HELP. installed bm shifter in gen 2 and problem...

[v10kingsnake]

number one is the kit came with bolts rather than rivets to secure the rubber isolation boot on the shifter, since rivets sit nice and flush with the surface and these bolts dont, the center console isnt sitting right and i cant pop down a portion of the radio bezel, i think i should just tear it all apart again and buy the 3/16th rivets i originally had to drill out to remove to access the shifter and this i hope fixes the problem. my second more serious problem is although almost all the gears all work like butter, sliding in like never before, very positive feeling but reverse is a *****!!!! i have to use both hands to pull the shifter all the way over and up into gear.1,2,3,4,5,6,all take minimal effort but to get into R the shift has this ungodly strong spring tensioner in it which makes me have to use both hands to shift in to reverse. the car has been in storage unstarted for over 3 months in a cold garage. do you think it would be different if the car is warmed, i dont but its wishful thinking. this shifter is the newer version without the adjustable stops built into it so i am at a loss. please help.

 

[Iceman]

Shifting into reverse does get a lot easier after the car is warmed up.

Just installed the same shifter two weeks ago. I cut the pastic boot and the glued it back together with rubber glue so I would not have to fool with those bolts.

Shifting into reverse is not bad on mine.

 

[v10kingsnake]

but did you notice a significant problem shifting into R with the car cold. i need to use 2 hands to fight the internal spring in the shifter to be able to be able to be lined up in the fork to slide up into R. cant be right. i may try the glue but is there any secret to popping the bezel back into place, seems like a ***** to pop in, maybe its just the bolt heads in the way. i hope.

 

[FlyBryViper]

I reassembled mine with the bols, no clearance problems. I also made another boot out of the reflctive, heat insulation material to keep a little more of the heat from seeping through. I get damn hot after 16 laps in a road race session.
Shifting into R is more difficult than the stock shifter - which I like. The reverse lock-out is a great safety feature, but I prefer to feel (ie. strong spring) when I am getting close to reverse.
Static testing does not count, and is not all that good for the tranny. When warm, with good synthetic fluid, it shifts much better.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

I had that shifter installed but had it removed the next day as it created a very noisey zzzzzzzzzz sound. Second shifter did the same thing.

 

[ROCKET62]

Another possible thing to look at is the reverse lock out mechanism as there may be a problem there. The connector for the reverse lockout is adjacent to the shifter. If the connector was loosened during the install, you would have to manually override the lockout with two hands as you suggest.

Good Luck.

 

[Iceman]

My transmission was a two handed operation to get into reverse also but once I changed the fluid it became easier.

 

[ViperRay]

The shifter handle is shorter so there's less leverage too.

My B&M took two hands for reverse initially but became easier over time.

There shouldn't be a problem with the bolts.