DIY 2012 Civic Si - How to install CT Engineering Short Shift adapter and CorSport Base Bushings

squiggy

squiggy

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Michiana
Vehicle Model
Toyota MR2 Spyder
Body Style
Convertible
Tools Needed:
Retaining clip remover tool or flat head screwdriver
Phillips head screwdriver
Allen wrench/Hex wrench
9/16 open end wrench
7/16 open end wrench
10mm deep well socket or standard socket with extension
12mm deep well socket
Cutters or snips
Hammer

Parts & Supplies Needed:
Base Bushings (optional)
Short Shift Adapter
LocTite

1. Remove the shift knob by pulling down on the shift boot. It will not simply pull straight down. I found it is best to pull down and angle it slightly and work it from there. You may find it easier to use a flathead screwdriver and pry the clip loose. Once the boot is off, use the 9/16 wrench on the retaining piece for the shift knob. Turn it right to loosen it. Once you have done this, you can turn the shift knob to the left. It will take about a dozen full turns to get it off.

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2. Now you will need to remove the center console shifter cover by putting your finger down into the boot and grabbing the console and pulling it up. You will need to pull up the parking brake for clearance. I found that it came up with a modest amount of effort. Once it is loose, you will need to swing it left in order to clear the parking brake and remove it from the shifter itself. After this one is removed, you will need to pull the cup holders out. Just pull up on them. I found that this one stuck a little more than the first one. Just be patient and careful.

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3. Now you will need to remove a bunch of screws and clips in order to completely remove the center console. There are two screws in the center console compartment underneath a mat and one connected to a metal supporting brace in front of the shifting mechanism on the right hand side. (There may be a second one on the left side of the brace. I do not have a clear picture and do not remember) There is also a screw in a metal bracket at the back of the shifter mechanism. There are additional clips in the driver’s and passenger’s side wheel wells—these are removed easiest with a retaining clip tool, but a flathead screwdriver can be used.

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To be continued in the next post...
 
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There are also two electrical connections that need to be removed. One towards the front for the power supply to the outlet and another towards the back for the USB connection.

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Now that all of the clips, screws, and power supply connections are removed, you will be able to lift up the center console and slide it back into the backseat to get it out of the way.

4. To the rear of the shifter mechanism is a metal bracket that needs to be removed. This will require a 10mm socket.

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5. Now remove the center brace towards the front of the shifter mechanism. There are two bolts on the floor of the car.This also requires a 10mm socket.

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6. On the right hand side of the shifter mechanism is a bundle of cable that needs to be removed. I used a snips and just cut the clip as this part of the shifter mechanism will need to be shaved off in order to allow clearance for the shifter mechanism to properly work.

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7. Now you will remove the right hand shifter cable. The first thing to do is to remove the end from the bottom of the shifter itself. It is kept in place by a metal clip. The two end pieces as marked in the picture need to be pried outward, but you do not need to completely remove the clip. Just move it enough to drop the attachment piece. Next you will need to locate the black plastic ring that keeps the cable in place on the shifter mechanism. This piece is spring loaded. There is a white piece that needs to be swung out to allow the black clip to turn. Turn the black clip to the left and wiggle the piece out of the mechanism.

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8. Remove the left hand shifter cable. First remove the cotter pin on the end. Then, as in the previous step, remove the black clip to remove the cable from the shifter mechanism. (You will notice that the center brace is still in place. I thought I would not need to remove it, but there was not enough room to get the shifter cable out. There is a clearer picture in step 9.)

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To be continued in the next post...
 
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9. With a 12mm socket, the four bolts holding the mechanism can now be removed and the mechanism can be pulled out. Only three are visible in the following picture. ( Please ignore the circles on the shifter cable as I took this picture after I put it back together. You may also notice the new bushings are in, too.) Warning: Be careful not to drop these bolts as they can slip under the carpet and get lost. This will require A LOT of work to retrieve them.

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10. While the shifter mechanism is out, you will need to do three things. The first is to shave off a part of the plastic. I used a Dremel to do this. Just mark a line as seen below and cut.

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Next, you will need to remove the blue cap on the end of the shifter itself. In order to do this, I used a 7/16 open end wrench and a hammer. Placing the shifter mechanism flat on the bench as it would sit in the car, I lined the wrench up and rested the bottom on my bench and hit it with a hammer a few times until it popped off.

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11. Now you can put the short shift adapter on. You will need to put the blue cap on the adapter. I just used a hammer to do this. Do not strike the cap itself, but rather strike the top of the adapter itself while holding it against the bench. (Alternatively, you could use a vice) Remove the retaining bolts with a hex wrench and put Loctite in the threads. Put the retaining bolts back in and slide the adapter over the end of the shifter. Alternate tightening the bolts until it is snug. I found it easiest to make sure one of them was accessible from the back of the shifter mechanism.

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12. Before you put the shifter mechanism back in, you will need to remove the stock base bushings if you are upgrading. I used a flat head screwdriver to first push out the metal piece from the top and then pulled the rubber piece out from the bottom. It is not possible to put the new bushings in until you reassemble the mechanism.

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13. Assembly everything in reverse order.

A note on installing the base bushings:
There are two bushings for each point. You will put one bushing on each side of the hole with the beveled side in. I found it easiest to start with the rear points as it is easier to slide them in without losing them. Do not completely tighten them down until the front ones are in. This will allow just enough room to slide the front ones reducing the risk of losing them. Warning: Be careful not to drop the bushings as they can slip under the carpet and get lost. This will require A LOT of work to retrieve them.

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Sorry for the lack of pictures for the two front bolts, but that would have required three hands.

Completed pics

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Notice the placement of the right shifter now and how low it is in relation to the clearance of where the cable bundle was clipped to the shifter mechanism. The cable bundle will sit off to the side on the floor with no problems.

As I had no reference for torque specs, just use your best judgement based on how hard it was to take them out.

As always, if anybody has any questions or needs further clarification, please ask.
 
Monk said:
Nice pictorial, well done.
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Thanks, Monk.

Unfortunately, some of the pictures turned out fuzzy and couldn't be used and I missed a few that I would have liked because I got caught up in what I was doing. Also, I was racing against the daylight.
 
Great work Squiggy! Do you have a sense of how many steps could be ignored if I'm only adding the short shifter piece? I have read that you need to remove the knob, boot and its surround, cupholders, and loosen the right side of the center console, but can leave it in place. From there, you can access and trim that white plastic piece that rubs.

From there, can you then loosen the two-sided spring clip that holds the shift cable to the shifter, and then, with the shifter still in place, remove the blue plastic piece from the bulbous end of the shifter? I think downward pressure with an open end wrench should remove that, right?

Then, you would be able to put the short shifter in place as you described and put things back together. Have I missed anything?

Having just finished your job, I'd like to get your input. Thanks.
 
colint said:
Great work Squiggy! Do you have a sense of how many steps could be ignored if I'm only adding the short shifter piece? I have read that you need to remove the knob, boot and its surround, cupholders, and loosen the right side of the center console, but can leave it in place. From there, you can access and trim that white plastic piece that rubs.

From there, can you then loosen the two-sided spring clip that holds the shift cable to the shifter, and then, with the shifter still in place, remove the blue plastic piece from the bulbous end of the shifter? I think downward pressure with an open end wrench should remove that, right?

Then, you would be able to put the short shifter in place as you described and put things back together. Have I missed anything?

Having just finished your job, I'd like to get your input. Thanks.
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As the blue cap is on quite tight (a hammer was necessary) and there is cutting involved, I would suggest completely removing it lest you really want to risk doing potential damage somewhere unintentionally. It would really only save you about 10 minutes if you feel the need to take shortcuts. Also, getting a Dremel or another cutting tool in there could be tricky if you don't remove the whole center console.

You do not want to run the risk of doing damage to your shifter cable by striking or cutting it.
 
bigbossin said:
colint your right on the money my friend
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Thanks bigbossin. I was doing that from recall, and I think there was a lot of your advice in my recitation.

squiggy I'd be interested to hear how you like the shifting action with the new setup. Did you also change the ones under the hood?
 
colint said:
Thanks bigbossin. I was doing that from recall, and I think there was a lot of your advice in my recitation.

squiggy I'd be interested to hear how you like the shifting action with the new setup. Did you also change the ones under the hood?
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I love it and wish I would have done it on my last car. Even though the claim is that it saves 20-25% movement, it seems like a whole lot more. The base bushings have virtually eliminated the play at the end of each shift. It is SOLID.

That being said, due to the nature of the work to put in a short shift adapter, I HIGHLY recommend doing the base bushing at the same time.

I have yet to do the cable bushings. I am debating between the CorSport ($33) and Hybrid Racing ($70) one's.

I am curious about this claim from Hybrid Racing:
Don't be fooled into thinking that all shifter cable bushings are created equal. Many companies make the mistake of assuming both bushings used in the k-series shifter cables can be replaced with solid metal or delrin bushing. This is not the case. Honda uses rubber bushings in their cables because it's a cost-effective way to allow 2-degrees of freedom. A solid metal or delrin bushing allows only 1-degree of freedom. Generally speaking, eliminating a degree of freedom in the bushings translates into more effort required to shift and the potential to bend and ruin your shifter cables.
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Input would be appreciated from everyone.
 
squiggy said:
You do not want to run the risk of doing damage to your shifter cable by striking or cutting it.
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Thanks for the warning, Squiggy. If I can't get the blue cap off with the shifter still in place, I'll take everything out. I have an extension for the dremel-like tool. It's pretty small and should allow careful work. Again, if not, I'll take it all apart. Your pictures are very helpful. Thanks again for the DIY.
 
colint said:
Thanks for the warning, Squiggy. If I can't get the blue cap off with the shifter still in place, I'll take everything out. I have an extension for the dremel-like tool. It's pretty small and should allow careful work. Again, if not, I'll take it all apart. Your pictures are very helpful. Thanks again for the DIY.
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If you do this, you should still take the left shift cable off just in case something weird happens when you strike the wrench. This would include taking the center brace out in order to pull the cable away from the mechanism and give clearance. I wouldn't simply take the cotter pin out as there is not much play and the moving parts could still hit the cable causing damage.
 
bigbossin said:
please trim the piece off :)
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I was quite surprised at how easily the cable laid on the floor next to the side of the console without moving. It is not like there was a bunch of slack or a real need to have it connected to the shifter mechanism.
 
squiggy said:
If you do this, you should still take the left shift cable off just in case something weird happens when you strike the wrench. This would include taking the center brace out in order to pull the cable away from the mechanism and give clearance. I wouldn't simply take the cotter pin out as there is not much play and the moving parts could still hit the cable causing damage.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm. Time for me to review your pictures again. Sounds like good advice. Thanks.

bigbossin I've got the loctite ready!
 
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