Squeak/Squeal After Short Shifter Install

[movet22]

Howdy everyone,

So I decided to purchase one of those nifty (and super cheap) ebay short shifter rods for my '89 Vert, and aside from a circle clip that needed heavy modification to install, the gearbox is beautifully tight and notchy.

The issue I'm running into now is that when the car is in second gear and moving, I get a squeak or squeal noise that sounds like it's coming right form under the shift boot. Some notes I took while troubleshooting:

- The noise does not occur in any other gear, only second
- The noise does not occur while stationary (in second gear, and revving the engine does not produce the noise)
- The noise was not present with the previous shifter (leading me to believe my transmission is fine)
- The noise is accompanied by some vibration that seems to be originating from under the shift boot, perhaps with the linkage?
- The noise/vibration gets louder/squealier when holding the shifter into the second gear position more forcibly


Additionally, I greased the bulky part that slots into where the shift cup goes, but I did not grease the part that goes directly into the linkage. I'm not thinking this is a grease issue b/c of the fact that it only makes noise while moving and only in one gear.

Does anyone have any ideas of what to look for when I get back under the car this evening?

[sienayr]

Make sure your shift knob is on tight. I had something similar happen in my e36 m3 following shifter work and it was because the shifter knob wasn’t on all the way

[earthwormjim]

Did you remove the harmonic dampener on your drive shaft? Most short shift kits, interfere and rub against the dampener.

[movet22]

Did you remove the harmonic dampener on your drive shaft? Most short shift kits, interfere and rub against the dampener.

After getting under the car tonight, this is exactly what is happening. The only fixes I've found are to remove the dampener or to bend the selector rod.

Does anyone have any advice on which is easier for a novice working on their car in their garage?

Additionally, are there pre-bent selector rods that are made to fit e30's? The ones I have seen all seem to be for e46 and newer.

[540msportva]

Did you ever figure this out? I’m running into the same issue with my z3 shift lever installed.

[superj]

I think the common fix is bend the shift lever