Well I have come across some graduation money and have started buying stuff for my truck. One thing on my list is a Hurst shifter, I can probably live with the rattling, but not to long ago people complained of it being airtight and would start to leak tranny fluid. Are there any updates on this? Would you recommend the hurst? Any suggestions of things to do to it if I do get it to help it work any better? And where is the best place to order one from? Thanks for any replies.

 

get a FX4 Level 2 shifter they look nice and they go for the truck.

 

The FX4 shifter is a tremendous waste of money. It doesn't change the way the shifter works like the Hurst does. Since I've loosened and snugged the bolts on my Hurst (instead of tightening them with all my might) I have had no trouble, its been on my truck for over 7000 miles now.

 

I think the fx4 looks a hell of alot better, its bent, it has a nice shifter ball and its factory.

 

Sure it looks better, but the bend doesn't mean anything, the throw and action are still stock mush. As for factory; I bet any dealer that would give you a hard time on warranty with a Hurst would do the same thing with a "non-stock" FX4 handle.

Seriously, after shifting with the Hurst shifter, I could NEVER go back to stock.

 

The FX4 handle is bent differently. I have found that my hand doesn't hit the radio when going into first anymore like it did with the stock lever. I was always turning the radio off or changing stations when shifting gears, not anymore. It brings first gear closer to the driver, exactly the way I like it. I know it doesn't change anything inside the trans, but it does do more than just look good. :)

 

Yes I'm not arguing that it doesn't relocate the shift ****, but the throw distance is exactly the same, and the mushy shifting action is exactly the same.

Let me put it this way: with the stock arm I missed 3rd gear OFTEN when shifting quickly; with the Hurst I've NEVER missed a gear.

 

Yeah I love my Hurst shifter, and its got a great bend on it, I also don't think I could ever go back stock...

http://geocities.com/zetaomega707/truck/DSC00021.jpg

(cut and paste)

oh yeah its the stock hurst out of a 68 Camaro SS...

 

You mean the arm is the same part #? Obviously the shifter mechanism itself is designed for the Ranger.

 

HAHAHAHAAA look at the awesome krispy cream donut napkin in his truck lol

 

just wondering if hurst has fixed the leaky problem. B/C i'm tired of missing gears,grinding,not going into gear at all. So when I get the xtra money I wanna either get the hurst or FX4.

 

I have been thinking about going with a Hurst setup. The cheapest I found was 235 bucks, anyone know where I could order one cheaper or should I go ahead and order it up for that price ?

 

Mine was $199.95 + shipping from Summit, but that was more than 9 months ago.

 

Mine was 208 with shipping from Jegs...

 

Get the Hurst, I have one and its defiantly better than anything from the factory. The shorter throws and the solid shaft make for much more positive gear engagments.

 

I missed maybe 10 shifts in the lifetime I owned my old truck (13,000 miles and 2+ years) and most of those were on the race track. It's not that hard to shift, you just gotta watch how you let out the clutch early.

But I saw and felt Bryan's (BJV11's) hurst shifter, and it was butta!

 

Still love my Hurst Shifter.

 

Me too, I'm having a little trouble with the **** though. I grip it really hard when I'm shifting so the the nut that stops the ball is spinning more to the left and the ball is facing towards me more and more. I also want to find a way to insulate the ball to try and get rid of some of the tranny meshing noises.

 

Try using a spot of lock-tite on the shift ****.. I've never experienced any problem with the **** moving; I grabbed it with a rag and REALLY torqued the stop-bolt up to it.

The mesh noise I don't even notice any more. I do have to re-adjust my stops, because I'm getting some rattling again.

 

The stop adjustment is crucial to stopping the rattles. Just takes some time, but it's worth it. I added a ton of stuff to mine and managed to contain 75% of the noise. It worked, but I was concerned about heat retention. Here's what I did:
http://www.cpu-net.com/host/gndnovak/Hurst2.htm

I'm sure after a while I would have grown accustomed to the noise. I wussed out, and sold the shifter after I got a quick offer on it. In retrospect, it is a great product and makes the shifting 1000% better. I was less inclined to keep it, since Hurst sent it to me free as an eval. I spent LOTS of time testing and tuning, and in the end got a bit burned out. I should have concentrated more on the performance aspect and less on the noise. I'm a wuss, I know :p

 

Yeah George, I took ALOT of time to get my stops adjusted, this time I'm going to use some lok-tite, although it took a full 8 months for them to loosen and start rattling again.

I took my dad's 98 for a drive and I cannot believe how much I hate the stock action. The noise is VERY worth putting up with.

 

Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of trying gear lube in the shift cup. Mark and I thought it would absorb noise and provide even better shifting. Dumb idea. Noise got louder, and I had to gently scoop out all the lube. An acoustical engineer I'm not, that's fo sure.

About 50% of the noise comes right out of the top of the shift cup. You can verify this by outting your hand or a towel over top when driving. The sound absorbing "donut" that I make actually worked the best. Looked goofy, but it worked. The vibration dampners that Hurst sent worked the least. The serrated groves in the arm shredded them.

 

what kind of noise are we talking about with the hurst shifter? i reaaaaaaaaaaaaally am curious as to what it sounds like. and this leak sounds crappy.

 

wow, talk about bringing back an old thread. I havent heard from Zero in a while. hought he was posting again.

 

The noise is gear-mesh noise. The rattling can be controlled with occasional adjustment of the stop bolts. mine leaked because the rubber gasket that came with it was inadequate.. I but a bead of silicone in there instead and have had no problems since.