Anyone hate their ripper shifter?

fastsc92

Registered User
For some reason I've had my ripper for over a year now, and I can't stand it. Sometimes I'd rather shift with a pair of vicegrips. The gears are so hard to get into, and I seem to miss 2nd gear A LOT because its so hard to get into. Not sure what everyone's opinion is on their's but the gears are VERY notchy, and 2nd is either hit or miss, and when you get it in there during a speed shift, its takes a fair amount of force and time. Maybe its time to switch to my rebuilt stocker again.
 
Hmm I love my ripper shifter. I have not really had a single thing to gripe about it yet.

Shane
 
fastsc92 said:
For some reason I've had my ripper for over a year now, and I can't stand it. Sometimes I'd rather shift with a pair of vicegrips. The gears are so hard to get into, and I seem to miss 2nd gear A LOT because its so hard to get into. Not sure what everyone's opinion is on their's but the gears are VERY notchy, and 2nd is either hit or miss, and when you get it in there during a speed shift, its takes a fair amount of force and time. Maybe its time to switch to my rebuilt stocker again.

I doubt its the shifter. Sounds like the trans needs a rebuild.
 
I never had any problems with mine. I actually made it worse by shortening the shifter. But as far a missing gear because of the shifter, nothing. Now I did miss 3rd every now and then while speed shifting. But that was because I didn't time the shift and the clutch right and let the clutch out to early.
 
Ripper

I love it, maybe cause my stocker was completely shot. I have never missed any gears with it YET. I would never go back though. Mike
 
Most likely if you love your Ripper you are probably comparing it to a worn out stocker or you just don't drag race. A freshly rebuilt stock shifter works just fine. In fact the nicest shifter I've used is a stocker that was shortened 1". It reduced the throws just enough and reduced the shifter mass slightly so that it just worked really well.

I have the Ripper in my one car and I have found that while it works fine on the street, I often miss 3rd gear at the track. It is just too stiff and it seems easy to miss the gates.

I found that removing the boot (mine got hard) off the top of the shifter and then removing all the padding around the boot helped reduce shifting effort.

Just because people "like" or "love" the Ripper doesn't mean it actually works better. Kinda like poly suspension bushings..... ;)
 
The car was fine for when I had the stocker installed. I rebuilt that shifter and it was actually nice. I've been living with it for over a year now, and never was really happy with it. Yes, on the street, it shifts fine. The shifts do feel more positive. However, the throw is actually not much, if any shorter, than a rebuilt stocker in my opinion. The shifts are just two darn notchy, and 2nd gear is the worst as it takes some effort to get it in there during speed shifts.

No the tranny does not need to be rebuilt, I've been down that road twice already. Its in tip-top shape. Just seems like the shifter, like Dave said, has a hard time find the shift gate.
 
Having driven a few 5 speeds with and without ripper shifters I can comment on my experience. The stock shifter works well until it begins to fall apart (internally) due to age and usage or your break it. The stock shifter does have a long throw and takes more time to shift between gears which bring me to the Ripper Shifter. The Ripper Shifter reduces the time it takes to shift between gears. This we know. When you shorten the time between shifts it requires the blocking rings to speed up the next gear faster than it did with the stock shifter. If your blocking rings cannot keep up with your shifting speed then you have a problem. New OEM fiber blocking rings work great until the material begins to wear (not wear out) then it takes more time to spin the next gear up and if it does not you feel the grind as it goes into gear. I use to get about 10k of good hard shifting out of a set of fiber blocking rings before it got really hard to shift.

Rich
 
My only problem with the ripper is it's got some damn tight spring tension which makes 4-5 interesting. But yes, the reduced throw just further accentuates the notchiness already present in the tranny.

Do you have an early model Ripper with shifter stops? B&M no longer makes the ripper with shifter stops because it could keep gears from fully engaging. Also, if you have an early shifter, your linkage is scraping the base plate which won't help for smoother shifts. Fortunately, you should be able to return your old style for either an overhaul or exchange for a newer style that has further cnc work to eliminate the scraping + no more shifter stops.

I would still rather have a shifter that is solid, positive and a little notchier than one that is sloppy and falling apart.

Micah
 
It could possibly be the way the whole assembly is bolted down onto the tranny. When I first got it, 3-4 was notchy, but 1-2 was smooth. Now its the reverse after I moved it slightly.

I agree, the shifts are more positive, but it adds to the notchyness of the shifter. The tranny has only about 6k on a new rebuild, and it shifts and feels smooth as silk.

Maybe later today I'll take the console apart and either try loosening it up some and playing with it, or just swap out for the stocker. Are there any tricks to installing the B&M shifter that i'm not aware about? Oh, and its a later style shifter without the stops.
 
no wait, its more like rowing or mixing a cauldron, I take the cement mixing thing back :eek: .I seriously hated the feel of the Butt Ripper or whatever its called :(
 
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I'm pretty happy with mine. I had it before the trans rebuild and it was much better than my worn out stock shifter that could move 2" left or right no matter what gear it was in. Now its tight. 2nd feels notchy, but the rest of the gears are fine. I am used to it.

Micah drove my car right after the trans rebuild and I think he was surprised at it to. I remember him offering to swap or buy it off me.
 
its mainly 2nd gear thats really notchy, but the rest aren't that smooth either. I guess its all just a matter a personal opinion, but in a racing situation, I dont think its the best choice. Unless I somehow put mine in out of adjustment.
 
I just replaced my 1-2 synchro hub because of a 2nd gear problem. Mine wouldn't physically engage on a REALLY quick shift. Trying to jam it just make a worse noise and still didn't engage. The teeth on my synchro hub were rounded and didn't positively connect with the teeth on my synchro right away. Even with new synchros the problem was still there. So I got a new hub. Just wondering if you've got other problems.

These tranny's are ugly sob's. If AOD's weren't so costly to build and quirky i would probably just give up the fight.

Micah
 
both the hub and slider on my tranny are in great shape, and all the teeth are pointed and not rounded over. Its def. an issue with the shifter because when I got it, I had problems with 3-4. I loosened the bolts and moved it a little and now 3-4 are fine and the issue when to 1-2. I'll have to fiddle around with it some more....if not it'll be up for sale soon. :rolleyes:
 
I would look at the bottom of the baseplate and see if it was cnc'd for clearance or not. If not, you'll see visible scrape marks. I've had mine on and off several times and never had the problems you are describing so I don't know what else to say. However, I might just blame my poor shifting on the ripper from here out :)

Micah
 
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