MGW Shifter Install Gone Wrong? HELP!!!!
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 334
From: FLorida
Sounds like a case of paranoia...It happens, you start noticing things you didnt before.
You can hear 500 engines run....But rebuild one, and start it up, and suddenly you can hear every tick, tap, puff and huff it makes..and you can only imagine that a lifter tick is a rod about to fly out the side.
You can hear 500 engines run....But rebuild one, and start it up, and suddenly you can hear every tick, tap, puff and huff it makes..and you can only imagine that a lifter tick is a rod about to fly out the side.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 585
From: East middle of no where, WV
Well, I just took it for a test drive again. I don't think I was imagining the shakiness. I didn't really feel any vibration through the shift ****, but I really felt it coming through the seat. I don't really notice it when I'm accelerating, but there are a lot of vibrations when I'm coasting or going really slow. I also noticed that when I put the clutch in to come to a stop, the tach would stay at 1000 until I came to a complete stop, then drop to about 800. I'm not sure if that's just what's normal, I've never really paid attention to that. When I sat in my driveway with the clutch in and revved the engine, I could really feel a lot of vibration (through the seat).
4th Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,147
From: Arizona
As bad as all that sounds it is normal. Get the gasket it will make it a little better and I emphasize a "little". You have gone from a stock shifter that is spongy and made to be quiet to a PERFORMANCE short throw shifter in a late model "sports car" that really has no sound deadening. Wait until you put an after market exhaust on, if you don't already have one, it will be even loader. Drive it a few days and you will get used to it and then you will actually start to like it. Trust me....
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 585
From: East middle of no where, WV
I agree with scooter. When I first got the car with the MGW I was like wow this is noisey, now I don't notice it unless I keep my hand on the shifter while it is in gear. Aslo, I had to laugh at the exhaust comment, because I went from a v6 toyota sedan to this mustang and I was overwhelmed by the Flowmasters with 2+1/2 inch piping and H-pipe. Now I love it.
Thread Starter
1st Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 69
From: MI
Actually, my off-road Prochamber mid-pipes should be here tomorrow! Right now I have Magnaflow cat-backs, and coupled with the prochambers, hopefully I won't be able to hear anything else at all! 
6th Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 10,688
From: MO/ Born and raised in Louisiana
hey you need to calm down lol...having a short shifter is gonna make it louder and youll hear all those fun noises...but if your shift stops arent adjust correctly it can sound loud cause your holding pressure on the gear where the stop is supposed to keep you from that
mgw is a wonderful shifter i loved mine and witht his new car i wanna get rid of my tri-ax and go back to the smoothness of MGW!
mgw is a wonderful shifter i loved mine and witht his new car i wanna get rid of my tri-ax and go back to the smoothness of MGW!
agreed..
4th Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,481
From: NC
I had the same initial reaction when I installed my MGW shifter, noticed the noise and the shifting was more difficult. A few things:
-There's a gasket available called Cobra Bob's Shifter Gasket, I haven't installed mine but people claim it helps with the noise.
-My shifter broke in after a few hundred miles and got noticeably easier to use. Most people, myself included, love it after they get used to it and it's broken in.
-I noticed more vibrations from the shifter now that it's a short throw...again, it's normal.
-There's a gasket available called Cobra Bob's Shifter Gasket, I haven't installed mine but people claim it helps with the noise.
-My shifter broke in after a few hundred miles and got noticeably easier to use. Most people, myself included, love it after they get used to it and it's broken in.
-I noticed more vibrations from the shifter now that it's a short throw...again, it's normal.
Initially, I was alarmed, but it "broke in" after a short while and my satisfaction increased exponentially. I love my MGW and would recommend one to anyone interested in a STS.
I did buy Cobra Bob's shifter gasket, and I absolutely recommend this for everyone also.
OP,
Don't worry, you will love the MGW after a short period of time.
TECH SAVANT
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,937
From: Saint Augustine, FL
Well, I just took it for a test drive again. I don't think I was imagining the shakiness. I didn't really feel any vibration through the shift ****, but I really felt it coming through the seat. I don't really notice it when I'm accelerating, but there are a lot of vibrations when I'm coasting or going really slow. I also noticed that when I put the clutch in to come to a stop, the tach would stay at 1000 until I came to a complete stop, then drop to about 800. I'm not sure if that's just what's normal, I've never really paid attention to that. When I sat in my driveway with the clutch in and revved the engine, I could really feel a lot of vibration (through the seat).
Did you move the plastic cup bushing from the OEM shifter to the MGW?
This:
If not then all of what you describe would occur.
Also, whoever told you the MGW was quieter than the other STS's was full of "it" as they are all about the same, and all a bit louder than the stock monkey-motion thing.
Here's more about STS units, how they work and what to expect...
Thread Starter
1st Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 69
From: MI
yep, I made sure to transfer the cup from the old shifter to the new one. I've started to accept the fact that even when I get a new gasket and the new boot, it will still be louder than the stock one. What exactly makes it louder? With a new layer of RTV and replacing the dust boot, the level of insulation is about the same, right?
Hopefully this thread will be helpful to future potential buyer of STS's. It sure helped me out!
Hopefully this thread will be helpful to future potential buyer of STS's. It sure helped me out!