# B&m Shifter



## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

Anybody have trouble with their B&M shifter gaining a sh!tload of slack/looseness after a while? It's still tightly bolted to the tranny, it seems loose in the spring mechanism.


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

Mine got sloppy then fell apart man, the bolts at the bottom of the "S" piece came out. I called B&M and chewed them out about selling such a POS. I had mine removed and replaced with a GMM ripshift. The place I bought the B&M from in TX even gave me a refund when I returned it a YEAR later!! Now THAT's customer service.


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

How long after it got sloppy did it fall apart? Im curious how much time I have!:willy:


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

About a day! you can tighten the bolts by pushing the white weather boot down but they won't stay tight unless you re-loctite them.


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

ftlfirefighter said:


> About a day! you can tighten the bolts by pushing the white weather boot down but they won't stay tight unless you re-loctite them.


Sum-beach! Thanks!


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

Anytime mate!


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## GOGTO007 (May 18, 2006)

Great I had one installed a few weeks ago.
So far so good.


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## marathonman (Jun 21, 2005)

Yeah, well mine just broke 4 days ago! Snapped clean off 1 1/2" above the ball! When I removed the shifter, thanks God it was sitting right there and didn't fall in! Waiting to hear back from where I bought it B4 I call and ream B&M. I have hated that piece if crap since I put it in!


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## GotYurGoat (Mar 16, 2006)

what is the scoop on the GMM ripshift that i see people talking about??? later yall. I just got through reading the descriptions about the gmm race and street version shifters. which version are most people having the best luck with. from what i read they are both works of mechanical art! however, i read that the race version is for mostly track use as well as daily driving. then the street version is mostly daily driving but still almost just as good as the race version and is a little more expensive. i would like some feedback from anyone who has had on of these shifters installed. i have a fistfull of dollars and i want to improve my shifter ASAP!!! thanks. later bros


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## 05GOAT (Nov 11, 2004)

GOGTO007 said:


> Great I had one installed a few weeks ago.
> So far so good.



It won't be for Long !!!!!!!!:shutme


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

05GOAT said:


> It won't be for Long !!!!!!!!:shutme


+1. It's a piss-poor design.

I had one for a 40k mile stint. Had it on and off the car ~6 times total due to leaking etc. It even came completely off of the tranny housing while driving-- twice.

Get rid of it. it's pure sh*t.

The GMM is a great shifter. It has a far superior feel, and I've had it for about 10k miles now with now problems. I have the Race version.


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

BTW who's leaks too from the half-assed mouting method?? After the GMM went in no more puddle on my garage floor! The fact that it replaces the factory adapter plate itself instead of SITTING on it like the B&M piece only makes sence. Go for the race version.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

ftlfirefighter said:


> BTW who's leaks too from the half-assed mouting method?? After the GMM went in no more puddle on my garage floor! The fact that it replaces the factory adapter plate itself instead of SITTING on it like the B&M piece only makes sence. Go for the race version.


Exactly.

Loctiting the bolts on the B&M only slows the loosening process...slightly.


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

Hey Groucho, you're our resident rocket scientist in Calif, why don't you skoot down to Chatsworth and school them some! The fact that they didn't employ a mechanical means to secure the factory installed bolts blows my mind. When I called and spoke to Frank he was almost indifferent until I mentioned their product liablity here was HUGE if one of us has an accident because of their defective engineering!


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

ftlfirefighter said:


> Hey Groucho, you're our resident rocket scientist in Calif, why don't you skoot down to Chatsworth and school them some!


Because assault is an ugly charge to have on your record...and I think attempting to jam a shifter assembly up a B&M engineer's ass counts as assault.

:lol: 

I've tried talking to them. They just don't give a crap. Let's face it-- we're not exactly a huge market.


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

That's why I like you Groucho!! We think alike but the doc in the ER would have a hard time because he'd have to extricate my FOOT as well as the shifter from his rectum!! They're a low volume company and this is the first time I've had an issue with any of their products. I think they saw a niche and rushed it out the door to dealers without much forethought. The whole thing kinda reminds me of NASA using a cheepie buna o-ring to seal the segments of the Shuttle SRB's!! :-X


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

I was about 40 miles from home when my B&M decided to let loose. I thought the shifter felt funny. Heard a noise like a bolt snapping and hitting the ground as I was driving and looked in my mirror, sure enough there was the bolt from the back of the shifter. I nursed the car home using 2nd and 4th to keep from shifting too much. 

I was actually happy to get the original shifter put back in. Mine did all of the above, it leaked, loosened up and then fell apart. That was even after several tightening and using enough lock-tite to make their stock prices go up.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

I've posted this critique before, but here it is again. Wish I could take credit for it but all kudos go to Galen on The Other Site.

The GMM Race shifter is at left. Awesome unit.


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

Well, I lock-tited the hell out of the B&M, seems O.K. for now. Hopefully it will hold out for a while longer untill I get the GMM. Thanks everyone for all the advice on this!:cool


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## marathonman (Jun 21, 2005)

Thanks for that post Groucho! I haven't seen that before. Mine broke exactly where it says its weak! I got really irate with B&M yesterday, finally got my original invoice for my purchase and B&M said ship it to them with the invoice and they would replace it. IF they do, stay tuned to ebay for a great deal on a B&M!!!!!! Put the original bucket of jello back in for now, gonna buy the GMM race version! It's amazing how they don't want to stand behind their garbage. I couldn't find my receipt, so they said a credit card statement would do, so I found that, then they said it only showed where, not what I bought, so that wouldn't do either. Got Alan Young to fax me a copy of the original invoice, now I have a RM# with B&M to send it back! I think they finally got tired of me jumping thru their hoops! Wish me luck!:willy:


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## ftlfirefighter (Jun 6, 2005)

If you bought it from Alan Young in TX, talk to Eric in the parts dept (GTODEALER2 on here). He refunded me for mine when I returned it to them after B&M offered to replace mine as well. "Why take a chance, it's still a Piece of junk" I said!


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## marathonman (Jun 21, 2005)

I did talk to him. He was real cool! Unfortunately he said he couldn't refund me, but he got a copy of my original invoice and sent it to me so I could send it to B&M.


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## marathonman (Jun 21, 2005)

Well...........Got a brand new replacement shifter from B&M! Couldn't believe it when it showed up at my door. Guess it's going on ebay! LOL!


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## banshee2 (Aug 14, 2006)

I had one installed a few weeks ago too. I noticed that it felt a little loose over the past week. now I'm hearing a rattle. I'm going to the mechanic that installed it and have him check it out. if no good news, its going back. anyone have more info on the gmm ripshifter?


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## LS2 - Light SpeedX2 (Nov 10, 2005)

I have the GMM ripshifter race version. I did not know they had a street version until after I got mine. But I absolutley love it. All the posts on here scared me away from the B & M. The race version is a little tighter and you get a little more vibration and road noise. But you forget about it after a while. Man, This thing is built like a beast and is tight a vir*in. If there are any left! lol Well worth the money to get the GMM


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