klepto

Disclaimer: by using these guides, you are removing me from any liability that is related to any injury that might occur. I would suggest having a friend help you on these installs, if you are unsure about your abilities for any of these projects, get a professional to do it.

The prelude shifter from a 92-96 vtec prelude can be swapped out for our stock ones and pretty much act as a short shifter. The overall height is lowered by at least an inch and the throws are a bit shorter and feel more "solid" as well. I like this mod because its a good cheap alternative to an expensive short shift kit which can run $100+ I personally picked up my prelude shifter off a local guy for $10. Thanks to d98clturbo and ju5tchi11en for some tips on this mod.

Estimated Time: ~5 hours

Tools:
Long Screw Driver (Flathead)
Grease/oil
Philips Head Screw Driver
Socket Wrench
Pliers
Hammer
Dremel
the shift collar thingie (#27) in the picture. you can get it from www.hondaautomotiveparts.com (this isnt a necessity, but it'll make your shifter a bit smoother, might as well. This is only needed if it didnt come with your shifter already



its # 27 in the pic

112378 | 027| 1 | COLLAR, CHANGE WIRE |$4.51



1. Pull out the cupholder and the cd holder in the center console, remove these screws


2. Pull the center console out slowly, maneuvering around the e-brake, then remove these two screws


3. Open up the glove box, remove this screw


4. Get underneath the glove box and remove this screw, there's one on each side


5. Remove these two screws on the left side of the glove box


6. Take out the coin holder and remove the screw behind it, begin to take the plastic piece under the steering wheel off, its just held in by some tabs


7. Take the radio out, unplug the hazard lights and clock, take out the ashtray and remove the plug behind it, unscrew and unplug everything behind it


8. You can now slowly take out the dash


9. Unbolt everything thats circled


10. For this piece, take a pair of pliers and bend the metal tab and pull it out.


11. Using a hammer and flathead screwdriver, pound these tabs away and off from the shifter cables


12. Remove the shifter assembly and flip it over, start by removing this bolt


13. And then remove these bolts


14. Transfer everything over to the prelude shifter, including the little plastic square box at the end


15. You're going to have the either hammer or cut these two metal tabs off because when you shift, the shifter with be blocked by these "bump stops", I chose to cut them off with a dremel


16. Bolt everything back up with the prelude shifter in and put the dash back together and you're done!


Stock Height:


Prelude shifter height:

Palayah8ta

I recently did this mod, and its the best $30 i ever spent. Wow wat a difference:

Warning from the palayah8ta....
Its really hard to do step #15. It took me 1 hour on just that step. if u do not have a dremel i wouldnt recommend trying without it. I had to resort to bolt cutter. haha. annoying!!
and... Step 11.
Pulling these tabs off with a flathead and a hammer. It required a lot of hammering. took me 1/2 an hour on just this,
i recommend having a buddy help u on this part too.
Goodluck!!
Thanks klepto, u are da man

d98clturbo

GREAT write up!!!.....thanx for mentioning my name

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

if you dont have a dremel you can just drill out those tabs, thats what i did

Bigpimpin18

ok I just got my prelude shifter yesterday. I wasn't going to install it until I got my short shift lever for it. So should I get the prelude short shifter or the accord?

Bigpimpin18

ok I just got my prelude shifter yesterday. I wasn't going to install it until I got my short shift lever for it. So should I get the prelude short shifter or the accord? Also what would happen if I cut off 3/4" on the shifter?

klepto

you should get the shift kit for the prelude, since you have a prelude shifter now. If you cut off 3/4 of the shifter, you would need to rethread the top and everything. Not really worth it IMO

Bigpimpin18

I wouldn't need to rethread, because I have a shift knob that screws down. It's a sparco one. But I wouldn't hurt anything if I cut it would I? Also wut kinda grease should I get?

Palayah8ta

Hey klepto, i was thinking about my installation and i remember just taking the prelude shifter to Home Depot and matching a bolt to fit it.. I dont think that its very good. theres about a centimeter of jiggle. Do u know the exact specs of the bolt? u should add it to the list on the top of stuff u need..

klepto

good thinking i totally forgot about that, you need this small like cylinder sleeve thingie. Its not a must, but it'll prolly make your shifter a bit smoother.



its # 27 in the pic

112378 | 027| 1 | COLLAR, CHANGE WIRE |$4.51

Palayah8ta

I bought 24,26, and 27 just right now. It will be OEM style now. The jiggle was bugging me..

Thanks Klepto

jus_cl

is there a bushings kit for the mod also. and i heard adapters mess up ur tranny. if so why

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

adapters dont mess up nothing..

Palayah8ta

i put the sleeve, bolt and washer thing in yesterday. WOW made a HUGE diff. i wouldnt do this mod without it..

Bigpimpin18

today I installed the prelude shifter. I was also going to do the prelude short shift bracket, but whenever I would go into first, third, or fifth gear, it would hit the trim piece around the shift boot. SO WUTEVER U DO DO NOT GET THE SHORT SHIFT BRACKET. Check out my cardomain page for pics of the shifter. oh btw I also cut the threads off, that's y it's so short.

klepto

if you search, people have noted this. you have to cut the shift boot a bit so that it wont hit.

Palayah8ta

Man it looks good, congrats. But why does it lower than mine?

Bigpimpin18

well I also cut my threads off.

klepto

VaTECh_CL

Did you put any grease on the sleeve?

Palayah8ta

i did..

acuratl_2nr

I've been wondering about this mod... do you need the shifter from a 92-96 prelude VTEC or just any 92-96 prelude??

klepto

like I stated in the DIY, you need the VTEC shifter. I think

acuratl_2nr

I'm guessing the vtec and non vtec shifters are the same but I need to know for sure...

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

i dont think it matters

acuratl_2nr

For future reference, the Honda part number for the sleeve that goes on top of the bolt that holds the gear change wire is 90166-SS0-000 I will post a pic of what it looks like tomorrow when I recieve it...

acuratl_2nr

I did this mod a few days ago. I took a few pics to help the future DIY'ers...
The first pic shows the sleeve you have to buy... The actual Honda part number is on the bag beside it. I highly reccomend to get this part before attempting this mod.

The second pic shows the sleeve and the bolt that goes with it. It's a good idea to get both the sleeve and bolt from the dealer if it didn't come with your shifter. In my case, the bolt was on the shifter so I didn't have to buy it.

Also, for people that were wondering, the Prelude shifter plate doesn't bolt up to our car. A few holes are a little off... I hope this helps the future A-cl.com DIY'ers

hornedfrog2000

Rise from the dead!!!

Is this the only part I would need to do this, or do I need part 27 or whatever? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Prelu...spagenameZWDVW Thanks.

1V4N

I just picked up a 92-96 Prelude shifter assembly, and will be ready to install into my 99 2.3CL.

Just to clarify, it will only be the stock shifter stick thats primarily being swapped out, and the Prelude one being installed?

So the Prelude plate and pretty much everything is discarded then?

Sorry for the newb questions, just curious since there wasn't a pic (from Klepto's DYI) after image #15 showing a bare shifter stick installed back onto the shifter plate assembly.

Thanks to Klepto and everyone else who's done up this DYI, to inspire noobs to attempt such a kewl mod.

acuratl_2nr

you only need to change out the shifter rod, the prelude shift plate will not bolt up. Be sure to have a drill or a grinder on hand to remove the metal tabs on your CL shift plate...I would go to the honda dealer and pick up the sleeve that goes on the bolt that connects to the shift cable, it only costs a few bucks and it will make the shifter stiffer....

1V4N

Thanks for the reply!

As always the AZ forums are by far the most helpful out of the all the other various forums which I've been on.

Thanks again. I'm glad I am lucky enough to own a CL and of course be amongst those who share in the pride of owning a sweet ride.

hornedfrog2000

Quick question. Couldn't you just cut out like 2 inches off the rod, and then weld the top threaded part back on and screw the knob back on?

hornedfrog2000

Nvm. I see it would only shorten your shifter, and not actually how far your pivot points angle would have to move.

1V4N

Well I finally had time to install the Prelude shifter into my ride.

It took less time than expected because I didn't hammer out the tabs as pictured in step #11, however I simply disconnected the bolts that were connected to the shifter & the bolts that mount to the transmission tunnel, then turned the whole assembly on its side to remove the parts underneath the shifter assembly (refer to original image posted by klepto):



What a difference once it was all put back together.

One question though, which I hope Klepto or others can answer:

It seems its much easier to pop out of gear now, due to the closer shifting points.

And I seem to have some concerns with my 5th gear when on the highways. As soon as I shift from 4th to 5th for cruising -- it pretty much pops right out of gear, since it won't stay in just that gear, only in 4th and lower!

Can anyone chime in ?

1V4N

NVM

I simply decided to grind/shave down the tab further and it now holds firm in 5th

Guess I was a bit impatient and didn't cut it down enough.

For those interested in doing the mod, it's fantastic.

1V4N

Here is the end result of my mod.

Pictured is the Momo Cobra shifter w/ black leather boot I picked up for only $25!



Thanks to Klepto for the great DIY to get my inspired for this mod.

j2kei

i've been trying to get the shifter for quite a while now. i live in socal (LA area) and only one junkyard said they have it right now, but their price is expensive. where did you guys pick yours up?

another question is about cutting the trim around the shift boot. is that really necessary or is it because some cut thread off that shorten the lever even more that the knob hits the trim?

asianspec

iTrader: (1)

e-bay

j2kei

ebay isn't exactly the greatest, ive tried and most of the time it is sold as the complete assembly + linkage cables, which doesnt come out cheap. craigslist also shows up nothing.

klepto

gotta keep looking, guess I got lucky with my find. I found the dude on craiglist though.