Getting new ax15 from novak and i want a new shifter. Need it quick. So i can get a factory one cheap, or i can get a short throw which i would prefer. I swear i seen a b&m shifter clone that was WAY cheaper. Does anyone have a link to that so i can check it out? Also, does anyone have a link to a good priced factory shifter so i can get an idea of what i would need for that? Weighing my options. Need to order soon so i can get this thing driving again. Thanks, as always
AX15 shifter options
- Thread starter Siwash89
- Start date
Think i found it. Anyone try one of these?
https://cosmoracing.com/en/jeep-wra...-6cyls-ax15-5-speeds-sport-short-shifter-jeep
https://cosmoracing.com/en/jeep-wra...-6cyls-ax15-5-speeds-sport-short-shifter-jeep
I've got the B and M on my AX-15 and it's fantastic.
-Mac
-Mac
I ordered the cosmo, i will update when i get it installed. Not sure how long it takes coming from canada
I’m always the outlier but I had a B&M on my AX15 and after a while really didn’t care for it. I started by buying and installing it around 10 years ago. On both of my transmissions (original and new) it would push fluid past the tower gasket up until I drilled and tapped the base for a breather fitting. I also just got tired of sports car style shifts on an old Jeep transmission. Felt unnatural to me. I’m back to stock and prefer it.
If you were doing stock then you’d need to simply pop one of these stock levers into the shift tower that is already installed on the new trans. The new trans will have the shift lever base already installed it too but half the time it’s the wrong one for a TJ and you end up with the YJ version which doesn’t work right for TJ. The difference is straight or curved, straight for YJ and curved for TJ.
https://ebay.us/m/vEbtyf
If you were doing stock then you’d need to simply pop one of these stock levers into the shift tower that is already installed on the new trans. The new trans will have the shift lever base already installed it too but half the time it’s the wrong one for a TJ and you end up with the YJ version which doesn’t work right for TJ. The difference is straight or curved, straight for YJ and curved for TJ.
https://ebay.us/m/vEbtyf
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I'd be careful. Don't want to end up in a Venezuelan prison.
My only regret with the B and M was not heating up and bending the shifter lever before installation.
-Mac
I hear they have decent margaritas, oh wait that was El Salvador. Nevermind.
I wondered when I saw the cosmo or whatever..."hey doesn't that replace the housing that contains the factory breather?"
I don't mind the ax15 shifts, they already feel almost sporty compared to an nsg370 as it is.
I didn't realize it was a TJ vs YJ thing, I just figured it was all straight and I was expected to bend it into shape and cut to length, which is what I did.
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They say that the B&M vents through the top of the shift tower, but I can definitely say that mine did not...and there is an oil boot up there anyways so I'm not really sure how much that method of venting would work anyways. But I don't think it vents there. Every time I looked at mine, the entire top of the transmission was wet from gear oil pushing past the gasket. I definitely fixed the problem with the added barb fitting, but no one should have to do that and eventually I decided I didn't really like the shifts anyways. Feels more natural in a Jeep with the longer throws, I think.
It's weird about the shifter stub piece with the new transmissions. It seems entirely random what Novak ships you. You would think there would be a YJ vs a TJ part number for the transmission, like maybe one digit apart or something. But nope, they all are the same unit you order and you get one or the other, randomly. I lucked out and got the right one for my application.
To make it clear what I'm talking about:
TJ:
YJ:
The sticks will fit either, but swapping one or the other to the other vehicle it wasn't made for might make for a weird location of the knob. I'd actually probably like the TJ piece in my YJ but it would hit the cups in the cup holders.
Novak did give me a straight shift lever with an allen set screw and a shiny shift knob with a different thread than stock, but I wasn't a fan of any of that. Ended up sourcing used on eBay and went back to stock. Later reinstalled the B&M on the new transmission for a year or so (with the vent tapped), and then ultimately went back to stock again for good and got rid of the B&M.
Oh I thought you were referring to the stick being straight or shaped. The lower shifter that you're showing was definitely curved on mine.
Yeah, just talking about the base. I received the correct one but I've seen other YJ owners receive the curved one and some TJ owners receive the straight base.
The stick Novak supplies is definitely just a straight piece, which they want the end user to bend. I didn't feel like dealing with that though.
I would rather not have, but by the time I really came to the realization, I was trying to get it put together and didn't want to wait two weeks for a stock shifter from eBay to take a tour of the country via fedex, so I just did it. I also didn't like the knob they provided, and since I had to cut it to length I put it back to the normal threads while I was at it.
Another B&M proponent. Had it on the NV3550 and then again on the AX15. The short shift is definitely a love or hate thing. On the turnkey AX15 it super close.. there is zero play when in gear. I mean ZERO. To contrast that, even with the B&M installed the amount of play in any gear on my old NV3550 was greater than the play in neutral on the AX15.
Didn't know there was a clone by Cosmo. Not like there is a lot of complexity to the design, so maybe worth a shot.
I haven't noticed and gear oil leaking.
Didn't know there was a clone by Cosmo. Not like there is a lot of complexity to the design, so maybe worth a shot.
I haven't noticed and gear oil leaking.
When I installed my B&M, I had read about the vent issue, so installed a remote vent hose like the front differential and ran the hose up next to that under the hood.
As far as shifter feel, I love it. It's notchy for sure, but very direct with short throws. Prior to the TJ my manual vehicles had been older BMWs and in comparison the stock TJ shifter felt like driving a bus.
As far as shifter feel, I love it. It's notchy for sure, but very direct with short throws. Prior to the TJ my manual vehicles had been older BMWs and in comparison the stock TJ shifter felt like driving a bus.
Are we really still talking about an AX15 ?? huh ??
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