Shortening the throw is done by raising the pivot which of course reduces the mechanical advantage of the shifter, increasing the force required. It may be worth considering going to the standard throw shifter.

 

Definitely don't want the stock shifter length again. It's not a semi.

 

Have the URD short shifter in my rig and have no issues getting the car into any gear. What I did have an issue with was the fact that the OEM Toyota shifter is two pieces. They are supposed to be isolated with a rubber bushing where one end of the shifter (that connects to the transmission) slides into the other end of the shifter that has the shift knob on it. In that piece of the shifter there is a rubber bushing that breaks down and causes a ton of play in the whole shifter assembly making it hard to get into gear. When I first bought my rig I didn't think it had a short shifter on it because it was soo sloppy. After digging into it I realized it already had the URD short shifter assembly it was just the rubber bushing was absolutely destroyed.

Easy fix is to take the shifter out and you should just be able to pull the two pieces of the shifter apart. I cleaned out the remaining rubber bushing that was still stuck inside there and then filled the end of the shifter that has the knob on it with urethane and then slid the other piece of the shifter into that. You'll have to let it set for a couple of days most likely for all that urethane to harden up. Shifting my FJ feels beautiful now, no issues whatsover.

 

Already done. The two pieces are currently welded together on my shifter (literally... with a welder).

 

Hmm interesting. If you've already fixed the issue of the rubber bushing by welding the two together, then you're a step ahead. Honestly I have zero issues shifting into any gear with the URD short shifter and the shifter bushing fixed with urethane. The TRD short shifter is exactly the same as the URD option except it also includes the shifter and not just the spacer piece (even thought the TRD short shifter also comes with a spacer). I don't see the TRD short shifter 100% fixing your issue of getting the car into first gear....

 

With the URD short shifter kit, it sometimes has issues getting into first. I'm confident the TRD shifter would fix it as it's a full handle assembly and not just a little extension.



Anyone done it? Thoughts in general?

Your synchros may be worn in the transmission. How many miles on your tranny?

I have 114k on mine. It was getting difficult to shift into first. If I went into third then immediately first it would slide right in. I pulled my tranny and found the synchros were worn. New synchros and problem fixed.


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Could be, but at 73k... highly unlikely. It's also not every time, only maybe...3-4% of the time from a dead stop, neutral into first. If I release the clutch, re-engage, it'll nearly always go right in thereafter, leading me to think something in the shift arm is hitting something.