[Kuma]

I have been researching like crazy trying to repurpose my B6 A4 shifter for my CQ.

i would like to do something like what Tim S. has for sale.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=53052
I have a modified shifter in my car already, originally i thought it was a bilzcat, i was wrong... it has OEM parts numbers on it. It is noticeably shorter but still very sloppy. I want a tighter short shifter without having to purchase the Solid billet B3 short shifter from 034/JHM. At least for now...

does anyone here have any experience with modifying their shifters? If so, pictures? information?

 

[NiTeC]

shoot...don't know about the B3, but the B6 shifter drops like butter into both B4 and B5s makes for a nice and clean setup - only thing I've noticed so far is the B5 and 6 shifter boxes are held with nuts at the top, while the B4 box uses bolts from the bottom...so the only mod needed to put the B6 into a B4 is either cutting the welded nuts from the shifter location and using regular ones, or removing the fixed studs from the B6 box and using regular bolts...I`ll take some pics...

also the B6 uses a plastic case vs. the aluminum one on the B4 so for those weight reduction fanatics it's a little off the top and you also get that extra rod, that you have on the B5 and B6 that is missing on the B4...I've assumed it's for a tighter shift but might be wrong...

 

[Kuma]

Here is the B6 shifter that i have.

does this look like the B5 shifter?

 

[NiTeC]

yes sir...identical - all that stuff bolts inside a plastic box - two rods come out of that...one goes to the shifting rod on the tranny, one bolts to the side of the tranny and doesn't seem to do anything...on the B4 it's missing so I`m assuming they added it to improve the shifting feel...

actually I found some pics...again this is all B4 - not B3...is the 01A not a direct swap into a B3?

01A out of a B4 (attached to a V6) - you can see the single rod sticking out and going into the shifter

01A - B4 top, B5 bottom...you`ll see the two rods sticking out of the B5 (same setup as the 5spd B6)

you can see here that it's just bolted to the side of the tranny - has no actual "shifting" function

unfortunately you can't see the rod on the B4 for comparison but you get the idea...I've got a B4, B5 and B6 shifters next to each other so I can take some detailed shots for you if you're not in a hurry...

 

[Kuma]

thank you for that write up!

i am in no hurry and appreciate your help!

i will have to figure out how to swap out my shifter. i hate that even with the short shifter, its still so sloppy!

i was looking at the B6 JHM upgrades for the shifters and bushings and was curious if my car is similar or even if the parts could transfer.

http://jhmotorsports.com/shop/catalog/j ... 110_160_86

http://jhmotorsports.com/shop/catalog/j ... 110_160_86

 

[NiTeC]

The bushing in the first link is used where that second rod bolts - can't say I see much benefit...

The bushing in the second link goes right at the shifting rod (the piece that's missing from the B4 tranny above)...if you look closely at the pic with the engine you`ll notice the B4 piece is different - I hadn't noticed that earlier actually...the tranny is still the same which means these bits are interchangeable...I will take pics of the B3 shifter as well - would be good to line them all up next to each other to sort this out...

hmm...I can't seem to find a place where that second rod bolts to the B4 tranny...might not be applicable unless you swap trannies as well...

not confirmed but this is supposed to be an 012 out of a B3...looks the same to me...

EDIT: Yeah look at this...

that's the B5 01A - you can see the extra bolt hole next to the top left mount bolt...that's def missing on the B4 and B3 tranny => you can't use the balancing rod with them...shoot - I`ll have to make sure you can still use the actual shifters without that rod...

 

[Kuma]

hrmmm, okay.

btw my b3 is a CQ will that make a difference in transmissions?

also, does anyone around know how i can order some BG Synchro Shift II? my gear in 3rd is grinding... im trying to prolong the wait to buy another trans.

 

[busmn280]

Are there any shifter swaps or possible short shifter modification options for the 016 trans in the 200? Thanks!

 

[NiTeC]

as promised - sorry for the quality of 1-2 of the shots - cell phone is being a douche...

B6 on the left, B5 on the right - all plastic casing on the B6 vs aluminum on the B5






the two rods going to the tranny...the stabilizer rod goes to the top bolt inside the casing...the shifter rod goes to the bottom and attaches to the shifter arm...


B5 mounting


B4 mounting - you can see the difference I was talking about...the B4 has the nuts welded to the chassis so the shifter bolts from the bottom...the holes measure the same so I`m assuming the boxes are identical...


unfortunately I can't seem to easily take the B3 leather boot off and I don't have the time to rip into the interior right now...does anybody have B3 shifter pictures?

I was hoping to use the B5 shifter in my B4 but that stabilizier bar is going to be a problem...the B6 shifter into B5 will need the shifter out of the B6 box and into the B5 box...you can see they are different sizing but the shifter itself is identical...so you'd need the B6 shifter and the B5 box - seems like a simple upgrade...I`ll try to rip into the B4 and B3 over the weekend to get some more pictures...

 

[DE80q]

AFAIK, the B3 and B4 shifter are the same. No pic handy, but looks the same to me.

 

[Kuma]

ill need to remove the bars for the B6 shifter to fit into my Coupe?

 

[Kuma]

YAY! got a short shifter!!!

but still interested in modifying a stock shifter into a short throw