5 speed transmission selector rod length.

Drew Gregg

Drew Gregg

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My coupe was built with the automatic. Then a 4 speed conversion was in it when the previous owner in Hawaii did all of the performance mods,including now a 5 speed. The shift lever did not hit the surround in either any forward or reverse gear. I decided to buy the UUC short shift kit along with their selector rod (DSSR). They said to cut and weld the DSSR to the correct length once the existing selector rod has been removed. The Creative Workshop is doing the work. We felt it was better to measure the existing rod and have UUC make one to match. The photos below show the DSSR turns out to be 147mm to match the existing rod. The next photo shows the existing shift lever next to the UUC lever. The existing lever has a much bigger dogleg bend than the UUC lever,making the connection point closer to the transmission.
It looks to me that the UUC lever needs a longer DSSR to compensate for the dogleg bend in the existing lever so the shift knob will remain in the same position when going through the gears.
Has anyone done this conversion and had the 2 levers look so different? The Workshop will be installing the parts next week so we'll see if the shift knob ends up close to the original positions when actually driving the car.
 

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WEHY NOT JUST HAVE THEM BEND AND CUT THE NEW TO OLD
DIMS.I THINK I USED A 2002 SHORT LEVER OEM KIT.
I CAN CHECK
 
Years ago, a bunch of us went through comparisons of shift rods for our e39s. One of the guys took a bunch of pictures and posted them, providing us with a buffet of varying alternatives for shift lever height and throw. If I recall correctly, these comparisons use the ratio of the distance from the center of the ball to the top end of the shifter to the distance from the center of the ball to the bottom of the shifter as the throw. The common denominator in these pictures is a Z3 - 1.9 shifter.

In this pic, the throw is first calculated for the stock 540 shifter, and then the percentages compare throws between shifters using the 540 as a base because the 540 is what we were seeking to change:

Shift Levers.jpg


These next two pictures provide comparisons of the ratio of these distances to the Z3-1.9 (I think I copied these with the thought that with some math, I was able to work back to making a comparison to the e39 540, and because the throw of the Z3 - 1.9 was too short for my liking):

Shift z42-5.jpg


Shift z43-0.jpg


This last pic provides more measurements, which again using some math could be made to compare to the stock e39 540 shifter:

Shifter e46323325.jpg
 
I did not buy the entire UUC kit, just the dog bone because I wanted to keep the screw on shift knob, and I didn't want too much "short" throw, just a little bit, and the 320i lower lever provides this. I believe my dog bone is the same length as the original lever.
 
Stevehose said:
I did not buy the entire UUC kit, just the dog bone because I wanted to keep the screw on shift knob, and I didn't want too much "short" throw, just a little bit, and the 320i lower lever provides this. I believe my dog bone is the same length as the original lever.
Click to expand...
Steve, did you get the early or late 320i lever? do have the part number?
 
Mark -- I posted the part number for the 320i lever Carl Nelson recommends in your thread on this.
 
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