Easy guide to installing UUC shifter from the top

[Berserker]

This is a step by step guide to installing the UUC shifter and bushings from the top. You do not need to remove the exhaust or driveshaft. It's actually really easy. I learned how to do this from a few different threads so I can't take credit for any of this. I took a few pictures when I did mine which I used here. Hopefully this can be used as a one-stop guide for people nervous about installing the shifter themselves. The only problem is I can't remember what size sockets I used. I know it was a combination of metric and standard. If anyone remembers, please post it.


1) Pull the front end of the car onto some rhino ramps or put it on jack stands. Move both seats all the up. Remove the plastic caps covering the bolts in RED. There are two bolts on each side that need to be removed. (Pic1)

2) Move both seats all the way back. Pull the carpet back exposing the bolt in RED (at the front of the center console.) There is one on each side that need to be removed.(Pic2)



3) Shift into second and pull up on the knob until it comes off. Pop off the plastic frame at the bottom of the shifter boot to remove the boot. (Pic3) shows the knob and boot removed.



4) Lay a clean rag on the driver’s seat. The center console should be free except for the wires connected to it. Unclip the connector (RED) from the passenger side .(Pic4) Pull the console up and unhook the wires in it. (No need to disconnect any wires, you just want enough slack in them to allow you to move the console around.) Carefully set the console on the driver’s seat. Remove the thick foam piece from around the shifter.

5) Remove the four nuts marked in RED. Remove the two bolts marked in BLUE. Pull the platic piece you just unbolted off. (Pic5)

6) Drill out the two rivets marked in RED.(Pic6)


7) Get under the car. You will see the bottom of the shifter sticking through the floorboard behind the transmission. It is held on with one bolt. Hold the bolt from the driver’s side while you unscrew the nut from the passenger’s side. SAVE THESE BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO NEED THEM. Once the bolt is removed the shifter should easily pull out from the top. (If it won’t pull out, you haven’t drilled the rivets out enough)

8) There is a white bushing on the stock shifter just above the dust boot. Use a small flat blade screwdriver and pry the tabs on the bushing apart. Use the grease that came with the shifter to grease up the ball on the UUC shifter. Install the white bushing over the ball on the new shifter with the chamfered side facing up. The directions that came with the shifter illustrate this process well.

9) Put the new shifter in and install the new nuts and bolts where the old rivets used to be. MAKE SURE YOU STICK THE BOLTS DOWN THROUGH THE TOP. Have a friend hold the bolts from the top, and install the nuts from under the car.

10) Now it’s time to reinstall the shift linkage to the shifter. This must be done from the bottom. Your shifter came with two metal bushings. Stick these metal bushings in each side of the bottom of the shifter. Turn the shifter so that the rounded end faces AWAY from the shift linkage. Reinstall the original bolt and nut. The bolt goes through the linkage and the metal bushings on the UUC shifter. Tighten the nut so that it is just a little snug. You do NOT want to make it very tight or you the shifter will feel very stiff.

11) This step is only if you are installing the polyurethane bushings. The bushings are marked BLUE. (Pic6) Slide the metal piece forward, off of the stock bushings. Pull off the stock bushings. Slightly chamfer the small end off the new bushings. Grease them up put them on where the stock ones were. Make sure the large ends are facing the rear of the car just like the stock ones in Pic 6. The slits should be facing up so you can see them. Use a screwdriver to pry the metal piece back over the bushings. Hold each bushing as you pry so that they stay straight and do not come off.

12) Reinstall everything in the opposite order it was removed. You do not want to have to remove the knob from the UUC shifter because it is REALLY tough to get off. Before you install the knob, make sure the transmission will shift alright. Install the knob and enjoy. If she shifter is really hard to shift, you probably tightened the bolt that connects the shifter to the linkage too tight. Just loosen it up a little.

[mike041357]

Great write up!

Reed, can we get this into the FAQ?

The only comments I would have are 1) if you're nervous about drilling the rivets from inside the interior, you can drill them from the bottom as the concave part of the rivet makes it easy to center the drill from the bottom. Watch for hot shavings in your face, though. Make sure you use a large enough drill bit. If it's too small, they'll just spin. 2) You don't have to chamfer the new bushings. If you grease them up real good, use the plastic covered handles from some long channel locks to for leverage to pry them in.

[darkman]

Echo - great write up!

[OldRoadDawg]

Agreed - Very nice write up.
One very minor suggestion. First thing - pop that plastic frame off where it holds the boot to the console. THEN remove the shift knob (grunt). Otherwise you could break off a retainer tab on the frame when the knob releases abruptly. Ask me how I know this ..

[Chef]

well done!

[AirCav]

Sweet! Great job.

As far as tools, you will need need 10mm and 13mm combination wrenches up top. (You can reinstall by yourself if you brace the wrench handle up top against something to hold the bolt from turning) Underneath a 13mm socket, extension, flex joint, and a ratchet for installing the bolts/nuts that replace the rivets. Also underneath, you will need a 5mm allen (hex) wrench and a 13mm combination wrench for removing/reinstalling the shifter linkage bolt.

Lindsay's bushings went in easier than I expected. Lube 'em and use the handles of a channel-lock levered against the floorboard sheetmetal to push them in. The "split" in them will try to separate if you don't hold it together. Be a little patient. The only thing that didn't go "textbook" for me was that I tore the rubber dustboot that is transferred from the old shifter to the new one. It's probably doable, maybe I was just too impatient. Maybe lube it better.

Install the CAGS eliminator while you have it up in the air. It installs so quick that it's not worth jacking up just for that.

[ewill3rd]

Survival of the dust boot is random and unpredictable.
It can depend on the temperature of the pieces when you are working and how much heat the boot has been exposed to.

[Vee]

Did This Install Tuesday !!!!

What a great write up..I got started at about 9am and was test driving my '05 by 1pm...4hrs...In my driveway with ramps !! The only 2 parts that were a pain in the a$$ were the drilling rivets (actually one rivet was easy, the other gave me a hard time), and the UUC bushings. I knew going in that these were the 2 steps that would eat up a little extra time. Other than that I'd say overall the install was easy. I know I could have knocked an hour off if I had a lift (it was a tight squeeze getting under her).

The only thing that seemed to be missing in the instructions was what to do with the small dust boot attached to the stock shifter...I simply lubed it up, and transferred it to the UUC unit....Oh, and like the author, I did have to slightly chamfer the new bushings. I spent about 20 minutes trying to get the bracket over them before i broke out my razor-knife, then in about 2 minutes after chamfering them slightly it slipped right over them (with lube and plier handles).

Also, remember during reinstallation to do the 2 bolts in blue from PIC 5 first before doing the 4 red ones. Step 12 does say to do everything in reverse, but I got mixed up and killed another 10 minutes undoing and redoing. Oh well

As far as the shifter is concerned....IT IS AWESOME !!!!

Thanks again for the great write up !!!!

[darkman]

Since you obviously benefit from this forum please consider becoming a supporting member.

[Black Sunshine]

Thanks for the great write-up.

Exactly as I did mine except for:

Put masking tape around edge of top opening. Helps from getting blood everywhere.

Drilled rivets from bottom.

[Twitch]

BUMP!!!
Installed my shifter Sunday. Read the UUC instructions, threw them out and used this thread.
In addition to the tools above, the drill bit is 5/16, and your better off using a 10mm deep socket. I would also use 13mm short and deep sockets with two ratchets for the bolts that replace the rivets. Its a PITA holding down the bolt while someones applying pressure from the bottom to tighten the nut.
Drove it two days and I'm really happy with it.
My only question is, when I shift you can really hear it go into gear. No big deal, just wondering if thats normal.
Everybody says it should be your first mod, I think I've enjoyed the exhaust more, although the shifter is a must. Maybe my stocker wasn't that bad.
Few more mods in the mail

Tony

[keithsm2]

i can here mine go into gear......my son thought i was shifting hard......I assume you did the bushings too??
did your magnaflow bolt right up?? or was there much modding to do?? I cannot decide on full exhaust or cat back....

[rand49er]

Originally Posted by Twitch

... when I shift you can really hear it go into gear. No big deal, just wondering if thats normal. ...

I noticed a whirring sound that, to me, sounded like the synchros or whine of gears meshing when I did mine ... kinda a bit raw and mechanical (duh!), but not at all intolerable. A little bit of Dynamat on the shifter, and it was subdued significantly.

[keithsm2]

where can i get this Dynamat?? I have some squeaks in the door and other places id like to try and tidy up.....
That one in the instrument glass is driving me bonkers.....
and for the sunroof......is that just an adjustment or a complete redo for the dealer??

[Twitch]

The Magnaflow was surprisingly easy, bolted right up. I did it by myself, on ramps, on a cold night and probably faster than the shifter.
As for rattles and noises,,,,my cars quiet as a mouse.