My newest mod!!

[Okrazie1]

Look at what the FedEx man dropped off at my house today:

It's a Hurst Billet/Plus competition shifter.

It's actually for a Ranger, but I figured I would order one and see if it would work in my Explorer.


Here's the shifter installed but before I put the top boot on:

It shortens up the shifter throws quite a bit. The bad side is it transfers a bit of transmission noise up through the shift lever. It seems to be worse in third and fourth gear. I'm going to drive it for a couple of days and see if it gets any quieter. If not, I'll contact Hurst and see what they say about it.

I also modified the boot that came with it so it would work with my stock base. The mounting trim that came with it would not clear the inner boot, plus I would have had to drill eight or so holes in the floor, which I didn't want to do.

 

[88vert]

That looks sweet

 

[akcrogers]

Do they make these to fit 91-94s too?
I've been wanting to put an aftermarket shifter on for a while...
:drool:

 

[Digger196]

Awsome looking. i like that.

 

[jimbo74]

looks good... are you going to tell hurst that it is in your explorer? if you do, they may say that is why it sounds wierd..it wasnt designed for an explorer

 

[akcrogers]

Where did you order it from and how much $ was it? I looked through the Hurst catalog and couldn't find one for a ranger.

 

[Okrazie1]

Chris- I ordered it from Jegs, and it was on backorder for over two months. I checked with Summit the other day and they had it in stock! So I ordered it from them. It was $205 shipped. The part number is 391-5020. It's listed to fit 1988-2000 Ranger 6 cylinders.

James- If I have to check on the noise, I might get a little confused and tell them it's in my Ranger if they ask. I seem to be a little worse about getting confused as I get a little older.

 

[Okrazie1]

An update

Here are some more impressions since I have had some time with the shifter:

• I fought with the shifter a bit trying to get it to quiet down. I experimented with shimming it slighty with gasket material, using rubber to isolate the stick from the shifter, etc. I finally went back to the original configuration and it was much quieter that when I started. Seems like it just needed some time to break in, and hopefully it will quiet down even more as time goes by. I did put some nylon washers between the shifter and the stick to help isolate some of the noise from the stick.
  
• The self-centering of this shifter seems to help with the second-third shift. I would occasionally grind gears when making this shift with the stock shifter. I've had it happen with this shifter, but only because I got into a real rush, and tried to force the shift. This shifter still doesn't make it into a sports car transmission.
  
• I'm pretty happy with the feel of the shifter. It imparts a more mechanical feel to the shifts, and shortens up the throws a good amount. If I drive only the Explorer for a few days then hop into my Ranger, the Ranger shifter feels like a broomstick stuck in a wad of bubblegum.

I was getting frustrated because of the noise problem, but since that seems to be clearing up I think I'm going to be happy with this mod in the long run. I guess I ought to look at the bright side. I've taken the shifter out of the truck so many times recently I can do it in about five minutes now.

 

[CoryL]

Originally posted by jimabena74
looks good... are you going to tell hurst that it is in your explorer? if you do, they may say that is why it sounds wierd..it wasnt designed for an explorer

Makes no differece. Same tranny, same tranny tunnel, same everything. They list it for a Ranger because they never assumed a soccer mom would want one for her Explorer.

 

[james t]

about the rattle...

the nylon washer thing was a good idea. that should help some. later on, if it still does it, look into getting a heaver shifter knob. i had this same issue back in high school with my 72 cheby truck (converted from 3-on-tree to Hurst floor shift). eventually, i just had to get one of those T-handle knobs. pic some of them up in the store and buy the heaviest one you can. it will stop all of the vibration.

 

[Okrazie1]

I've been thinking about getting a T-handle, but I haven't bought one yet. Sine I wrote that update, I took the nylon washers out, and slipped a piece of 1/2" clear tubing over the bottom end of the shifter handle, so it is sandwiched between the shifter and the handle. It quieted it down better than the nylon washers did.