MGW Shifter Install How To. Pics, and instructions inside...

Well I installed the MGW Shifter.

Really nice piece. Here is how you install it.

Here is the stock setup



Remove the cover plate.



Unscrew the shifter knob.


Remove the boot.



Remove the handle.



Now for this part I removed the console, and the radio. I might not have needed to do this but I couldn't get to the bolts.



Remove the dust cover plate. (4 screws)



Remove the old shifter, Gently rock it side to side, until the old RTV comes loose.



Clean the old RTV off with a razor blade. Don't let the old goo fall in.



Apply the RTV around the rim of the shifter mechanism.



Carefully put the new one on. Torque the new bolts down a little at a time. Snug them down good. Set the stops, and tighten the little allen screws on top of the base plate.



Once you have the stops set, tighten down the provided lockwashers and nuts, added protection.



Put the handle and knob on, and go drive around for a while, test it out, make sure it works good.



Button everything back together. A bit shorter in height.



Note, I had to remove the bottom left dash, the metal plate, and the 4 screws that hold the center console to the dash, to remove the console.

I ran into some trouble when I went to reinstal the console. The MGW shifter is a bit taller without the handle, so getting the console back on was tricky.

I had to remove the metal box that is attached to the front of the console, then nudge it around the original position, then install the console, and reattach the screws from inside. This method was a lot of work, but I wanted to make sure that everything was made right, and I did not want to break anything. There is a magazine write up, in which they don't take the console off, I thought that it looked risky, so I chose to carefully remove everything.

Step 3. and 15. in this article detail what I am talking about.
http://mustang50magazine.com/howto/138_0408_shifter_install/index2.html

Overall I like the shifter, and will have more to say, as I get to drive it more.

Thanks a bunch George, great shifter!

After driving around a bit today I actually missed second, and the gears buzzed lightly for a second, I don't know why, but it is a bit harder to move the shifter to the left side. I guess I have to be a little more forceful to the left side.

I guess I will figure it out later, right now I am out of state, and the car is at home.

Anyone else had to relearn how to shift after installing a short throw?

Edit: I ran across a thread that mentions a 1-2 grind in the cold on the T-45, might this same problem be possible on a T-5. It was around 36°-37° this morning so I suspect that the cold weather "grind" is what happened, any ideas?

89MustangGX said:

Nice writeup.

Just an interesting thing to note...

Looks like your car may have originally been an auto -- judging by some ofthe gasket material still around the shifter hole. At the very least, someone has been in there before and trimmed the console in the front -- which is usually enough to get to the front bolts.

Click to expand...

Nope bone stock from the show room floor. When I pulled off the dust cover I could tell it was original.

The console was not trimmed. Thats why I had to remove the entire console to get to the front bolts.

Believe me, the car had the air silencer still in it when I picked it up with 102,000. It has always been a T-5, plus it had the plastic cable adjuster, covered in 12 years of dust.