Very disappointed in my B&M SSK

[Brucelee]

Adam,

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Just asking for research purposes.




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[Adam]

The reason I went with the B&M is because it has been around quite some time and virtually everyone here that has it was raving about how great an upgrade it was. You are right abou the hand position as well, it feels awkward now and unatural. The worst part is you have to cut off the OEM bushings in order to install the B&M and now I'm SOL because now I have to get another set of bushings from Germany or just use the OEM shifter with the B&M bushings and eat the cost of the shifter kit.

[Brucelee]

No returns on this BBK?

[Adam]

I can't return it or sell it until I get a new set of OEM bushings if that was what you meant.

[eslai]

Short shifters can be a mixed bag. I've installed a few different ones on various cars and generally I hate the way they feel. Sure, they shorten the throw, but they do increase shift effort. Especially if you're going to be doing a lot of rowing, like at a track, any extra effort is unwelcome.

But it shouldn't take THREE TIMES as much effort! Something is wrong and you should probably not drive the car until you find out what it is. I'm not familiar with anything on a Porsche tranny, but it sounds like you definitely have something installed incorrectly.

The bit about the shift knob (I'm looking at the instructions online right now) is that they're telling you to remove it, and they're saying that some cars have a set screw that takes a 5mm hex key. Vague of them, but not inaccurate--they should've said that it usually just pops off.

The installation looks pretty complex on the Boxster, but the one area where I could see problems cropping up is in the cable end adjustment. If you're feeling like the shifter is taking too much effort, I would guess that the end links are too loose or too tight. You should be able to shift easily with very little extra effort when the car is off.

Other than that, the "free play" adjustment they talk about with the set screw on the aluminum bushings could be an issue maybe...

Sorry, can't help you more than that without actually being there and playing with things.

[Lux]

There's one of two answers here. One is you f'd up the installation. The 2nd is you're the 5% that hate the B&M. I'm going to assume the former and not the latter.

Some things to check:
1. Did you mess with/adjust the shifter cables (you shouldn't)? If you did, you're going to need a Porsche "centering" tool (plastic part that centers the shifter so you can adjust the cables).
2. Did you back off the jam nut 1/4 turn after adjusting it for the correct amount of play in the aluminum bushings?
3. Did you lubricate the ball joint and bushings?

The shifter will require a little more effort (nowhere near 3x you described). Hell, it takes more effort to turn the steering wheel. The shifter should be a little notchy but still smooth...and of course a lot shorter travel.

Obviously this is all relative. As you can guess, I love the B&M shifter. To me, the stock shifter has the precision of stirring a screwdriver in a bowl of pasta.

Tool Pants has put in hundreds of these things. Maybe he can give you a better diagnosis.

By the way, money back guarantee doesn't really mean much since you have to buy the entire shifter assembly to go back to stock. Porsche does not sell just the bushings (as far as I know). If you really want to go back to stock, look for someone that wants to trade for your B&M. But I would advise you to give it another shot.

-

[Adam]

Eslai, yeah the instructions were vague at best on step #2. It did not say anything about some shifters having a friction fit. It said I needed use a 5mm allen wrench and also maybe unscrew a set screw so I was alittle mad after tearing my shifter knob apart only to find nothing.

Lux,
I marked the shifter cables with permanant marker so I would retain the factory settings(is it possible for the shifter to be this bad if the shift cables are maybe 1mm off in either way because that is possble I suppose because the threads they lock into are pretty small. It has to be very very close to where it was before because I have the marks lined up right. Maybe it is just me but the way the cable locks into platic threads looks pretty weak to me but I guess it's sufficient. The instructions said (as far as I can tell? that the said the jam nut/setscrew affects the side to side play and the centering of the shifter(perhaps it affects moving up and down into gear but I don't see how?) The shifter is smooth when moving it from side to side when in neutral and it centers itself fine. Perhaps the jam nut or set screw is too tight and making the shift effort too hard? Right now I have it set with no up and down play but it isn't tightened down hard either. Do I want some "play" in the assmebly? I did use grease on the ball and the bushings but one thing that was funny was that the OEM ball on the side of the shifter had a plastic retainer....but the B&M ball seemed too large and the instructions didn't mention it so I left the snap on retainer off the B&M ball that stabilizes the shifter. Is this not right? Other than the jam nut/setscrew or the snap on ball thingy I'm out of answers because I'm almost certain I have the cables aligned right. You said I cant reuse my stock shifter?? At the very least can't I install the OEM shifter into the B&M bushings??? I certainly hope so or I'm really not going to be happy because right now I just want my old shifter back!

P.S. TOOL PANTS please help! What is your take on the B&M?