B&M Ripper Shifter Question

[Richard K]

Nice day in the Motor City today, so I decided to install my new B&M shifter. This one was a replacement for one that I had previously which broke... the upper shift handle separated from the lower body. Anyway, B&M replaced it free of charge. I noticed however that the new shifter doesn't have the 2 set screws and jam nut adjusters used to set the shift stops!?!?

Has anyone installed a ripper shifter in their Viper lately... I just want to be certain that this is just a change, and that the replacement I received is the correct one. Looks identical to the last one, just missing those set screws.

Thanks - Richard

 

[Richard K]

Thanks Freddie.... actually the screws aren't missing, they just aren't there.. no empty holes, nothing. The box label states it's for a Viper, but I'll give B&M a call Monday just to be certain. Maybe they've done away with them. Thanks.

 

[Mike Brunton]

Richard,

Don't worry about it. I had a problem installing my shifter, and I ended up talking to the guy that designed it. He walked me through it on the phone. When we got to the part about installing the set screws, he said they were about to do a design change and remove the screws, because the Viper transmission has internal shift stops and does not need ones on the shifter. He said that it can often cause more problems than it solves because people set them too tight and the transmission can jump out of gear, and that they get a lot of calls about it.

He recommended that I NOT install them, unless I had a habit of really thrashing the gears and I was concerned about breaking the internal stops, which he said was VERY unlikely even with the hardest shifts.

I didn't install them.

The bottom line is that your shifter is perfectly normal - you just have the latest version of it.

 

[Jerry Scott[CO]]

I had a similar conversation with Tremec in Farmington Hills, MI about a year ago. They told me the same thing, that the stops were redundant and if set too close would cause the transmission to jump out of gear and cause damage to the gear teeth, even if it happened only once. Since then I have gone back to the stock shifter with a modified left gate spring and I like this shifter better than any I've tried so far. I will bet that the 2003 shifter has this feature to correct the errant 3 to 2 shift.

 

[ACR Joe]

I installed an SVSi short throw shifter and while the housing is equipped with adjustable stops, the manufacturer indicated that their use is unnecessary. I used them anyway, but was extremely careful making the adjustment.

 

[Richard K]

Thanks guys! As usual I can count on the "Brotherhood" to come through with the answers.