Got a quick question for you boys regarding the A-Series short shifter kit.

The kit includes a new gearshifter and a bracket plus instructions for installation.

Now the installation kit advises to tap & die the gearbox bolt cire clip hole's with a 10x1.25 now i have attempted the tap and die installation idea but i can't get it to Tap correctly with a 10x1.25 the tap would only be around .1 - .3 (thats if my eye sight is correct) of a millimetre larger then the original hole's. Which technically should be enough for the thread.

But my issue is i just cant get it to tap - i have attempted via hand tap and die and also attempted with a drill with very slow speed to get it to work but nothing seems to be going my way.

Now my main question is it possible for me to just tack the bracket with the MIG?? thus resolving the issue very quick. (or is it not possible to tack weld on the gear box?? - the gearbox is a 56a series 5 speed)

Or will i need to tap it a larger size i.e 10x1.35 and just fingers crossed it works. But the issue in this instance is the bracket has a 10x1.25 hole which means that would need to be drilled a little larger.

Is anyone running one of these kit's??

Main reason i want to run this kit is so i DON'T have the gear lever loose and wooble in the gearbox.

Here is the run down on the kit and the link for the picture.

Product No - SSRA-S
Short Throw Shifter (A-Series Gearbox)
Reduce the distance between gear changes and do away with your old floppy shifter. Bolt-on application includes new chromed shifter, adapter, bolts and new bushes. Comes with instructions.

http://maddat.com.au/products/ssras.htm

your old shifter flop will just be perished plastic pieces, sorry i cant help with tapping, that makes it impossible to install in a car though,

you can't use a longer bolt and put a nylock nut on instead?
welding to the box should be ok (that part would be steel i would think) but that may be a pain in the but later if you want to remove it

Is the gearbox out of the car? Never use a "tap" in a drill, it will just end in tears. Whats the size of the hole atm? For a good thread engagement, the hole should be 8.75mm [8.5mm will be a bit tight to tap, 9mm will be a little loose. Have a look for an imperial drill bit thats close to the money if you have one.

Maybe ring maddat? They should be able to help you out if that's where you bought it from? They might have had people with the same problem so hopefully they could tell you exactly what to do.

First things first. If the tap size is a M10x1.25 then the drill size will be 8.8mm. An a series shifter hole is approx 8.8 to 8.88mm so Maddat have chosen the tap size correctly. But do you have the right tap. Make sure that you have a M10x1.25 tap and not just any tap will do. It needs to be a starting tap. Not an intermediate or finishing tap. Someone with a bit of experience might get away with an intermediate tap but it will be tricky.

You should not need a drill. Measure twice, tap once.

The internet is full of useful tapping information at your fingertips. From actual professionals.

drill tapping chart

Edit;




If yous is the top tap it's the wrong one. The third tap is the type you want for starting into hardened steel.

Basic tapping instructions will give you a rough guide, I am only assuming that you have not done this before. Also, you will need to put some cloth inside the shifter quadrant to protect it from the metal shavings.

Personally I would have the gearbox on the bench at the least for this job.

BTW, it looks like a nice basic shifter kit.

I did this little conversion in my ute about 6 months ago.... Yes it would be easier to take the gearbox out but I managed to get it done with the gear box still in.

The trick to the tapping is 'do it slowly'. It was a bit of a pain and we had to jack the gearbox up from under the car to push the holes your trying to tap through the tunnel. Make sure your tap is square otherwise your going to end up screwing your bolt in in some silly angle.

I also ground off the top of the shifter mount to allow the new mount to slide over and sit down correctly... see my very poor diagram attached.

Hope that helps.

Quote:

I have taped many things before im just not sure where im going wrong... i didnt think id need to state its an m10x1.25 as we are Australian so i thought it would be a given that its metric. I do have a large cloth in the quadrant hole. but i just cant get it to start tapping
In regards to drilling the tap what i mean is to put the m10x1.25 bit into the drill and slowly tap using the drill instead by hand not actually drilling the hole itself. but as stated from "benny" its not a good idea so i won't be doing that again.

This is the same Tap and Die Kit i have that i borrowed from my brother 76 piece snap on
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snap-On-76-pi ... ain_0&hash=item27c755859c

But i think the main issue is that i may not be using a starting tap i may have to look back through the set and see if there is a different m10x1.25 that may look like a starter tap.

The Gearbox is now out of the car so ill give it a go tonight and take your advise and check the tap itself.

All good got it all fixed was clearly using the wrong tap 10x1.25 found another in the set and worked a charm