Installed the B&M sport short shifter today

[Bmadda]

Hi everyone,

We finally managed to get the B&M Short Shifter installed (finally with a little help from the local 4x4 shop). The feel is such a nice improvement over factory, but the physical shifting of the gear is TOUGH. I mean, you are really working your arm muscles just to get it from gear to gear, which seems off.

Anyone else encountered this? Not sure if this requires some lubrication, or adjustment somewhere?

Thanks in advance guys!

Mine was perfect at 1st, but started to get a little stiff after about a week, then actually started to squeak when I shifted it. I called tech support to find out what type of lube I could use, if any. Turns out they used to supply their own "shifter lube", but that has now been discontinued. When I asked what specifically this "shifter lube" was, he made it sound like it was basically white lithium spray grease. I pulled up the boot, and hosed the gimbal w/white lithium spray, and that seems to have done the trick! YMMV

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[shoptb2277]

Mine was perfect at 1st, but started to get a little stiff after about a week, then actually started to squeak when I shifted it. I called tech support to find out what type of lube I could use, if any. Turns out they used to supply their own "shifter lube", but that has now been discontinued. When I asked what specifically this "shifter lube" was, he made it sound like it was basically white lithium spray grease. I pulled up the boot, and hosed the gimbal w/white lithium spray, and that seems to have done the trick! YMMV

Thank you! That’s what I will try next as it’s definitely an easy-to-do approach!

 

[DubZuc]

Just installed this on my wife’s Bronco and I love it so far! Definitely worth it.

 

[Wrangler2Bronco]

I just installed on my 2022 Badlands. Pictures were kind of hard to see in the instructions. I wasn't sure sometimes if I was pulling in the right clip. My spring clip in the middle was very hard to come out. I didn't damage any body panels inside nor did I break and clips.

Where I struggled was with the cable adjustments. It was very hard to loosen those clips and then get them back in. I got very good at it after a while though because they were not adjusted correctly. My recommendation is to drive it before making any adjustments and only adjust if needed. For those who say it doesn't feel like it is going into gear, you are adjusted wrong. Mine ended up what looks like it was when it was stock and now everything feels good.

Happy overall. Enjoy!

 

[e30rida]

IMO it's not worth it as the the install is ridiculously complex and sketchy. A nightmare. The shops that know what it's involved are charging $1k+ to install. Looks better than the stock though.

 

[Michigander]

Mine was perfect at 1st, but started to get a little stiff after about a week, then actually started to squeak when I shifted it. I called tech support to find out what type of lube I could use, if any. Turns out they used to supply their own "shifter lube", but that has now been discontinued. When I asked what specifically this "shifter lube" was, he made it sound like it was basically white lithium spray grease. I pulled up the boot, and hosed the gimbal w/white lithium spray, and that seems to have done the trick! YMMV

How did this work out for you?

Mine has been installed for a few months and the shifting requires considerable force. There's no way I could shift this with just my fingers. It has recently started to squeak during some shifts.

One other issue I had was reconnecting one of the shift cables to the shifter. The cable was twisted about 90 deg from the right orientation and that made it difficult to get the cable to attach to the shifter. I don't recall if it was this way when I removed the old shifter. I don't know if that twisting is causing extra resistance on the shifter. I've been wondering if there's a way to twist the cable to relieve that strain.

 

[redone17]

All these reports and it doesn’t seem worth it. Switching the lockout to the billet and a heavy knob might just be the sweet spot. The lockout alone made a huge difference in feel.

 

[Bmadda]

How did this work out for you?

Mine has been installed for a few months and the shifting requires considerable force. There's no way I could shift this with just my fingers. It has recently started to squeak during some shifts.

One other issue I had was reconnecting one of the shift cables to the shifter. The cable was twisted about 90 deg from the right orientation and that made it difficult to get the cable to attach to the shifter. I don't recall if it was this way when I removed the old shifter. I don't know if that twisting is causing extra resistance on the shifter. I've been wondering if there's a way to twist the cable to relieve that strain.

Has been fine since. IIRC, one of my cables was the same way, and I have had no problems.

 

[Michigander]

Has been fine since. IIRC, one of my cables was the same way, and I have had no problems.

Thanks for the reply and comment about the cable.

I ended up using T9 spray and made it like it was when new.

 

[EvilJim1971]

IMO it's not worth it as the the install is ridiculously complex and sketchy. A nightmare. The shops that know what it's involved are charging $1k+ to install. Looks better than the stock though.

I would do them all day long for $1k a pop.
I've only done it once and it took like 3 hours... Including rereading the instructions and watching a video.

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