ZZT23X Short Shifter For ST18X

i remember reading an article on how to make a gen 7 zzt celica short shifter fit are st18 celicas.

anyone know how its done and whats involved?

seems easy enough, there are 2 ways

http://www.toyotacelicaonline.com/shiftermod.htm

5th Generation Shifter Modification
by CelicaGTR
Below are the instructions for using the stock shifter from a 7th generation Celica (2000-) in a 5th generation Celica. This will give a quicker smoother throw for a fraction of the price of buying or importing a shortshifter from Japan. These shifters can be found quite cheaply from 7th generation owners who have installed a TRD shortshifter in their car.

Preparation of the 7th Generation Shifter assembly

When you get the 7th Generation Celica shifter it is encased in a large plastic housing. On the top of this housing is a small door/hinged cover type thing(for lack of a better term).
Cut the cover in half with Dremel or another type tool. After the cover is cut the two sides will swing up.
On the side of the plastic housing there are hinges and springs, and part of the shifter itself runs through a lever, it is held in place by a pressed on plastic cap.
Pop off the cap...DON'T LOSE IT!!! YOU REUSE IT!!!
----To do this just put sideways tension on the shifter.
Rotate the levers upwards until the shifter is clear, and put it aside.

On your 5th Generation Celica



Remove the shift-knob, shifter cover, shift-boot, and foamy thing(if you have one).
See the little metal cover with three 10mm bolts?? take it off...DON'T LOSE IT!!!
Next there is one of two shift rods. This is on the drivers side of the shifter. Remove the cotter-pin and teflon sleeve...DON'T LOSE IT!!!(see a theme here?)
Next are the four 12mm bolts holding the assebly(sp) to the frame.
Now the second shift rod, this one is underneath, and held on by the mother of all cotter-pins...DON'T LOSE IT!!!
The whole unit pulls out.
Repeat steps 3 and 4...there is a spring on the side of the housing remember how it sits, it is important.
Once you get the old shifter out of the housing, pull off the old friction cup...but don't damage it, or the gaskets...YOU WILL REUSE THEM. But you DO need to clean the cup.
Take the Y2K shifter and 5th Gen friction cup, grease them with a Silicone based lubricant...if you don't have a Silicone base, white lithium grease will work fine. Use liberally.
Reassemble everything in the reverse order in which you took it out.
Check for clearance, space if needed...shift away!!!

and this from st18x.com from a guy called jzeon

jzeon wrote:
I bought a gen 7 short shift kit off ebay for £25, it was gonna cost me £125 to get a proper one imported from America cos TRD and everyone has stopped making them

I managed to get it to fit with a little adjustment. I did it so i didn't need to take the bolts off to keep it so i could easily put the old one back on. So here goes just incase you think about doin it, but i dont have much mechanical knowledge so excuse the terms, here goes...
you will need:
the short shift kit
10mm spanner/socket
11mm socket
12 washers with 12mm holes
hammer
chisel type implement
grease

Take shift assebly out and the top plate using the 4 bolts attaching it to the body (11mm) and disattach the clips on the side to remove the cable.

Disassemble the part which you took off (taking car not to lose any bits), so you should have the housing seperate from the gear stick with all the clips and sleeves for the balls (very important not to lose).

Take the chisel (using the hammer ) give it a few strikes along the bottom of the tunnel where the shift cable is (inside where the gear stick will go) you will need about 3mm all round and also the right hand side (for 1st and 2nd) to add some clearance (as you are not using the spacers with the kit to keep it stock, you dont need to do this if you are replacing with the longer bolts). Chisel the front also where the gear cable fouls the metal (about 2mm)

Put the white plastic back onto th large ball in the middle of the short shift stick and put into the housing and reattach all the clips (use grease too).

Put 3 washers on each of the body bolts, put the housing (with the new gear stick) back onto the bolts (making sure you have greased the balls on the bottom and side before putting the plastic sheath back on) and making sure the cables are attached correctly. Then attach all the clips to keep the cables on and keep the ball in the housing.

Tighten the nuts onto the 4 bolts, they will most likeley just tighten half way but it is solid enough (you will be able to tighen all the way if using the extaneded bolts and spacers).

Check clearance in all gears. if there is any catching, I'm afraid you have to undo all your good work and take the housing back off and chisel some more where it is catching and its proper annoying. I found it was best to change into all gears whilst shining a torch into the bottom to get a better view.

Once all this is done (and its working correctly , take for a test drive and enjoy the 'no lag' in the gear change. Unless like me you need a new clutch and gearbox cos its still notchy.

I hope this has been helpful and can save you some money. i aint got much mechanical knowledge (Im a computer geek ) and i did it with no walkthrough, just thought this might be helpful. any comments or corrections welcome.

Thats great, i've always heard that this is possible but i thought it involved welding.

Also, there is a way to make ST205 shifters work (yes they are short ).

thanks for that, good thing is that i can get these cheap and dont have to import one from the states

3Spower wrote:

Thats great, i've always heard that this is possible but i thought it involved welding.

Also, there is a way to make ST205 shifters work (yes they are short ).

Am trying to find a write up for that, i wonder whats involved in making it fit

rollaboy wrote:

thanks for that, good thing is that i can get these cheap and dont have to import one from the states

That's the best thing, i can get one cheap as chips and get it delivered the next day

Oohhh, have just found a used gen 7 shifter going cheap, am very tempted to buy it, oh and it's possible that it's a genuine TRD one aswell

If i end up buying it, i shall make a write up

haha, i remember back in the day when people used to simply got of half the shifter making it a PATA to shift

Those were the days