stony
New member
- Location
- California
Doubtful you could do a DG install in under an hour unless you've done it before. Took me a two and a half hours, but the a lot of the time was spent troubleshooting. A few tips:
1) Read the instructions and layout your tools before you start.
2) I did the DG install along with a CAI, clutch delay valve delete, DV+, clutch pedal assist spring delete, and shift knob. Taking out the intake opens up a lot of access to different engine components, made sense to me to take a day and do it all at once.
3) WORST part was getting the factory front to back shifter bracket off. My car has 11,000 miles, and it was super tight. Struggled for 1/2 an hour to get that biyatch off through brute force. Given the few stories of people snapping the splined selector shaft, I was hesitant to put too much lateral load on the selector shaft. Took me another 45 minutes to come up with a solution. I used an edge clamp (instructions say you can use a battery terminal puller, but I have no idea what that is) - picture below. Worked great, pulled the bracket off the shaft with no issue, and I had no anxiety doing it this way.
4) Make sure you tighten the shiz out of the DG bracket clamps. On my first run, I tightened the 4 bolts on each of the two brackets (that hold the shift cable) until I got resistance. Drove around the block, couldn't shift into first or second, clutch smelled like a$$.
After cool-down, I checked and realized the cable could still move in and out of the brackets. Was bad for my transmission to drive with them not secured. Long story short - Tighten the hell out of those 4 bracket bolts (but don't strip the nut!). Tighten until you feel the resistance of the clamp around the shifter cable, not resistance from the aluminum disagreeing to being maleable. You don't want to open up your motor again, do it right and tight the first time. I tightened to the point there was probably enough room for a dime to pass through the gap in the clamp (if that). I tried using a micro ratchet with an allen bit that made maneuvering easier (shown below), but I found that after moderate resistance, the ratchet wrench would slip. Ended up using a regular allen wrench and box wrench, tightening one tool or the other depending on accessibility - harder to do this without a ratcheting device, but manageable unless you have big hands/fingers.
Oh yah, make sure that plastic pin in the motor goes ALL THE WAY IN. Not just a bit, push down the whole bracket/selector assembly, and while slowly letting it back up, lift the plastic pin up and push in at the same time, it'll hit the sweet spot and slide right in. If you did it right, your shifter and the alignment holes in the car should be easy to align/pin. If it's off and you're pulling/pushing in order to get the interior shifter pin in, go check the plastic engine pin again.
5) Be prepared for the bleed. I got a cheap $5 self bleeder from my local auto shop, taped a coke bottle to it, and bled my clutch line this way. Worked fine, was a little tricky, but no biggie no major delay.
6) I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Love love love the DG short shifter. More positive feedback when you select the gear, no feeling of elasticity, tight, quick. Along with the clutch delay valve delete and clutch pedal spring removal, this feels like a totally different car. Much easier to shift, much more pedal feedback.
Diverter valve (GFB DV+) and Intake (IE Cold Air) make the turbo sounds way louder but not like a crazy blow off valve. I popped on a custom color Raceseng Ology shift knob Core (and Sphereology head) which also improved the shifting experience greatly. The Raceseng shift knob's extra weight, shape, feel of the Delrin wrap, is the icing on the cake to the mods I did - a little overpriced for what it is, but I'd buy it again. Cool cool, good luck!
1) Read the instructions and layout your tools before you start.
2) I did the DG install along with a CAI, clutch delay valve delete, DV+, clutch pedal assist spring delete, and shift knob. Taking out the intake opens up a lot of access to different engine components, made sense to me to take a day and do it all at once.
3) WORST part was getting the factory front to back shifter bracket off. My car has 11,000 miles, and it was super tight. Struggled for 1/2 an hour to get that biyatch off through brute force. Given the few stories of people snapping the splined selector shaft, I was hesitant to put too much lateral load on the selector shaft. Took me another 45 minutes to come up with a solution. I used an edge clamp (instructions say you can use a battery terminal puller, but I have no idea what that is) - picture below. Worked great, pulled the bracket off the shaft with no issue, and I had no anxiety doing it this way.
4) Make sure you tighten the shiz out of the DG bracket clamps. On my first run, I tightened the 4 bolts on each of the two brackets (that hold the shift cable) until I got resistance. Drove around the block, couldn't shift into first or second, clutch smelled like a$$.
After cool-down, I checked and realized the cable could still move in and out of the brackets. Was bad for my transmission to drive with them not secured. Long story short - Tighten the hell out of those 4 bracket bolts (but don't strip the nut!). Tighten until you feel the resistance of the clamp around the shifter cable, not resistance from the aluminum disagreeing to being maleable. You don't want to open up your motor again, do it right and tight the first time. I tightened to the point there was probably enough room for a dime to pass through the gap in the clamp (if that). I tried using a micro ratchet with an allen bit that made maneuvering easier (shown below), but I found that after moderate resistance, the ratchet wrench would slip. Ended up using a regular allen wrench and box wrench, tightening one tool or the other depending on accessibility - harder to do this without a ratcheting device, but manageable unless you have big hands/fingers.
Oh yah, make sure that plastic pin in the motor goes ALL THE WAY IN. Not just a bit, push down the whole bracket/selector assembly, and while slowly letting it back up, lift the plastic pin up and push in at the same time, it'll hit the sweet spot and slide right in. If you did it right, your shifter and the alignment holes in the car should be easy to align/pin. If it's off and you're pulling/pushing in order to get the interior shifter pin in, go check the plastic engine pin again.
5) Be prepared for the bleed. I got a cheap $5 self bleeder from my local auto shop, taped a coke bottle to it, and bled my clutch line this way. Worked fine, was a little tricky, but no biggie no major delay.
6) I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Love love love the DG short shifter. More positive feedback when you select the gear, no feeling of elasticity, tight, quick. Along with the clutch delay valve delete and clutch pedal spring removal, this feels like a totally different car. Much easier to shift, much more pedal feedback.
Diverter valve (GFB DV+) and Intake (IE Cold Air) make the turbo sounds way louder but not like a crazy blow off valve. I popped on a custom color Raceseng Ology shift knob Core (and Sphereology head) which also improved the shifting experience greatly. The Raceseng shift knob's extra weight, shape, feel of the Delrin wrap, is the icing on the cake to the mods I did - a little overpriced for what it is, but I'd buy it again. Cool cool, good luck!
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