Anyone have issues with their CS Short Shifter w/ Pro Clip? I can't seem to get the gear selector to center when in neutral. With the OEM setup if I put it into neutral and left it between 1 & 2 or 5 & 6 it would center itself between 3 & 4 just like any manual should. I've lubed up every moving part and yet it seems that the ball joint of the shifter is under too much pressure from the Pro Clip making it harder for the shifter to move freely. When moving the lever it feels rough like it's rubbing against the clip rather than sliding on a layer of lube between the ball joint of the shifter and the retaining clip. I called CS and they said that it's due to the 6 screws in the Pro Clip being too tight. So I loosened them and the lever still will stay in neutral on either side. I even removed the screws to see if the lever would center with no tension from the top of the clip. No dice. I called them up again to tell them their suggestion hadn't worked and they weren't sure what else it could be. They took my email and said they would look into it. As it is I can select gears fine but it doesn't make for a very good feeling shifter. Oh yeah, and the stock non-JCW shift **** doesn't stay attached to the shifter lever like it should and pops off with just the tiniest amount of force. I'm hoping someone here might have some experience or insight into this issue.

 

I’ve had their adjustable short shifter installed since I bought the car. Never had a problem with it. I also have never tried it with a stock shift ****. Only thing we did that I can recall is lube the ***** up with a little white lithium grease.

 

I just used the grease that CS supplied. Maybe swapping to a different grease will work?

 

Just put mine in last night. Thought I had it quite loose, but not loose enough I guess! Because same issue here- too much tension, and shifter not returning to 0. I just loosened them up ALL the way, and it just barely returns to 0. Screws just touching the plastic base, no tightness. Haven't tried driving yet, but hoping for improvement. In any case, I'm guessing that it's going to break-in a bit and get smoother / better over a little time. Actually wonder if running it for a bit with no lube at all would speed the break-in. Make it mate perfectly to the ball. Then add lube after a few hundred shifts. Would be a pain to remove everything again though just for that. Anyway, gonna give it some time like this, see how it goes.

Can't answer about your shift ****- I have the CS ****, and really like it. Just get one

 

Yeah, the tension issue is weird as you and I are the only instances of it I've seen. Shifting has smoothed out after a few hundred shifts so it no longer feels like it's rubbing on plastic. Still doesn't center though. As for the **** I'm holding out for a custom Whalen.

 

Huh, interesting. The only other thing I can think of- my shifter is about 3 years old. And just got the clip thing. The tolerance is so tight- if they used a different anodizing company or something 3 years ago, it could well be different enough to cause the tightness. How old is your shifter?

 

I don't know about the production date but I bought both from CS brand new a week ago.

 

I've seen this a few times where the pro clip is tightened down a little too much, and it wont allow it to return to the neutral position.
Try backing it off a little bit and see how it feels after. If it's still off, reach out for sure.

Edit: Totally misread your first post! I'd be curious to see what is causing this. Would you be down for exchanging the parts?

 

No worries, man. Getting the Pro Clip into the shifter housing itself is kinda tough. I really gotta force it into place. Pulling it out is even harder. I wonder if that super snug fit is the source of the problem.

 

Ah, so much for my production date theory. I'm sure yours wasn't sitting around for 3 years.

I'm sure they designed it to allow for some adjustability in tension with the screws. I bet it'll get better with a little use.

 

If you're out in WA and can meet up I'm totally down. But this is my only car so I can't have it sitting for a few days.

I hope so because I completely destroyed the OEM retaining clip trying to get it out.

 

Where in Washington are you?

 

Lynnwood but I'm frequently down south in the GSA and north like Marysville.

 

Damn, was hoping you'd be closer lol. I'm in Vancouver.

 

I've got some family in Vancouver but I'm not down there often. Maybe 4 times a year.

 

Just heard from another F56 owner with the same issue. So it's not just you!
Will update when we have some more information.

 

Okay, so we installed one of the clips from the new batch that we think your's came from. It is a little tight, but totally functional. You mention that it was really tight getting that clip into the housing, and I'm curious if there is some kind of variance in your shifter housing causing our clip to be too large to fit in properly. That would cause excessive force on the ball and might cause this. That is our main hypothesis, our other being that our clip was undercut on the inside.

Back to getting that clip into the shifter housing; was it so hard you had to put your body weight int it, or was it just precarious?

 

I didn't have to really put my body weight on it to get it in but some force was required. However, when taking it out it doesn't simply pull out of the housing. I think it gets caught on something as I try to pull because it'll come up a few mm but then stops and I can't get it to budge any further without taking a pry bar to the bottom of the shifter and using a lot of leverage to push it up from the bottom. I think it's the 3 holes that the 3 metal clips slot into that's catching the Pro Clip as it's coming out of the shifter housing.

 

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Gotta remove those 3 clips and the top to remove it 😁

 

I don't mean to be rude but yeah, I figured that those are the way the bottom part of the retaining clip stays put. My Pro Clip still doesn't like coming out of the shifter housing without a ton of leverage with those metal tabs removed though.

 

Mine seemed like a perfect fit to the shifter housing. I tapped the top of the shift lever with a mallet and it went in like perfectly cut joinery. Or should it have been a little easier than that? Haven't tried to remove.

El-Grunto- maybe a little lube to help it come out? WD-40? Stuff paper towel under first, so it doesn't stink up the carpet when it drips...

 

Seems like everyone else's just pops right in with next to no effort. I should be getting my ECU back from Mario on Wednesday or Thursday so I'll mess around with the car some more then. If it comes in Wednesday then I might just make a surprise visit to my uncle in Vancouver on Thursday and hit up CravenSpeed locally so they can see what's going on in person.

A little off topic but does anyone know if the Raceseng shift ***** need an adapter for the CS short shifter?

 

You did install the higher spacers under the shifter mount right?

 

The plastic bushings that replace the metal and rubber duo? Yes.

 

Just had to make sure text communication and all. I've got the guys over here throwing around ideas and hypotheses. If you get a chance give me a call at Craven today.