DIY - Homemade adjustable shortshifter E36

[Winrace12]

Hello everyone! Thought i'd share a simple DIY on making a adjustable shortshifter for the E36 (works on every transmission).

I own a 98 318ti which had a horrible shifter with a extremely long shifter throw.. I was looking at installing a 328/M3 shift lever, however the cheapest one i could find was $75 + shipping, so I got an idea to try to make one myself, using the original shift lever from my car.

Here is what i did:
[LIST=1][*]Cut of the bottom section of the shift lever, and use a grinder to make the cut straight.
qYCfErv.jpg[*]Weld a nut on the shift lever (im a bad welder, but it does the trick)
bp4jDoi.jpg[*]Weld a bolt on the small piece you cut of the lever. The bolt i used was around 40mm long, but this doesn't matter too much, as you will need to test fit and cut the bolt the proper length for your transmission.
xeA2R8f.jpg[*]This is what it should look like when you're done.. I had to cut the bolt a bit shorter, because the shifter linkage was rubbing into the driveshaft.
J0Gw9t1.jpg[*]Depending on what transmission you have, the shifter linkage may rub towards the driveshaft even if you cut the bolt quite short.. I ran into this problem, so simply all i did was use a vise and three sockets to bend the shifter-arm a little bit. This took me like 10 minutes, so it was super easy.
(not my picture)
oetURvV.jpg

The end result was amazing, and my shift throws are now very short and much more precise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VURWmVcFWAw

[jc43089]

It may not be that you are a bad welder as much as that you tried welding a steel nut to an aluminum part.

[Moron95M3]

Uhm, I am scared by this....because of what jc mentioned^^

...although now that I'm looking through photos online, I think the bottom may be steel (stainless I imagine).
OP I do really like the idea of this, think that it could be a little cleaner but overall great idea!

[jc43089]

You are right, the lower shaft is not aluminum. Ignore my comment. I would be concerned with the bolt possibly coming loose, maybe use some loctite.

[Moron95M3]

Now that I think about it, I'll probably do a variation of this mod to my vert that I'm swapping. I have a spare so not too worried.

In my case, I'll get it at the right length, then weld it solid, so there will be nothing to loosen up over time. Try to use solid rod vs. a bolt as threads are stress concentrations used in a bending moment.

[Winrace12]

Not to worried about the bolt coming out, as I have that counter-nut on there. And if it was to fall out, it would'nt be the end of the world...
Remember, this is just something I made quickly out of some spare parts, so there is definitely room for improvement.. However for a easy diy, I think it works great
Anyways, thanks for the tips