I special ordered a B&M shifter from Summit Racing. They had it drop shipped directly from B&M to my door. Initial inspection looked good. I followed their instructions for the install. Installation was very easy, except I was not expecting to have to dremel the shifter housing as the instructions specified. The hardest part of the whole install is getting the lower shifter cover back over the linkage.

My problems started immediately. I had continual problems getting into reverse. If I pushed the shift lever all the way down and went over to the reverse lockout plate, I would hit the upper shaft of the shifter on the plate. The only way I could get into reverse was to slide the shift lever over to the plate without pushing down and then push down slightly and it would go over. The positioning of the upper shaft to the lower shaft was not correct.

If you think the stock shifter is notchy, the B&M is a lot notchier. It is definitely shorter, but the notchiness kept me from clicking off quick shifts. I was continually getting rattles from the shifter while driving. After a day, I took the covers off and checked it The allen head screw and nut that holds the upper shaft to the lower shaft worked loose. The reason was that although I checked to make sure it was tight earlier, there is a bushing that goes in the middle that was never pressed in properly at the factory. After pressing it back in (with large vice grips), I reassembled everything and noticed a ring pattern hole in my shifter boot.

WARNING: this is for everyone looking at a B&M shifter, there is a major design flaw in the shifter. The stock shifter retains the **** but bottoming the inner side of the shifter down onto the bushing and the shifter shaft to lock it on. The B&M has no stop. Hopefully your shifter will just happen to stop before crushing the boot to lock. Mine would turn loosely until compressing against the boot. On the ender side of the shifter, there is some casting flash. As you tighten the shifter, it cuts the boot. If you are daring enough to get one of these shifter, use some sand paper or a dremel to clean off any burs from the ****.

In the instructions they say to remove the stock bushing. The shifter will rattle badly whether you do so or not. I've tried it both ways. I get a lot of rattling in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears as I accelerate. The reason for the rattling is another design problem. The B&M ball housing is aluminum as is their spacer plate. There is no insulation between the 2 and hence the metal to metal rattle from the vibration. An easly fix would be to put a little rubber on the underside of the plate to insulate it. After having 3 phone conversations with B&M, B&M is advising me to return my shifter for a refund and these problems were due to my car being an "anomaly." Take your own risk on whether your car is an "anomaly" too. I put the stock shifter back in with the bushing and the **** tightened up without compressing the boot just like it was before, hence how I easily question the "anomaly" idea.

Bottom line, the B&M shifter is a horribly designed POS. Summit Racing is taking great care of me. They are not only going to refund the cost of the shifter, but also the handling charge(there was no shipping) and the return shipping charge.

 

I had the exact same problems, but I'm keeping the shifter. I bought a new momo **** and the rattle is gone. I was going to buy the **** anyway. Took me forever to figure ou the rattleing noise though. Had same problem with the shift boot too. I still get a slight noise under hard accel above 4k. I'm going to look into what you mentioned about the two aluminum pieces rubbing. I also groung down the hump on the stock plate so the shifter would go into reverse. I didn't do the filing indicated in the directions before I ground down the stock plate and rev. was fine. I eventually did it though and made no difference. I agree that design has flaws and we as consumers shouldn't have to modify these things, but to me, it wasn't that hard and I really like the throw of the B&M.

 

Oh crap...that kinda sucks. Anyone else having problems with shifter, or not having problems....before I order mine.

 

Are you getting your money back or getting another shifter?

 

ooops...sorry, just read the whole post

 

My B&M shifter was installed today. After only 1 hour of testing it, I could not be happier.

Yes, the shifter is "notchy", but not overly so. The short throws and very precise shifting action were just what I was hoping for.

I have no reverse problems.

There is no additional vibration or rattle over stock.

There is a little noise around 3,800-4,100 -- but it is small and not bothersome. I tested the shifter through the 0-6,000 RPM band.

Summary: happy dance. This is a great shifter for those drivers who want a shorter, more precise, more crisp, more "notchy" shift.

Can't wait for the Golden Week holidays coming up here this week starting April 29... and then May 1-5 ... to really test it out.

 

had mine on for 2 weeks now and have none of the problems you spoke of...i highly recomend this shifter as many others do....best 200 dollars i have spent on the car!

 

I installed a B&M shifter on my G35 sedan. Here's my experience...

- I had no problem positioning the top plate so all gears engaged properly. There was, however, a fair amount of trial and error necessary to acheive this, but I wanted to make certain everything worked perfectly before replacing the console, etc.

- The positioning of the upper shaft to the lower shaft was correct for my shifter. No bushing problems either. In fact, I remain rather impressed with the heft and quality.

- The B&M is definitely notchier but noticibly shorter throw, and I can now shift in the blink of an eye, MUCH MUCH faster than before! Remember, the notchiness is not a result of the shifter, it is inherent to the tranny. With the change in pivot fulcrum, the shorter throw DOES accentuate the notchiness, and you really do feel each gear "click" as you move in and out. The shorter throw increases shifting force, however, I do not find an inordinate amount of effort necessary to change gears. There is much less play.

- My instructions did not say to remove the camfered shifter **** bushing. But then again, they did not say to reuse it either. It didn't even mention it. But since the length of threads on both shifters looked identical to me, I reused it. The **** snugged down onto the boot cap without a problem. I was careful to twist the boot seams slightly counter-clockwise so when I reached the point of snug, they would straighten without stress.

- The pivot ball housing on my shifter has a rubber O-ring set into a recessed channel around the top. Both are dark so it might be tough to see. This prevents a vibration between the ball housing and the new top plate. Any vibration, IMO, is more likely the result of the new housing rattling in the control socket cup. Obviously, there has to be some play for the ball housing to move up and down in the control socket cup to get to reverse. Since the oem control socket is plastic and slips directly into the cup (it doesn't have an enclosed housing like the B&M), you don't have the possibility of metal to metal vibrations. I would note that there was very little "slop" between these two pieces, certainly tighter than oem, and I used the entire grease tube in the cup (per the instructions) to help minimize this potential vibration. I have no noise unless I hold the shifter tight against a gate.

- Contrary to one post I saw, this shifter is NOT a single piece. It is two piece, with a bonded rubber(?) insert to help absorb tranny vibration. All in all, I would say there may be slightly more vibration felt when keeping your hand lightly on the ****.

Install took 1-1/2 hours by myself in my garage. Easy job, a 4 on a 10 scale of difficulty with absolutely no surprises. I used the instructions from B&M, plus the instructions on Rogue's site and from a site called "350Zchicks" (or something like that) found in a thread mentioned in my350z.com. I just went slow and careful. The only glaring omission I found in these instructions was a lack of warning regarding the removal of the shifter ****. That bastard is on m'fn tight, and you have to be careful you don't damage the linkage when removing it. Nissan Service Bulletin (NTB02-102) deals with the recommended way to remove the ****.

Respectfully, I must disagree that the B&M short shifter is "a horribly designed POS." I would agree with the majority that this was time and money well spent. In fact, I am firmly in the "best mod under $200" camp. Love it!

 

dholly1..

Great write-up ! And I agree with all your impressions.

I still get a very slight buzz pulling hard in 2nd from around 3,800-4,100 RPM. Nothing annoying at all.

 

Hehe - I am the new KING of 2 -> 3 shifts!!!

 

I'm glad I stuck with my Rogue purchase. Zero problems with it whatsoever and still love the feel.

 

I may get flamed for this, but I do believe there might just be a modicum of truth in the "anomaly" theory. Read this.

 

WOW...bizzare

 

Well if what some people are saying about the BM Short Shifter is true, then all the talk before hand of how poorly made the Rogue one was wrong because with the exception of those few pre-retrofitted models, I think the people with the Rogue shifter have had zero problems. I for one havent at least.