Bravo How to Fit a Short Shifter

I recently bought a short shifter from MTech for my 1.9 8v Bravo with the 5-speed gearbox (C350.5). After chatting to the people at MTech, they assured me this was the correct part for my gearbox. I would highly recommend getting your short shifter from them should you buy one.

Tools you will need:
- 13mm socket with a long extension
- Something to pry up on the current linkage with, I used locking pliers
- Allen key, check the size before you attempt to fit, its really small.
- Your short shifter!

So, firstly you will need to find the current shifter linkage which will be somewhere on top of the gearbox. On my car, it is pretty much directly below the brake fluid reservoir. There is a handy gap to reach down there to change what you need to.



Use your 13mm socket to undo the nut you should see by the black weight off to the left of the linkages. Once undone you should be able to lift the weight off the "bolt" that it is slotted over. Doing this first will allow you more access for the next step.



Next, you need to use something to pry the linkage which comes from the firewall/bulkhead upwards. In my picture above the linkage is the object with the green centre, yours may not be exactly the same. In my case, I ended up using a set of locking pliers to grip onto it and pulled up and toward the firewall. The link didn't pop off and didn't move a lot when it came off, so be careful not to pull on the linkage to much in case you cause damage to it.

Once this was off it is just a matter of slotting your short shifter over the "bolt" left sticking up from where you had taken the weight off (which is no longer needed as the short shift has one built in) and push the existing ball joint up into the hole in the middle of the short shifter.

I found in this step it may need a little persuasion to press into place. Using a hammer and the long extension, I hammered it down properly. It is important that this ball joint seats correctly, because if it slips off you will not be able to select gears properly. The should be a little black screw on the side of the short shift which you will need an allen key to tighten up. Doing so will lock the ball joint into place. In the picture below you can see the screw almost all the way out.



It is then a case of popping the original linkage to the new ball joint (which was very easy compared to getting the old one off) and then putting the 13mm nut back on where the weight used to be and you should be all done!

It is best to cycle through the gears to ensure you can engage all of them properly, with the car off. I did all the work with the car in neutral to ensure if I did cock it up it wouldn't be stuck in gear. Saying this getting it out of gear should not be too hard. When checking you will realise a slight "notchiness" to the gearstick, this is normal and whilst driving is actually reassuring, it feels like the gear has clicked into place!

Just to show you the reduction I lined up the furthest point of my gearknob with the 0cm mark on a tape measure whilst in first gear. Then went into 2nd. I did this before and after fitting. Hopefully the images will show the difference!

Before



The throw is ~14.5cm.

After



The throw is now ~9.5cm - 10cm.

This is a quick and easy mod and shouldn't be too much trouble for someone to do, I foolishly did it in the dark and fumbled around with a torch for most of the time. The total fitting time was about 45 minutes. The is also a guide available from MTech themselves on how to fit the short shifter but is shown being fitted to an Alfa Romeo so I thought I would do a more personal one to the Fiat Bravo that we all know and love