A cautionary tale for those installing a shifter. As I was doing in my garage this fine, sweltering morning. Having crawled around under the car on the freaking hot concrete, elegantly dropping the exhaust dead center on my forehead while simultaneously blinding myself with rust flakes falling from the exhaust system bolts and eventually being able to pry the cover off the shifter box by the simple method of snapping the cover in half, I was able to remove the shifter from the car. (an 04 S, if that matters)

Back in the sweltering garage I was disassembling the shifter according to B&Ms decent but not great instructions. You know how the shift lever has these two nylonish bearing cup gizmos? One with three tabs that you have to be a multi-limbed mutant to get all pressed at once? And the other one that fits on the side arm and forms the bearing surface and spacer between the shift lever and that L shaped arm that connects to the cable? That small one?

Well I wasn't paying much attention to it while trying to get the three tabs pressed simultaneously so I could get the shifter out of the housing. Ka-Ping, whizz clatter, clatter, ding, clatter, thunk, ratt ratta click goes the little bearing cup gizmo. Off to the dark side of the moon.

I cleared out my garage. I literally emptied it out and looked in, on, and under everything cuz I knew I had to reuse the little sucker.

Dark side of the moon.

Not in the garage.

It went where ball point pens that don't blot go. Where the other sock goes. Where you best t-shirt goes. Where your second-best pair of jeans goes.

Dark side of the moon.

So, off I go to my friendly local MINI dealer. I'm lucky. I live in a town that has one and the parts guys know me and they're good folks.

But they can't sell me that little bearing cup. They'd like to, really they would. I believe them. They've been wrong on occasion but they've never lied to me. But they can't sell me the little plastic bearing cup that I need.

Why?

Because the shifter is only available as a complete assembly. Shift lever, plastic housing, seals, and some other stuff including the two plastic bearing cups. At a price of about $200.00.

So, gentle readers, if you're changing your shifter, don't lose the little plastic bearing cup. Or you'll end up with not just one, not just two, but three freaking shifters: the original one that came with the car that you're replacing, the replacement that you bought to improve your shifting, and the stock replacment one that you'll have to buy to get one little freaking plastic bearing cup.

Me? Oh, I'm spending the rest of the afternoon in the garage banging my head on the floor.

 

Yikes!

I had a similar problem when I broke the airbox cover. Can't buy just the cover. Have to buy the whole thing for about $150. I found one for $30 from someone who had replaced it with an aftermarket intake.

 

Just did this install this past Monday. I can say it didn't go like yours but it was a pain. The payoff is at the end. Can I get a woohoo? WOOHOO! Let's MOTOR!

 

They should put that part in the instructions.
I had to snap it in half as well.

At least now I know i was following the correct removal procedure.

 

I just did this job last weekend. I found the job not too difficult just a pain in the A$$ to get the ball sockets off of the shaft. The cover underneath was super easy too.... Just squeeze inboard and pull gently. The cup was not issue. I can't see how it flew off.... The three prongs to release was not an issue. Just use two small "pointy" objects to depress and hold the tabs inboard. I held in the 8 and 4 oclock tabs (I have a grey cup 03') and depress the third and out it comes...Throwing the (small jewlers screwdrivers) in my case outboard... The cup just shot up the shaft a little and stayed in place. The I wrestled the shifter extension (right side) from it's home and switched. Yes the payoff is worth it. I'm lucky about the exhaust though..No flakes since I replaced it with SS awhile ago. Always remember to wear safetly glasses when under a car and near some flacky exhaust especially. Rust in the eye is NOT fun. Did it once when I was in my teens..never again!

 

Funny post, Spunky, although I'm sorry you had to endure it.

As for the complete assembly - there are other parts on our cars that are like that. The interior A-pillar covers, for instance, have these tabs that hold it in place, and if you accidentally bend or break any, you have to order the COMPLETE pillar cover assembly as the replacement clips are not sold seperately. That really burns me....

 

Man Spunky, I've been there. Not with the shifter, but with numerous things that I never ever shoulda touched. I feel your pain. The only cure is to get in the wayback machine & go back a couple of days. I'd loan you mine, but you see I was going to mod it with a bunch of LED's & I burned out the darned flux capacitor. You might say it's all fluxed up.

 

Damn! I'm ROFL! Sorry for your problems, but you do a hellava writeup!
Dark side of the moon, indeed! (I think that's where the fasteners went when I was removing/reinstalling my hood scoop diverter).

 

yeah i installed the alta one and good god that sucked i also have an 04 and none of the pictures looked like anything on any website