Yet another Mtec shift Springs review

[Raven604]

Well here's another review. Yesterday I tackled the whiteline positive shift kit and the perrin shifter bushing. Today was the Mtec shift Springs.

These were pretty straight forward as all you had to do was first take off the undertray. Once removed, located a 10mm hex bolt thingie on the driver side of the transmission near the rear of the transmission . Remove the bolt, use a magnet to get the spring out of the slot and replace it with the matching Mtec spring. Retorque the bolt.

Next locate the 27mm / 1"1/16 Nut on the passenger side near the rear of the transmission and remove it. Once again I was doing this on my back with 2 jack stands. This bolt comes factory sealed with a boat load of lock tight. And let me tell you this thing took a heap ton of force to break it loose. I meen I struggled being on my back on the garage floor. Once out, replace the spring with the matching mtec spring and Retoque.

Driving impressions. This little mod I'd absolutely amazing. It completely changes the shifter feel In a great way. It springs right where you want it to with little effort but with authority! My favorite mod so far.

Highly recommended for 30$

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[Laika]

Perfect, I just logged in so I could read some review on these. I bought them recently and realized I may want to read reviews prior to installing.

[Malt]

Originally Posted by Laika

Perfect, I just logged in so I could read some review on these. I bought them recently and realized I may want to read reviews prior to installing.

I know the install directions say something like a 30 minute install. If everything goes right, it could be that fast. If stuff goes wrong it could take MUCH longer. Do yourself a favor and have a can of carb cleaner, lots of rags, and lots of patience. There was a metric crap ton of locktite on my bolt which prevented me from re-installing the bolt. Rags soaked in carb cleaner rubbed in the threads to remove the locktite is what enabled me to finally get that bolt back in.

DO NOT try to put the right side bolt back in with a ratchet. I repeat, DON'T use a ratchet at first! You need to get it hand threaded first! Make sure the transmission is in neutral before you take those bolts out as well.

There have been many cases of people getting impatient and having it cross threaded, only to have to have their car flat bedded to a dealership for a new transmission housing. Take your time and get it hand threaded and everything should be fine.

[dp1]

I had mine installed recently and prefer the shifter feel with them. Also have heavier raceseng shift knob.

[Laika]

Originally Posted by Malt

I know the install directions say something like a 30 minute install. If everything goes right, it could be that fast. If stuff goes wrong it could take MUCH longer. Do yourself a favor and have a can of carb cleaner, lots of rags, and lots of patience. There was a metric crap ton of locktite on my bolt which prevented me from re-installing the bolt. Rags soaked in carb cleaner rubbed in the threads to remove the locktite is what enabled me to finally get that bolt back in.

DO NOT try to put the right side bolt back in with a ratchet. I repeat, DON'T use a ratchet at first! You need to get it hand threaded first! Make sure the transmission is in neutral before you take those bolts out as well.

There have been many cases of people getting impatient and having it cross threaded, only to have to have their car flat bedded to a dealership for a new transmission housing. Take your time and get it hand threaded and everything should be fine.

I did read about this issue soon after and got a bit worried.

How tough do you reckon the job would be on a lift? I heard that 27mm bolt is tough to open up because of the loc-tite as you mentioned and can only hope a lift would make it a bit easier.

[jflogerzi]

Originally Posted by Laika

I did read about this issue soon after and got a bit worried.

How tough do you reckon the job would be on a lift? I heard that 27mm bolt is tough to open up because of the loc-tite as you mentioned and can only hope a lift would make it a bit easier.

I would recommend you remove your front pipe. Makes the install much easier.

[355rockit]

The bolt threads were leaking tranny fluid onto exhaust and causing smoke and stink. Toyota sealed the threads and now no more stink and leak. Love the mtec shifter springs.

[Raven604]

Originally Posted by Laika

I did read about this issue soon after and got a bit worried.

How tough do you reckon the job would be on a lift? I heard that 27mm bolt is tough to open up because of the loc-tite as you mentioned and can only hope a lift would make it a bit easier.

Would take all of 15 minutes on a lift with a breaker bar

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[dwb]

probably dumb question... but
do you get void on warranty if you install mtec shifter springs?

[akahenry]

Originally Posted by dwb

probably dumb question... but
do you get void on warranty if you install mtec shifter springs?

lol no.

[akahenry]

this thread makes me excited for my Kartboy Short Shifter kit with MTECT Springs that I will be receiving by the end of the week!

[Brinks]

Originally Posted by akahenry

this thread makes me excited for my Kartboy Short Shifter kit with MTECT Springs that I will be receiving by the end of the week!

If you got the spring and shifter. Might as well and go all out. Trans stay bushing/forced fab stiffener ,rear stay and front carrior bushings.

[Brinks]

As far as the springs go. Good bang for the buck, gives the shifter some weight while smoothing it out.

Make sure you have a breaker bar and a 27mm socket before you start the install

[Malt]

Originally Posted by Laika

I did read about this issue soon after and got a bit worried.

How tough do you reckon the job would be on a lift? I heard that 27mm bolt is tough to open up because of the loc-tite as you mentioned and can only hope a lift would make it a bit easier.

On a lift would be MUCH easier than on stands. Part of the problem is access to the bolts. Its a tight fit up there and even with removing the front pipe removed there is only so much room. I didn't remove my front pipe when installing mine but I can see how that would help a little. The bolt is in a spot very close to the trans tunnel and trying to get your hand up in there to get it hand threaded means your arm is going to rub on the transmission housing because of the angle. I'd definitely wear gloves (latex or even a set of ringers) if you can still have enough dexterity in your fingers to manipulate the bolt. Either way be prepared for some minor abrasions from the rough casting on the trans. When I finally got done with my install ~5-6 hours later (over two days) my right hand was worn raw. You can see on the pictures attached below how bad the locktite can be on the threads. I ended up using a shop towel soaked in carb cleaner and a small pick set to get all that crap out of the threads before it finally went back in.



You don't have to get it all off, just enough to where you can get it hand threaded a couple of turns so you don't risk stripping it out. You'll notice on the picture that the threads start at the bottom on mine. You can look at yours and see where the threads start and position the threads on your bolt to help you get it positioned to where you can get it threaded. Then again, it might thread right up and you won't have any of the issues I had.

Originally Posted by dwb

probably dumb question... but
do you get void on warranty if you install mtec shifter springs?

It depends. If you install them incorrectly and strip out the threads on the transmission housing from the large bolt because you got impatient and tried to reinstall it with a socket instead of hand threading it, I wouldn't expect subaru/scion to replace your transmission housing under warranty. As for them denying your warranty from a transmission failure after the fact I highly doubt they would notice the springs upon a disassemble/rebuild. They look almost identical to the stock ones, but hey, stranger things have happened.

Originally Posted by Brinks

If you got the spring and shifter. Might as well and go all out. Trans stay bushing/forced fab stiffener ,rear stay and front carrior bushings.

While I'm sure those all add incremental improvements to the feel of the shifter, doing so also adds a large amount of NVH. The rear shifter stay comes with the kartboy shifter and should be installed with it as it provides noticeable improvements but the carrier bushings add very little feel but a massive amount of NVH. That's one of the reasons kartboy decided to not make those IIRC.

The transmission stay bushing I'm sure adds more feel and I have one as well, I just haven't installed it yet as I don't want anymore driveline noise in the cab. An aluminium 1 piece driveshaft added to the positive driveline feel but it definitely adds noise and vibration on decel and low speed operation.

If I could do it all over again I'd do the MTEC springs, kartboy shifter with rear stay, carbon driveshaft over the aluminum. I've heard that the carbon shaft helps a ton with noise and vibration and that alone would have been worth the extra $500 to me. The performance improvements from a smaller diameter shaft and the inherent damping from the carbon shaft seem to be totally worth it. Heck, I might even swap to one and sell my aluminum shaft.