B&M Hammer Auto Shifter

a little off subject, but would you be utilizing this for the ratchet shifter functionality or just the looks?
(the looks are great as it is!)

I have one in my car..

You must understand this is just a shifter, this does not change anything about the transmission.. its just a new gadget for controlling the cable position on the side of the trans.

The stock shifter works in 'gate' mode, it slides through gears with a few stop positions, but you can slam from Park to 1st (the full travel of the trans cable) in one slide..

Ratchet shifters have an always-centered handle. Every time you pull the shifter down it pinches the cable, pulls it down one position, then lets go of the cable and springs back to the center position, same way for upshifting.. Think of having a ratchet drive for a shifter that can be ratched both up and down from the center.

The only benefit from this is never accidentally shifting from 1st to D and missing second because you have to lightly push forward the stock shifter. This one you can SLAM forward and it will only go one gear. But this is only valuable on cars with a full manual valve body.

Anyway, if you get one it its 100% for looks on a stock car. I picked mine up used for $60 from a guy that couldnt figure out how to install it and didnt think it was made for our same year model.

This illustrates how it works.. this shows a solid bar used to connect, but our car uses a steel cable (like a bicycle brake cable). Moving the shifter slides the cable which moves the lever on the side of the transmission which is what actually changes the gears.

I have one in my 98 Mustang GT and love it.

Got a Street/Strip Valve Body though so it makes it funer

Heres some old pics of mine.. Ive since painted the shifter/radio bezel black and it looks much nicer. I have a hurst handle on it, the chrome b&m handle had paint in the lettering from the previous owner attempting to color it in..

off-topic but the question is too dumb for me to start a new thread...

I know its bad to downshift our stock auto's, so will a manual valve body allow me to do this, and what does installing one entail and what exactly does it do... im an auto noob, this is the first auto i've owned, im kind of in the dark with it.

PlatinumDevil said:

off-topic but the question is too dumb for me to start a new thread...

I know its bad to downshift our stock auto's, so will a manual valve body allow me to do this, and what does installing one entail and what exactly does it do... im an auto noob, this is the first auto i've owned, im kind of in the dark with it.

Click to expand...

Downshifting is not really hard on the 99+ 4R70W. The effects of it, which is a lot of heat created in the process, is very hurtful though. If you have a good sized trans cooler then you can downshift all you want. The computer will prevent you from shifting too low and wait until youre going slow enough for the gear to engage.

I downshift my auto pretty much every day when I'm messing around so that I control it from shifting before Im done with a gear.

A new valve body install will include removing the trans oil pan, removing the stock valve body and parts associated with it, and reinstalling.. Theres lots and lots of small parts to deal with though, so dont attempt this unless your very experienced with automatic transmissions.

I wouldnt suggest a manual valve body for a street car anyway, just do the j-mod and your shifts will be firm and quick (search for it).

The computer won't allow the trans to downshift into 1st until the rpms drop to a certain level.

Why does the car feel like something just snapped everytime you drop into first gear from anything more than a dead stop, like im talking 10km/h, you go into first and it just goes into gear way too hard and feels like it locks up the differential for a second first. It doesn't seem safe to me at all...

That said im probably going to install a tranny cooler and guage this winter.

Try downshifting into first with a little gas at the same time, that way your bringing up the rpm as you downshift stressing the trans less.

PlatinumDevil said:

Why does the car feel like something just snapped everytime you drop into first gear from anything more than a dead stop, like im talking 10km/h, you go into first and it just goes into gear way too hard and feels like it locks up the differential for a second first. It doesn't seem safe to me at all...

That said im probably going to install a tranny cooler and guage this winter.

Click to expand...

It does lock up the rear end for a split second while it engages a secondary mechanism. Its just the nature of the transmission. But as jeffnoel said, if you manipulate the throttle just right you can completely negate the bump of downshifting. My car sounds and feels like a manual downshifting and easing on the clutch while going into tight corners.

When you're in D and the car is in first gear, its different from being in 1. In manual 1 or 2, the trans engages another method of attachment that allows for engine braking - this is ment by design for hauling.

If you downshift to 2nd or 1st at speed, you will actually lock the rear enough to squeel the rear tires..and actually if timed right you can almost do a rolling burnout like this from a downshift, I would bet a blower car could do it.