A qtip isnt going to work. That crap is on there good. I'm going to have to leave the car on stands for the night as I have other crap that I have to do and go pick up a bent pick or something tomorrow from the hardware store. Good thing I have a second car or I'd be screwed.

That thread doesn't look bad at all, plus its almost half way around the entry spot. I would focus cleaning at the bottom there at the entry, its pretty gunked up right there. just getting that first thread cleaned off should help out quite a bit. Perhaps a piece of scotch brite pad would help with the cleaning.

If you can visualize that entry and line up the correct spot on the bolt it might save you from spinning 'round and 'round. I also found it quite fiddly when i did mine. With the blind entry and awkward angle I had to really focus on making sure it was square. It seemed I could have it like 1/4 way started but then it would fall out when I changed my grip. Finally, I had to risk it a bit and put my socket on it even though not 100% sure it was started correctly. The thread locker will fool you into thinking you didn't get it.

Not sure how practical this tip will be in this particular situation but it has helped me out a couple of times in the past. You could find a piece of hose the right diameter, cut it to a length a few inches or so long then just jam it on the head of the bolt. The extra length will provide relief to your hand as well as add dexterity. It also creates a feel so you know you are square to the hole and makes it almost impossible to damage the threads by cross threading.

Good luck to you. I have been in your shoes many times in the past and it is frustrating.

Soak a rag in brake cleaner, wrap it around you index finger and wipe it around the inside of the hole. Brake cleaner will remove just about anything...

I'd like to thank you for the brake cleaner idea. While it didn't clean it off by itself, it loosen it up enough for me to get a pick in there and scrap it off. Also the starting point of the threads on the transmission housing are deceptively further around than it looks. Managed to get it back in after about 15-20 minutes of wiping with brake cleaner and scraping that shit out.

I just finished install on the MTEC springs and took a test drive and they are really nice.

I had a lot harder time with the 10mm hex than I did with the 27mm bolt. I couldn't get a hex head socket that would fit up in the tunnel, so I had to just use a normal L-shaped wrench. It took forever at a crappy angle to get it out, but was a bit better to get back in.

Question - how critical is the torque value on the hex bolt?

Since I couldn't get anything other than the L wrench in there, I couldn't correctly torque it. What I did was put a 10mm hex in my torque wrench and go torque something else (a bike crank arm) to 18ft-lb so I would have the feel of it, sort of.

For the 27mm, a shortish socket with a 1/2-3/8 adaptor fit perfectly either on the torque driver or a normal driver. It was hard to bust loose and hard to get started threading back in, but much easier than that 10mm.

Is it recommended to use Loctite prior to reinstalling the bolts?


You can also clean the original green Loctite from the threads by dipping a microfiber cloth in Isopropyl alcohol and using your gloved finger inside the cloth to wipe the threads. It won't be as harsh as using brake cleaner and dissipates quickly.

I did not add fresh loctite, but not sure if that's correct or not. It wasn't mentioned in the install vid.

One note I forgot for folks - there are lots of little sharp burrs on the tranny. You will get cut up a bit (not badly, just little scrapes/slices). I tried it w/ normal gloves on first, but the dexterity is lost. Didn't have any latex gloves, but they would get cut through in an instant anyway.

I put a set on yesterday. Had trouble getting the 27 to sit correctly afterwards, but eventually got it. Shifter feels so much more solid. Words can't really do this justice

My friend and I did both of our cars with kartboy short shifters

The 1/2" drive kobalt 12pt 27mm socket is not tall enough to get on the large detention. The dome on that detent goes into the square hole in the socket where the ratchet would go :(

Luckily we had a deep 1 1/16" impact socket but it was so y'all we had to undo the bolt with a breaker bar. Definitely a chore to do on your back. You definitely want to have the right set of tools ready to go. The big detent was also painful to line up and thread back in.

I did put a fresh set of loctite blue on both. It took each car about 1 to 1.5 hours to do.





Overall I love the feeling. Have the Perrin rear shifter stay, Whiteline positive shift kit, kartboy short shifter and flossy knob. This spring is definitely night and day in feel. Although the shifter feels firmer, it takes less effort to shift. I like it very much



Best mod ever? I still think header+tune OR tires are the best thing for this car

Was it worth it? Borderline. The install (on jack stands) alone makes it not worth doing. On a lift, yeah it'll be less swearing. You may have to get a bunch of tools youll only use for this job and nothing else.

So what exactly do these little springs do in the transmission?

The springs keep the shifter centered. With stronger springs the shifter will center itself better, it allow for easier 2-3 and 3-4 shifts. At least it did in my case.

This is spot on. :)

I have these, and they are easy easy to install. I also layed on my back with the car on jack stands. I did the perrin rear shifter bushing and white line shift improver bushing as well. I loved my shifter before, I didn't have crunch or grind issues as some have had, but after the install I realized that the stock set up had a vague feel to it. Now I absolutely know for sure which gear I just selected. Before, I always felt the need to very deliberately shift from 4 to 5, and make sure I downshifted from 3 to 2 very deliberately. Now I am much more confident as to which gear I am going into. It almost feels as if there is a predetermined path for the shifter to follow on shift changes. The detent the shifter clicks into when it is in the position on each gear is firmer, and seems less likely to be partially engaged. Before I had occasion to question whether I had a gear fully engaged or not. I highly recommend the MTEC springs.

watching