B&M shifter kills syncros...?

JOE91SC

Registered User
I was told that the B&M shifter will shorten the life of the syncros in our SC.... and just like to hear from anyone here that have good or bad experience with this shifter?

Thanks in advance.
 
I had one in my 93 SC with no issues. The transmission was rebuilt before I put it in though. I plan on putting one in my 94 SC before to much longer. Hope this helps. God bless.

Donny
 
I was told that the B&M shifter will shorten the life of the syncros in our SC.... and just like to hear from anyone here that have good or bad experience with this shifter?

Thanks in advance.

I don't agree with that at all. My buddy has an 89 with over 170,000 miles. 50,000 miles on the B&M and 120,000 on the stock shifter. No grinding problems at all. It's all determined by how well you know how to drive a manual. Most people beat the crap out of their cars so naturally bad things tend to happen like slamming gears with the occasional miss-shift that comes back to haunt the next owner if your lucky.
 
I've put 50k on mine with a B&M shifter. Autocross and Road Racing. Never had an issue. Of course I always rev match on down shifts (toe-heel) to avoid upsetting the car. I however never slow down on upshifts.

Did have a few missed shifts with the stock shifter which is why I got the B&M.
 
It's about time someone else here had some issues with their RIPPER shifter. I've killed 2nd gear on my Cougar and the car I took the RIPPER shifter off of has 2nd gear problems too. I know how to shift, it's not my poor attempts to power shift it or anything.... or maybe it is.... who knows... none the less ever since I started using it I've created issues.
 
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It's about time someone else here had some issues with their RIPPER shifter. I've killed 2nd gear on my Cougar and the car I took the RIPPER shifter off of has 2nd gear problems too. I know how to shift, it's not my poor attempts to power shift it or anything.... or maybe it is.... who knows... none the less ever since I started using it I've created issues.

maybe its not adjusted correctly with the stop points?
 
I just bought a 92 and it has the ripper in it and it has no problems as of yet although I have no Idea how long its has been installed.
 
There is no reason why the ripper should change syncro wear. The only possible issue I can see is that due to the shorter shaft is the reduced leverage to get things into gear. Thus the driver may be using speed to make up for the lost force from the leverage, forcing the syncro harder than it otherwise would be with a longer stick.

That said, it's up to the driver to take care.
 
There is no reason why the ripper should change syncro wear. The only possible issue I can see is that due to the shorter shaft is the reduced leverage to get things into gear. Thus the driver may be using speed to make up for the lost force from the leverage, forcing the syncro harder than it otherwise would be with a longer stick.

That said, it's up to the driver to take care.

He was saying something about the B&M shifts too fast...

From Sccowc:
vtgecgrs said:
The b&m will reduce syncro Life, the reason being the lever was already shortened for use in the sc versus the Mazda and the shorter throw is a bit too fast for the syncos to mesh properly. I know this sounds silly but I have found with prolonged use it becomes hard to get the car into gear.
 
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I have a Ripper in my drag racer and I go thru a set of blockers in about 1-1/2 to 2 years but I believe it's from constantly speed shifting it not from the Ripper itself. I agree with Mike, there is no inherent reason why it would wear out the blockers quicker. Perhaps, he is resting his hand on the shifter all the time while driving, putting pressure on the blocker and that causes it to wear faster. I do know of 2 people who have had the shift rod break leaving the transmission stuck in 3rd gear. One of them had to drive his home in traffic 20 miles with only 3rd gear! Apparently it puts pressure on the rod due to the rubbing it does on the bottom of the Ripper housing and causes the rod to fatigue in one spot and break. You can see this groove if you remove the ripper after it's been in for awhile. I took my air grinder and ground out the groove in mine to make sure the rod had clearance.
 
I guess what it really comes down to is.. it depends on how you shift. The stock shifter is more forgiven and B&M is not. specially if one were to abuse it. (constant hard bang shifts)

So far there are about 3 people that have issue with the B&M shifter and syncro issues, and they all take it to the strip.

So, are there anyone else?
 
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I've had my ripper for about 5 years and I like it. My trans was rebuilt in 03 but when I put the ripper on the synchro's were already shot. I put in brass blockers and it made the trans a bit notchy feeling but it will only grind on the 2-3 shift if I powershift it. I think it is an issue with the heavier synchro's than an issue with the ripper.

I love the ripper shifter.
 
I suspect that if I used the stock shifter instead, I'd still wear out the blockers from racing it several times a month.
 
I have a very low km SC, so my tranny and my stock shifter is in tip top shape..... I still find the B&M shifter made quite an improvement over stock. mainly in the positive feel, and it just clicks in gears. 3rd gear lines up perfectly.... you just push forward and it goes straight in. I don't drag race much.... but i do open her up occasionally tho.

I was a bit worried after hearing from John L (vtgecgrs) from Sccowc and Dave D (XR7 Dave) had issues with it. But it seems to me they shift very hard. I'm just wondering... if anyone here has gone through syncros with just the stock shifter?
 
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Ha, that's funny. Dave (Dalke, Sabados...hell, every Dave I know) can shift the stock shifter faster than me with a Ripper. SO I think it's the drivers who are unhealthy for their cars :)

You should find out if those who had issues with their Rippers had early models with the adjustable shifter stops and non relieved base plates. Don't know how many of those made it out, but I had both on my first one. Kept ejecting a locating spring from the handle so B&M replaced it and I got an updated one now.
 
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