i recently received an APC short throw shifter for my birthday from my mother.......it is the one designed for the civics...you know the generic one. ...before i get flamed i am a NEWB! but i am learning everyday...anyway the shifter works great i really like it. but it makes a rattling noise when the car gets around 1500 rpm's. anyone else had this problem?? just curious what could be done to fix it.
thanks
mike

 

mine does it only when i'm revving down (I have a REAL short shifter - skunk2)...its just because of the resonation

 

it's common problem with low budget short shifters. try to tighten up the bearing, or see if it's touching the exhaust piping. i have skunk2 short shifters, and it does not rattle

 

I have a generic short throw, and it does not rattle at all. It came w/ 2 spacers, which I placed one on each side of the bearing in the bottom of the shifter. I then used washers on the stock through-bolt to take up the rest of the space on the bolt, along w/ a lock washer, and everything is nice and tight w/ no rattles or problems whatsoever. :thumbup:

 

The way that short throw shifters work is that they are longer on the bottom ie. from that pivot ball down. This is so that you have to push/pull it less distance up top to move it further down below thus giving you shorter throws. So........sometimes they hit the heat shield that is blocking the cat. Any brand can have this problem the generic ones or the expenxive ones. You could get under the car and bend the heat shield just a little bit so that is won't hit.

Good luck

 

hey would/could it damage anything if i just took the heat shield off altogether? thanks for the reply's
mike

 

The shifter might get a bit hotter, which will make a difference if you have a metal shift knob. My generic short-throw did not hit the stock heat shield at all. The heat shield is gone now, so there is even more room down there. I don't believe it would damage anything, just don't ever park your car over tall/thick grass and/or dry leaves or stuff like that.