Phenix Engineering Billet Shift Bushings

[dulmer]

Anyone have experience with these? My shifter is pretty sloppy, and I'm not really interested in going with a short shift kit.

https://phenixengineering.com/shop/porsche-997-gt3-style-billet-shift-bushing-kit/



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[jakeru]

I have a set. Definitely reduces slop over the original style accordion plastic.



Installing them without any slop is possible, but tricky.

[dulmer]

Originally Posted by jakeru

I have a set. Definitely reduces slop over the original style accordion plastic.







Installing them without any slop is possible, but tricky.

Thanks for the reply! I'm debating going with these or updating to the 997 shifter.


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[jakeru]

The 997 shifter reduces the throw (both front-to-back, and left-to-right throw) compared to the 996 shifter.

These aluminum bushings reduce the slop in the bushings of either the 996 or 997 shifter, which predominantly have some deflection in the left-to-right direction, especially when under force.

Even with these bushings installed, there will be other sources of slop in the shift console assembly, that could still be addressed/improved, if you're looking to eliminate all the slop.

[dulmer]

Originally Posted by jakeru

The 997 shifter reduces the throw (both front-to-back, and left-to-right throw) compared to the 996 shifter.

These aluminum bushings reduce the slop in the bushings of either the 996 or 997 shifter, which is predominantly has some play especially when under force I believe, in the left-to-right direction.

Even with these bushings installed, there will be other sources of slop in the shift console assembly, that could still be addressed/improved.

Thanks for the detail. My biggest issue right now is the side to side slop. Maybe I'll go with the 997 shifter, and add these bushings...


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[dijinn]

Surprised no-one has mentioned Ben's ball-bearing shifters. Link to all the info and how to order here.

Last I heard he had 2 left and will not be making any more. I am not exaggerating when I state it is literally: rifle-action. Plenty of people on these forums that have one and I'm sure would also vouch for Ben's product.

[dulmer]

Originally Posted by dijinn

Surprised no-one has mentioned Ben's ball-bearing shifters. Link to all the info and how to order here.

Last I heard he had 2 left and will not be making any more. I am not exaggerating when I state it is literally: rifle-action. Plenty of people on these forums that have one and I'm sure would also vouch for Ben's product.

Thanks Dijinn. Do you know how much he sells them for?


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[dulmer]

Originally Posted by dulmer

Thanks Dijinn. Do you know how much he sells them for?


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Looks like he's sold the last one anyway...


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[The Radium King]

function first make them also - bearing or complete shifter. uncertain on pricing.

[jakeru]

There are multiple sources of slop in the 986 shifter system, and the majority of the slop doesn't occur in the shift console mechanism. Take a look at the following videos:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/60643-excessive-shifter-play.html

looseness in the contraption

5-speed owners have a bellcrank back at the transmission (referred to as a "contraption" later on in above-liked thread), which users have reported to add ~1/3 overall system slop to the side-to-side throws.

There will also be some amount of slop present inside the transmission, which presumably, would require transmission removal and disassembly to fix, so I would discount any promise of perfection achieve by a simple solution, like changing only a shift console.

But that said, if you're comfortable with center console removal, focusing on easy to remove sources of slop in the shift console can provide a noticeable and significant performance improvement for very little $ required.

Back to the topic of Phoenix engineering bushings, here is one install tip. If you don't find they install completely tightly in the shift console bore, (in my case, there was a bit of slop there), use some anaerobic locking compound activator first, and then anaerobic locking compound on the bore:

It gets a bit messy as you also want to grease the ID of the bushing, and you won't want threadlocker fluid getting to the inside surface, or grease getting to outer surface. Even with activator, it should probably wait for several hours to fully cure before using, and this will also make the bushing more difficult to remove, if that's ever needed. (In my book, the fact the Phoenix bushings are removable is a plus, however!).

The other main source of slop to attend to on the Phoenix bushings is the front-to-back dimension potentially being excessive, which will contribute front-to-back slop if not dealt with. I made shims by cutting out of very thin stainless sheetmetal to eliminate this, but had to remove and reinstall a bushing a few times to check and keep adding more shims in until it got the front-to-back slop here all completely dialed out:


The ID of the Phoenix bushings was machined spot-on perfect tolerance, which is good because there would be no way to fix that if it had slop. (We're talking maybe less than .001" here; if I recall; you will not be able to notice it!). However, when disassembling the console pieces, do exercise caution to try not to "scar" the plastic pins, which insert into the Phoenix bushings. If you do "scar" the plastic pins, the protruding part of the scar can be pushed back smooth or scraped/filed smooth. If there is interference here, it may just result in some additional friction.

You really don't want much friction in the shift mechanism, especially in the side-to-side direction, or you can increase your risk of a "money shift".

I used DuPont krytox grease for all my shift console lubrication needs, as it won't attack the plastic over time. If that's not available, silicone grease should provide similar benefit:


There is in my opinion, absolutely no benefit to ball bearings on such a slow-moving joint, compared to a solid, long-lasting bushing, provided the bushing can be installed with tolerances this tight.

Some of the non-OE style aftermarket replacement bushings have a threaded depth adjustment bolt that would make installation easier than the "trial-and-error" shimming method that I found was required to eliminate all play with the GT3/Phoenix engineering style bushings.

The common Chinese-made aftermarket short-shift kits offer adjustable depth bushings, as does Function First's bushings, but I have no experience using either of these products.

Although there are other sources of play in the shift system that are outside the scope of this thread to try to cover all in one post, I hope this info is helpful.

Cheers!

[dulmer]

Originally Posted by jakeru

There are multiple sources of slop in the 986 shifter system, the majority of which doesn't even occur in the shift console mechanism. Take a look at the video in the first post in this thread:
excessive shifter play

5-speed owners have a bellcrank back at the transmission (referred to as a "contraption" later on in above-liked thread), which users have reported to add ~1/3 overall system slop to the side-to-side throws:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/60643-excessive-shifter-play.html

There will also be some amount of slop present inside the transmission, which presumably, would require transmission removal and disassembly to fix, so I would discount any promise of perfection achieve by a simple solution, like changing only a shift console.

But that said, if you're comfortable with center console removal, focusing on removing sources of slop in the shift console can be a good performance improvement for very little $ required.

Back to the topic of Phoenix engineering bushings, here is one install tip. If you don't find they install completely tightly in the shift console bore, (in my case, there was a bit of slop there), use some anaerobic locking compound activator first, and then anaerobic locking compound on the bore:

It gets a bit messy as you also want to grease the ID of the bushing, and you won't want threadlocker fluid getting to the inside surface, or grease getting to outer surface. Even with activator, it should probably wait for several hours to fully cure before using, and this will also make the bushing more difficult to remove, if that's ever needed. (In my box, the fact the Phoenix bushings are removable is plus, however!).

The other main source of slop to attend to on the Phoenix bushings is the front-to-back dimension potentially being excessive, which will contribute front-to-back slop if not dealt with. I made cutting small shims out of very thin stainless sheetmetal to eliminate this, but had to remove and reinstall a few times to check and keep adding more shims in until it got the front-to-back slop here all completely dialed out:


The ID of the Phoenix bushings was machined spot-on perfect tolerance, which is good because there would be no way to fix that if it had slop. (We're talking maybe less than .001" here; if I recall; you will not be able to notice it!). However, when disassembling the console pieces, do exercise caution to try not to "scar" the plastic pins, which insert into the Phoenix bushings. If you do "scar" the plastic pins, it can be pushed back smooth or scraped/filed smooth. If there is interference here, it may just result in some additional friction. You really don't want much friction in the shift mechanism, especially in the side-to-side direction, or you can increase your risk of a "money shift".

I used DuPont krytox grease for all my shift console lubrication needs, as it won't attack the plastic over time. If that's not available, silicone grease should provide similar benefit:


There is in my opinion, absolutely no benefit to ball bearings on such a slow-moving joint, compared to a solid, long-lasting bushing, provided the bushing can be installed with tolerances this tight.

Some of the non-OE style aftermarket replacement bushings have a set-screw depth adjustment that would make installation easier than shimming that I found was required with the GT3/Phoenix engineering style bushings.

The common Chinese-made aftermarket kits offer adjustable depth bushings, as does function first's.

Although there are other sources of play in the shift system that is outside the scope of this thread to try to cover all in one post, I hope this info is helpful.

Cheers!

Jakeru, wow, thanks for the comprehensive explanation! One question, do you know if the Phenix bushings will work with the aftermarket short shifters? Just trying to consider all the options. Thanks!


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[jakeru]

The aftermarket short shifters typically come with their own replacement bushings. In fact, one approach if you want to remove bushing play, but keep stock shifter throws, is to purchase an aftermarket short shifter and keep its aluminum bushings, and just throw away the short shift mechanism.

By the way, here is a special tool I made by modifying an Allen wrench, for easily removing the Phenix engineering GT3-style bushing's retaining clip while the shift console is still installed in the car:

[Gelbster]

Some great info and links in the Posts above. Here is my 2 cents.
The advantage of using 4 ball bearing races instead of just bushings+shaft is simple.
The bushing+grease system is designed with clearance between the mating parts .There must be a little free-play for the mechanism to move.Hopefully that clearance is parallel/centered and aligned ! Over time, any metal-to-metal contact between the bushing and shaft will increase the freeplay. Some shifters use Aluminum bushings and a steel shaft ,so the wear will be quicker.
By contrast, Ben's bearings are an interference fit in the bushings and on the shafts. The bearings are sealed and pre-lubed. There is no free play, none. The advantage seems small but is multiplied by the length of the shifter. Ben's shifter is adjustable for height - just like the OEM part. You can adjust it almost as high as stock if you wish. At that height, the advantage of the bearings is more apparent.
I hope this helps.But Ben is not making his shifter anymore so the point is moot.He is working on a 4.0L Boxster project !
For more, see Post # 480 & 476 here:
Ball bearing short shifter !
There are cheapo generic 997 shifters on EBay for less than $50 if that is the objective. You will notice they are very similar to the name-brand ones offered at x4 the price.And none have bearings -just bushings !

[jakeru]

Gelbster, you are correct that the lever amplifies the slop at the bushing up at the knob, by probably a several-times factor.

However, I just checked my notes from my Phenix engineering bushing install, and measured (using calipers) the difference between the inside diameter for the Phenix bushings and the OD of the plastic pins was .0015" (one-and-a-half thousandths of an inch). This fit is such that quickly installed dry, there is noticeable air pressure resistance, and installed with grease, some pressure and several seconds waiting is necessary for the pieces to fully move in position. One-and-a-half thou, in my opinion, is just the right amount of clearance for grease to be retained, for there to be absolutely no noticeable or measureable slop at the shift knob, and to cause no unnecessary binding or friction.

Also from my notes, the difference in OD of the Phenix bushings to the ID of the plastic console bore was .004", but as I describe above, this can be completely eliminated with anaerobic locking fluid to basically glue them into place.

Also from my notes, the axial deflection of pretty much new (used, very low-miles) OE plastic bushings, when deflected with forces they might reasonably typically encounter, was in the realm of .010" - .020". (Of course, the play and deflection of high-miles, old, worn out plastic bushings could be expected to be even worse than the high end of this range, and we're going to have several-times amplification of all of these movements making some very noticeable movements at the knob.)

[Nmbrsix]

I did the 997 shifter upgrade with the Phenix bushings and a new ICT shift knob/boot that has a metal core (vs. the worn plastic/rubber core of the OEM unit).

In combination, these transformed the shift feel. There is still a bit more side to side play than I'd prefer, but overall it no longer feels like a 200,000 mile '87 Dodge Aries K-car.

Best bang for the buck $ I've spent on this bucket.

[Wanderer]

This is what I am interested in trying. There is a lot of play in the elbow on the stock shifters.

FUNCTION-FIRST > Shift-Right Solution