MGW Shifter Install
05-04-2013, 09:31 AM
#1
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MGW Shifter Install
I recently installed the MGW short dhifter to replace the OEM shifter which I have always felt was a bit lacking. I'm not a mechanical genius by any means (Picklesheimer - a fellow forum member who owns the identical twin to my Millennium Yellow 2001 convertible, takes care of that department) but the installation went surprisingly smoothly, even down to removing the dash fascia.
I did follow the MGW recommendation and replaced the lower shifter box with a new OEM box. Probably not necessary as the car only has 22,000 miles but I figured as long as I was in there.... Everything went back together, the worst part of the whole thing, for me, was getting the electrical plugs hooked back as the wiring doesn't have much play and positioning was awkward.
Point is, this was a fairly easy install for anyone with even light to moderate mechanical skills. As to the feel of the shifter, the throw is noticeably shorter, effort to shift is maybe a little more but not unpleasant or uncomfortable and the feeling of solidly going through the gears is, in my opinion, much better than the OEM and just what I was looking for.
One installation tip: After buttoning everything up, I had a good bit of difficulty getting the car into reverse. I thought I had followed the instructions carefully and indeed, the instructional DVD and on-site step-by-step videos MGW provides are excellent. All the other gears were fine but reverse. I emailed MGW, expecting to hear in a couple of days but within a few minutes, George from MGW was on the phone to help. He said to check two things: 1) there is a solenoid that locks out reverse and when doing the Anti-venom mod (which many forum members recommend doing along with the MGW mod) this sometimes gets disconnected. If you have a problem, check that connector first. 2) The other common problem is that the bolt that goes through the half-moon indent on the shift rod sometimes doesn't get tightened enough, allowing some lateral play and that indeed proved to be the case. As soon as I had things apart again, it was apparent that I hadn't tightened the bolt enough. Before anything else, I placed the car in neutral and repositioned the shift handle at 90 degrees front to back and side to side. ONLY then did I loosened and remove the bolt at 6 o'clock that secures the shift rod and only that bolt. I cleaned the LockTite and re-torqued. Problem solved. and I'm very happy with the result.
Point is, this is a nice bolt-on mod that can be easily reversed. The MGW shifter is a very solid, quality product and the support from the company is first rate. Replacing the OEM lower shifter box is a good idea if your car has some miles on it. My understanding is that MGW will shortly release their own version of the OEM shifter box which George says will make shifting much smoother. Hopefully, if anyone else experiences the reverse problem, this will help.
Charles
I did follow the MGW recommendation and replaced the lower shifter box with a new OEM box. Probably not necessary as the car only has 22,000 miles but I figured as long as I was in there.... Everything went back together, the worst part of the whole thing, for me, was getting the electrical plugs hooked back as the wiring doesn't have much play and positioning was awkward.
Point is, this was a fairly easy install for anyone with even light to moderate mechanical skills. As to the feel of the shifter, the throw is noticeably shorter, effort to shift is maybe a little more but not unpleasant or uncomfortable and the feeling of solidly going through the gears is, in my opinion, much better than the OEM and just what I was looking for.
One installation tip: After buttoning everything up, I had a good bit of difficulty getting the car into reverse. I thought I had followed the instructions carefully and indeed, the instructional DVD and on-site step-by-step videos MGW provides are excellent. All the other gears were fine but reverse. I emailed MGW, expecting to hear in a couple of days but within a few minutes, George from MGW was on the phone to help. He said to check two things: 1) there is a solenoid that locks out reverse and when doing the Anti-venom mod (which many forum members recommend doing along with the MGW mod) this sometimes gets disconnected. If you have a problem, check that connector first. 2) The other common problem is that the bolt that goes through the half-moon indent on the shift rod sometimes doesn't get tightened enough, allowing some lateral play and that indeed proved to be the case. As soon as I had things apart again, it was apparent that I hadn't tightened the bolt enough. Before anything else, I placed the car in neutral and repositioned the shift handle at 90 degrees front to back and side to side. ONLY then did I loosened and remove the bolt at 6 o'clock that secures the shift rod and only that bolt. I cleaned the LockTite and re-torqued. Problem solved. and I'm very happy with the result.
Point is, this is a nice bolt-on mod that can be easily reversed. The MGW shifter is a very solid, quality product and the support from the company is first rate. Replacing the OEM lower shifter box is a good idea if your car has some miles on it. My understanding is that MGW will shortly release their own version of the OEM shifter box which George says will make shifting much smoother. Hopefully, if anyone else experiences the reverse problem, this will help.
Charles
05-04-2013, 10:16 AM
#3
Drifting
I recently installed the MGW short dhifter to replace the OEM shifter which I have always felt was a bit lacking. I'm not a mechanical genius by any means (Picklesheimer - a fellow forum member who owns the identical twin to my Millennium Yellow 2001 convertible, takes care of that department) but the installation went surprisingly smoothly, even down to removing the dash fascia.
I did follow the MGW recommendation and replaced the lower shifter box with a new OEM box. Probably not necessary as the car only has 22,000 miles but I figured as long as I was in there.... Everything went back together, the worst part of the whole thing, for me, was getting the electrical plugs hooked back as the wiring doesn't have much play and positioning was awkward.
Point is, this was a fairly easy install for anyone with even light to moderate mechanical skills. As to the feel of the shifter, the throw is noticeably shorter, effort to shift is maybe a little more but not unpleasant or uncomfortable and the feeling of solidly going through the gears is, in my opinion, much better than the OEM and just what I was looking for.
One installation tip: After buttoning everything up, I had a good bit of difficulty getting the car into reverse. I thought I had followed the instructions carefully and indeed, the instructional DVD and on-site step-by-step videos MGW provides are excellent. All the other gears were fine but reverse. I emailed MGW, expecting to hear in a couple of days but within a few minutes, George from MGW was on the phone to help. He said to check two things: 1) there is a solenoid that locks out reverse and when doing the Anti-venom mod (which many forum members recommend doing along with the MGW mod) this sometimes gets disconnected. If you have a problem, check that connector first. 2) The other common problem is that the bolt that goes through the half-moon indent on the shift rod sometimes doesn't get tightened enough, allowing some lateral play and that indeed proved to be the case. As soon as I had things apart again, it was apparent that I hadn't tightened the bolt enough. Before anything else, I placed the car in neutral and repositioned the shift handle at 90 degrees front to back and side to side. ONLY then did I loosened and remove the bolt at 6 o'clock that secures the shift rod and only that bolt. I cleaned the LockTite and re-torqued. Problem solved. and I'm very happy with the result.
Point is, this is a nice bolt-on mod that can be easily reversed. The MGW shifter is a very solid, quality product and the support from the company is first rate. Replacing the OEM lower shifter box is a good idea if your car has some miles on it. My understanding is that MGW will shortly release their own version of the OEM shifter box which George says will make shifting much smoother. Hopefully, if anyone else experiences the reverse problem, this will help.
Charles
I did follow the MGW recommendation and replaced the lower shifter box with a new OEM box. Probably not necessary as the car only has 22,000 miles but I figured as long as I was in there.... Everything went back together, the worst part of the whole thing, for me, was getting the electrical plugs hooked back as the wiring doesn't have much play and positioning was awkward.
Point is, this was a fairly easy install for anyone with even light to moderate mechanical skills. As to the feel of the shifter, the throw is noticeably shorter, effort to shift is maybe a little more but not unpleasant or uncomfortable and the feeling of solidly going through the gears is, in my opinion, much better than the OEM and just what I was looking for.
One installation tip: After buttoning everything up, I had a good bit of difficulty getting the car into reverse. I thought I had followed the instructions carefully and indeed, the instructional DVD and on-site step-by-step videos MGW provides are excellent. All the other gears were fine but reverse. I emailed MGW, expecting to hear in a couple of days but within a few minutes, George from MGW was on the phone to help. He said to check two things: 1) there is a solenoid that locks out reverse and when doing the Anti-venom mod (which many forum members recommend doing along with the MGW mod) this sometimes gets disconnected. If you have a problem, check that connector first. 2) The other common problem is that the bolt that goes through the half-moon indent on the shift rod sometimes doesn't get tightened enough, allowing some lateral play and that indeed proved to be the case. As soon as I had things apart again, it was apparent that I hadn't tightened the bolt enough. Before anything else, I placed the car in neutral and repositioned the shift handle at 90 degrees front to back and side to side. ONLY then did I loosened and remove the bolt at 6 o'clock that secures the shift rod and only that bolt. I cleaned the LockTite and re-torqued. Problem solved. and I'm very happy with the result.
Point is, this is a nice bolt-on mod that can be easily reversed. The MGW shifter is a very solid, quality product and the support from the company is first rate. Replacing the OEM lower shifter box is a good idea if your car has some miles on it. My understanding is that MGW will shortly release their own version of the OEM shifter box which George says will make shifting much smoother. Hopefully, if anyone else experiences the reverse problem, this will help.
Charles
I am considering the MGW mod. I thought they had a quality product, and I am glad to hear they have good tech support.
05-04-2013, 10:37 AM
#4
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Nice write-up and a good tip for those installing the MGW shifter. 
05-04-2013, 02:20 PM
#5
Team Owner
George just posted a video here, a couple of days ago, outlining the installation of their lower shift box assembly.....
I installed one as well and could not be happier!!
05-04-2013, 07:08 PM
#7
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05-04-2013, 07:20 PM
#8
Drifting
Whats about the shifter box? What do you think is it worth the money?
05-04-2013, 08:02 PM
#9
Drifting
And Charles and I had a helluva good time installing it.
One thing I will check the next time I have my console opened up is the condition of the rubber bushings and the seal on the box where the shift rod comes through - I was surprised at the deterioration on a low miles car.
One thing I will check the next time I have my console opened up is the condition of the rubber bushings and the seal on the box where the shift rod comes through - I was surprised at the deterioration on a low miles car.
05-05-2013, 10:04 AM
#11
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I did mine as my very first mod, I could not stand the factory "mystery" shifter...very good dollar vs performance mod!