# B&M Shifter Installed! w00t!



## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

This has been a long time coming as, after being in love with the UUC Evo short shift kit in my BMW, the throws in the GTO seemed delivery-truck long.

It is for this reason that I will announce that a buddy of mine and myself have just completed 2-3/4 installs of the B&M Sport Shifters in our GTOs. 

_2-3/4_, you puzzle? I'll get to that.

It's a straightforward enough install- but don't let anyone tell you it's _easy_. Anyone who tells you this are dangerous liars deserving to be beaten with long sticks. Undoing the nuts that hold the rubber boot flange to the car's structure alone is an excersize best undertaken by molusks, verylarge amoebas, certain very talented porn stars, and others with supernatural flexibility. There are several other little things about the install that will make you absolutely insane.

We installed the shifter in my car in about 3-1/2 hours, going slowly and methodically and leaving a thousand four-letter words in our wake-- or mine anyway. 

OK, after a quick FCF down a couple of local roads, we tackle his '05 GTO. Believe it or not, there is less access to those goddamned dust boot flange bolts in an '05 than an '04. I really had to get nearly intimate with the tranny housing to get the drivers side forward bolt off! Other than that, Everything went very smoothly and quickly this time- hell, we're pros now-- until we got to the point where we were going to mount the B&M unit to the tranny top. There, we discovered the o-ring that the B&M instructions warn you that needs to be removed though failing to say _which _ o-ring they speak of. It surrounds the hole that enters the inside of the transmission-- very hard to see unless you know where to look.

I had no idea what might happen if that loose o-ring was left there, though none of the scenarios I considered were good things. So, after a couple of abortive attempts to talk myself out of disassembling almost the entire install to pluck that o-ring free, we decided to tear into my car after we finished his.

Thus, 2-3/4 installs.  

Right then we discovered that, in his box of shifter fun, B&M had thoughtfully shorted us the two countersunk flathead machine screws that hold the shifter lever to the shifter assy. Grand. We had to cschlep over those friendly (*cough*) efficient (*cough kak*) and knowledgeable (*wheeze*) pros over at Auto Zone and scare up bolts he could at least get home. We didn't find the exact bolts, but we were able to trailer-park engineer it suffifciently

Verdict? These things are _sweeeeet_. This shifter is not for everyone. Shift action is definitely a lot more mechanical, notchy, and interior noise goes up noticably ( cool deep roar fills the cabin at high revs)-- but these are all _good_ things as far as I'm concerned.

These shifters _rock_, and seem absolutely worth the bloodloss and substantial scarring on my right arm.

A way special "Thanks Dood" shout out goes to *GTO4Ever* for his excellent writeup!!!


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

Pretty much sums up my experience putting it in and using it. Enjoy. I found B&M instructions good -- but, like you, wanting for more detail in a few areas. And what good are having pictures in an installation manual in they're printed so dang poorly you can't see what the heck is going on in them?!?!?

I'm curious, what was getting in the way of the bolts on the '05? I guess the LS2 requires more plumbing -- or some transmission modifications? That driver's side front bolt is a big enough PITA on an '04.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

b_a_betterperson said:


> I'm curious, what was getting in the way of the bolts on the '05? I guess the LS2 requires more plumbing -- or some transmission modifications? That driver's side front bolt is a big enough PITA on an '04.


The exhaust diameter and routing, for starters. What bitch that is. And if someone got desperate and followed the B&M tip to undo the tranny brace, Very Bad Things would happen to the pipes in an '05!


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

BTW-- Just drove it to work this morning (120 miles) w/ the new shifter installed... Oh, yeah baby, it _rocks_.

Interior noise is substantially higher while yanking through gears, but in cruise I think it's about the same. One weird thing- the gearshift lever actually vibrates _less_ now. May have something to do with the resonant frequencies of the rubber isolator built into the stock mount.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

BTW-- this little nugget of info was just posted on The Other Site by a B&M rep...



> STEP 14. Apply bead of RTV silicone around perimeter of B&M
> shifter. Install B&M shifter using (2) 1/4-20 bolts, (2) lock
> washers and (2) M8 bolts.
> TOOLS: Screwdriver (flat), Hex Wrench (6mm), thread
> ...


_*Dammit!*_ We just put our shifters in this w/e, and _our instructions did not mention this at all!_ The only mention was to torque the bolts per GM spec-- which was a _useless_ piece of info since that spec was not provided!!!!!

It's a stone _bitch_ to get back to that point, made even more difficult by the idiotic way the dust boot retaining spring is _directly_ in the way of the right M8 socket cap screw...looks like I'll have to make it happen, though. _Crap! _ 

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:


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## GTODEALER (Jan 7, 2005)

Groucho said:


> BTW-- this little nugget of info was just posted on The Other Site by a B&M rep...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


....it sounds like you got one of the earlier shifters, the new shifters come with a little better destructions, btw, what size bolts did you have to pick up (hope their 5/16)? Don't feel bad though, I put in the extra springs just to disassemble the shifter to take them out (after a while it just annoys you)! Good luck.... :cheers


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

GTODEALER said:


> ....it sounds like you got one of the earlier shifters, the new shifters come with a little better destructions, btw, what size bolts did you have to pick up (hope their 5/16)? Don't feel bad though, I put in the extra springs just to disassemble the shifter to take them out (after a while it just annoys you)! Good luck.... :cheers


Yeah...it was a Gen 2 shifter (we had to find 5/16-18 bolts)...possibly with Gen 1 instructions...in fact, I believe the info above is Brand New...


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## GTODEALER (Jan 7, 2005)

Groucho said:


> Yeah...it was a Gen 2 shifter (we had to find 5/16-18 bolts)...possibly with Gen 1 instructions...in fact, I believe the info above is Brand New...


WEEEWH...... :cool....damn them for the instruction screw up! :cheers


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## Clevite 77 (Dec 21, 2004)

Would a hoist make this job any eaiser?


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

Bummer. B&M just updated their instructions about a month ago. They even include a little tube of red Loctite in their kits now. Hate to tell you, Groucho, but you gotta get back in there and redo everything with Loctite. Even the two bolts that hold the stick to the shift base. Everything except the bolts holding the boot in place, that is. Did you come across that PDF that B&M's Mike Malloy posted elsewhere?


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

b_a_betterperson said:


> Bummer. B&M just updated their instructions about a month ago. They even include a little tube of red Loctite in their kits now. Hate to tell you, Groucho, but you gotta get back in there and redo everything with Loctite. Even the two bolts that hold the stick to the shift base. Everything except the bolts holding the boot in place, that is. Did you come across that PDF that B&M's Mike Malloy posted elsewhere?


Yeah...yeah. I know. I did Loctite the two bolts that hold the stick lever to the rest of the assy per the instructions, however.



*Sigh.*


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