F23 short shift fitting

 

F23 Short Shift Conversion – Fitting Guide

 

 

For this fitting guide, the gear shift unit has been already taken out of the car. To easily gain access to the gear shift unit it is recommended that all the trim around the shift unit be removed.

 

The shift unit is held to the floor pan of the car by means of 4 torx screws. Once the cables have been removed these will have to be undone to allow you to remove the whole shift unit, again this is to make the process easier.

 

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To undo the cable retaining clips I find it best to use a long flat blade screwdriver. Insert the driver into the bottom front portion of the clip and twist the blade a little, the clip should release with a click.
 

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Next the cables will need to be slid out of their holders, to do this pinch the tabs as pictured and slide the cable up out of its holder.
 
 

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Once this has been done on both cables the shift unit is nearly ready to remove. To remove it the 4 retaining torx bolts need to be unscrewed.

This is what you should have when the shift unit has been removed;

 

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Now turn the unit over and look underneath, the cable holder pictured needs to be removed. To do this I usually prise it off with minimal force if the method below is used.
 
 

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Once this has been removed it is now time to mark the shift unit out and do some trimming to attain the correct clearance.
 
The area below is the first portion of the shift unit that needs to be removed.
 
 

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This was my chosen trimming tool however anything that will do the same job will suffice.
 
A Dremel or similar is highly recommended as is a sanding block to tidy up any trimmed edges.
 
 

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This is what you should be left with;
 
 

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This is the next portion that needs to be removed;
 
 

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Once this has all been removed the end result should look like this, I have used a sanding block to tidy this up a little.
 
 

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This is the top side after all the trimming has been completed;
 
 
 
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Next, take the short shift adaptor and press it into the cable clip as pictured;

 

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Take the short shifter and cable clip and slide it over the old ball joint area, then tighten the grub screw to secure it in place. Many of these have been fitted with loctite 638 retaining compound, which is also fine if you have some available and don't want to remove it very easily in the future.

 

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The shift unit is now ready to re assemble back into the car in the reverse order of removing it. If it is found that the cable clamp now fouls a little on the bottom of the car it is easily possible to lift the whole assembly up a little with a washer underneath to allow a little more clearance.
 
 
 
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I have tried to make this guide as clear as possible however if you are still unsure please feel free to contact us
 
 
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