. go slow and be gentle.

General design

The upgraded cables are thicker and have less flex than the original

Which will make installing the gromet to cables and especially to car much more difficult- this is the hardest part of this upgrade- this part requires plenty of lubricant spray to slide the gromet in place -"keeping it looking stock"

We see the splits made in the gromet from the engine bay side. - apart from that it seals and looks just the OEM ones.

I opted to not use the one good OEM cable since; I went through the trouble of doing the above and I'm currently waiting on the extensions which are necessary otherwise you have to back out the end links to their max position and you end up with barely any threads connecting the cable.

 

[miliman13]

If you really want to spend $ they sell these in black for that OEM look, I don't mind the color too much.
But its 50$, I recall for years dreading the day I would need cables, since no aftermarket option exist for our cars and so many time members would tell you it's the end of the road if you need cables and can't find OEM ones. Well not anymore, no more buying 30-year-old parts for several hundred's just for them to eventually fail.

its 2025 and we are still figuring out new things !!!!!!!

 

[Pjj]

I ordered some cables last night

 

[miliman13]

I ordered some cables last night

Do us the kindness and share your experience when you get them installed.

 

[Pjj]

Will do, keep in touch

 

[miliman13]

The flaring tool I was waiting on finally arrived, it made the bubble flare perfectly.

However it doesn’t make the inverted very well, what it does is it gets you close.

To get the final taper you have to seat it against a spare MC or P-valve carefully while also sanding the surface from burrs.

The oem line for comparison

This should never be done on the car and only with old spares.

I made sure to clean every surface carefully
And ultimately did manage with this method to achieve the proper geometry.

Even then I was still sure this would not work.

But it works.
The bubble flare seats and seals at the MC

And the inverted flare seats and seals at the P-valve.

After some research I’ve concluded that perhaps it’s because the brass adapter does not crush, like the softer brake lines. I found some videos online that show the cut outs of the fittings and how the seal is actually achieved, and it’s by compression and deflection.
Idk I could be wrong

But currently ( still testing ) this new custom line does in fact seal at both ends.

So then maybe it is just my MC and my custom line does a slightly better job at sealing, so it masked the cause. Or it’s the adapter(s) for the driver's side port.
So now I am using one OEM line with an adapter that properly seals ( passenger side ) and one CUSTOM ine that seals ( drivers side ).
I don't mind the color, and the lines were easy to deal with, but idk that tool doesn't do exactly what people show on some videos.

This makes me feel a lill more secure and safe than just using the OEM lines without an adapter, knowing full well that the sealing surface is minimal when using the OEM line on a 3G MC.

Reference: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/about-proportioning-valves.505143/#post-153600583

 

[Moonlight GSX]

Out of curiosity, did you use a bending tool or did you hand bend it? I have similar line (EZ Bend) but have not got around to creating my lines yet.

 

[miliman13]

Out of curiosity, did you use a bending tool or did you hand bend it? I have similar line (EZ Bend) but have not got around to creating my lines yet.

I did not take a pic of the tool, but im using the cheap harbor freight bendi tool

 

[Moonlight GSX]

Makes sense, I have one too wasn't sure if you did it by hand or not. Thanks for the reply.

 

[miliman13]

While I wait on the shifter linkage, I went ahead and bleed the brake and the clutch lines. Happy to report the custom line is holding strong.

Got about 15 mm of max travel after flushing the super black clutch fluid? Don’t know how that happened but there were tons of contaminants in the brake lines too so,?
and about 10 mm at half pedal.
This was tested because as stated previously, the cables without adapters/extenders allows good shifting with engine ON either in even or odd numbers but not both,
and I'm slowly going through entire car checking all things too.

Source:

But I quickly got inpatient so instead of waiting on parts to come in the mail I drove to every hardware store in town looking for those m6x1.00 adapters…..I finally found them; I proceeded to install them…
And they don’t fit.

Turns out they are not m6x1.00 they are 1/4-28. I made the mistake of putting the lock nut that came with the shifter cables on a m6x1.00 bolt and made the wrong conclusion.

When I attempted to thread the m6 adapter to the male end of the shifter cable I realized the Chinese shifter cables made for a Japanese car come in American standard thread.

I haven’t wanted to put my face through a concrete wall in a very long time………………

I have an enormous amount of hatred for American threads and units-so this really made things more fun.

So, I’m having a difficult time finding any hardware in 1/4-28, I had the privilege of wasting another day searching the same stores I already visited, having the same conversations; I already had.

If anyone can guide that would be swell and it would benefit others too as this will all get imported into an article soon.

 

[19Eclipse90]

I guess I don’t follow exactly what it is you need in 1/4-28.

But McMaster-Carr, Fastenal, Grainger, MSC Industrial are all likely to have supply of 1/4-28 hardware.

I’m sure you looked, but my local hardware stores generally carry some in the fine threads drawers.

 

[Moonlight GSX]

I guess I don’t follow exactly what it is you need in 1/4-28.

But McMaster-Carr, Fastenal, Grainger, MSC Industrial are all likely to have supply of 1/4-28 hardware.

I’m sure you looked, but my local hardware stores generally carry some in the fine threads drawers.

I believe he is referencing size-pitch: 1/4"-28* pitch. Correct me if I am wrong.

Looks good though. I agree, there are some things that are better left to metric but then standard is okay within reason so as long as it is the ONLY thing there. Mixing sucks...

 

[miliman13]

I guess I don’t follow exactly what it is you need in 1/4-28.

But McMaster-Carr, Fastenal, Grainger, MSC Industrial are all likely to have supply of 1/4-28 hardware.

I’m sure you looked, but my local hardware stores generally carry some in the fine threads drawers.

I need an extension or things to make an extension

I checked McMaster but they only had the adapter in alternating sizes and not in both male and female in 1/4-28

Ace hardware does carry it, but they were all out.

I believe he is referencing size-pitch: 1/4"-28* pitch. Correct me if I am wrong.

Looks good though. I agree, there are some things that are better left to metric but then standard is okay within reason so as long as it is the ONLY thing there. Mixing sucks...

Yes sir .

I ordered a threaded rod and a set of couplers all in 1/4-28 so I just have to cut the rod and make my own extensions.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Got it. Your approach is probably the most economical.

Neither here nor there, and it would depend on how much you need to extend the linkage, but my other suggestions would have been either repurposing a turnbuckle, making your own by retapping a smaller thread size standoff for the 1/4”-28, or simply looking for an extended length rod end.

Carry on.

 

[miliman13]

Got it. Your approach is probably the most economical.

Neither here nor there, and it would depend on how much you need to extend the linkage, but my other suggestions would have been either repurposing a turnbuckle, making your own by retapping a smaller thread size standoff for the 1/4”-28, or simply looking for an extended length rod end.

Carry on.

Yes sir, I was really aiming for economy on this one. an extra 15 $ more for the parts to make the extensions.
I lost my tap kit over the years and don't want to invest in any imperial tools.

it was 25$ + shipping for the actual female coupler with a male end, so I saved 10$.

 

[miliman13]

K Series cable extension link
As expected the DIY adjustable extension links work perfectly once dialed in.

“Rod is cut to length of 2 couplers”

This not only completes the swap by allowing smooth travel into all gears while driving.

It also allows you to pick your preferred center shifter location, you can adjusts this with the links.

 

[miliman13]

When I took a quick drive around the neighborhood to test the new cables, I noticed the steering wheel was crooked while driving straight.

Somehow yet another thing happened while the car sat for 7 years…. Weird.

So I did a quick alignment based on an old video of a 1G using the same method.

 

[miliman13]

Drained the Red line fluids from the drivetrain that sat for the last 7yrs, Tcase and rear looked great.

Still it was time to replace them all.

The 5/8 copper washers from this harbor freight kit, is a tiny bit too small for the drain plugs, so a lill boring with the impact and the washers fit perfectly, there’s 6 washers enough to do the 3 drains and 3 fill plugs.

Finally all fluids are new, car is ready to be daily driven……..

And as I pull out of driveway, my car starts to sound more aggressive and sexy …..

My exhaust separated itself from the turbo

Had to reverse back into drive way, shortest drive ever.

 

[Moonlight GSX]

If it isn't one thing it will always be another, she's playing hard to get.

 

[miliman13]

Here’s a lill preview of another build journal ; soon to come.

Marking the 10 yr anniversary of this thread