MGW GT500/TR6060 Shifter Install Guide

[Flapjack]

I recently received the new GT500 shifter from MGW and decided to do a writeup. This shifter should work on any S197 with a TR6060, so long as you're using the stock GT500 shifter (need to reuse a few parts).

This guide is designed to complement MGW's instructions, not replace them. If in question, always fall back on their instructions, as they're likely more accurate than my methods.

To start out, the shifter is beautiful. It is easily the smoothest shifter I've ever had. The adjustability makes it even better. I currently have mine

set to 4, though I won't be able to really see if that's where I want it until the engine goes back in.

At any rate.... it's been a while since my last writeup, so here goes. As always, all pictures are clickable.

MGW GT500 Adjustable Short-Throw Shifter Install

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Step 1

The first step for me was to put the car up on four jackstands, as high as possible. More than 1/2 the install is from the underside, so give yourself

plenty of room:



The first thing you may notice is the engine is out of the car. This is a luxury many of you won't have (hey... trying to stay positive). Later on in the

install, you'll see some pics from inside the engine bay. While you won't get the same view, it will help you visualize the clips that hold the

front of the shifter linkage to the tranny.

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Step 2

The next step was to unpack the shifter components and hardware. Everything was incredibly well packaged and has everything you'll need (except for a bolt

you'll reuse from the stock GT500 shifter).



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Step 3

Now we move onto removing the stock shifter from inside the car. Before you do so, make sure the shifter is in neutral. If you have any tires on the

ground, also ensure the e-brake is on. Even if you're on jacks, having the e-brake all the way up helps in removing the console (steps coming up).

Next, remove the leather boot and the shift knob from the car. You may run into a situation where you can't remove the knob because of factory loctite. I

didn't have any such issue, but there are helpful steps in the MGW instructions in case you have this problem.



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Step 4

The next thing you'll need to do is begin removing the center console, both upper and lower.

Start with the two Phillips head screws under the lid of the rear console cubby. Once those are out, you can pull up on the upper console to remove it.

Some tugging is required, as the front is held down by fairly firm clips.



Throw it in the back seat :grinz::



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Step 5

Next comes the lower console. There's a little more to this... but not much.
(Don't mind my giant wire mess. It's for all the wiring I did for the headrest monitors, rear IR transmitters, video amplifier, etc...)

First step, remove the plastic pillars on each side of the radio/heater control area. A good pull from behind should get them to pop out.

Next, clean out that center console and pull up the felt mat to reveal two nuts in the bottom. You'll need a long extension and a deep well 10mm socket to

get to these.

After the rear nuts have been removed, look towards the front. You'll see two 9/32" trim screws. A multi-bit screwdriver works great on these (the holes

where the screws are have been circled in red).




With all four bolts/nuts removed, pull up on the lower console starting at the back and work your way up. It should come up with just a little upward

force. When you're done, it should look like this:



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Step 6

The next thing to remove will be the shifter handle itself. There are two 13mm bolts holding it down. Expect some yellow Ford Loctite... but it should

come out with a little muscle.



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Step 7

Moving onto the plate, you'll probably have different bolts than me, so grab the sockets you need and remove all four bolts surrounding the lower shifter

assembly.



Mine was kinda heat-glued to the top of the tranny tunnel, so I used a screwdriver to pop it up. Once it pops, simply lift it off to expose the stock

shifter assembly.



...continued

 

[Flapjack]

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Step 8

Now it's time to get under the car. Safety is paramount, so make sure you're car is securely jacked up. No corner cutting. Jacks are not the same as jackstands. I have seen them fail!

With that being said, the next thing you'll do is to disconnect the linkage arm from the tranny from the stock shifter. There is one large bolt holding it together. YOU WILL REUSE THIS BOLT, so save it!

Here are a few pictures of the bolt. In most cases, you'll need an allen wrench on the round side and a 17mm wrench on the other side (I have thumbs of steel and was able to hold the round side). This is where the work starts to get a little cramped, so take your time and it should come out fine.

NOTE: In some cases, this nut may be really tight. A thorough soaking with penetrating fluid should do the trick (I prefer "PB Blaster" over WD40).



Make sure to save the little asshole. I had to look all over my garage because I kicked it somewhere....



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Step 9

The next thing you'll remove is the rear support bracket itself. You will need a long extension and a deep well 6mm socket (or 10mm, in my case... not sure where they came from :think2: )



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Step 10

After this, MGW suggests you lower the transmission to gain better access to the bracket clips that secure the OEM shift assembly to the tranny. Now, you may think you can do this part without lowering the tranny (and maybe you can), but more than likely, you'll be lowering the tranny anyway after fussing and fighting with the clips for an hour or more.

Summary: Lower the tranny, please.

I was really, really fortunate to have the engine out, as I could move the tranny all over the place. With the engine in, you'll be fairly limited, but can still get enough wiggle room to get the clips out.

The pictures you're about to see are probably not what you how you will be looking at these clips, but they will help you to visualize where they are so you can get them out that much easier.

First off, understand what we are doing. There are two rotating clips on each side of the linkage. The best method I can recommend for getting them off is to use a stubby flat head screwdriver. You won't have room for much else. Once you get the screwdriver under the clip and loosen it a bit, you can use your fingers to pull it up the rest of the way. Once it's clear of the linkage arm, the pin pulls out to the outside of the car. Save these, you will need them later.

Chances are, you will not have enough clearance to get in under the clips and power them up. In this case, MGW's instructions for releasing the clips will be very, very helpful. I'll quote the instructions directly:

BASICALLY THERE ARE 2 PINS ..1 ON EACH SIDE WHICH HOLD THE ARMS TO THE TRANSMISSION. EACH PIN HAS A STEEL LATCH CLIP CAST INTO THE END OF IT THAT PIVOT DOWN AND SNAPS INTO A LEDGE IN THE ALUMINUM CASTING ON THE TRANSMISSION. THERE ARE VERY SMALL ACCESS HOLES THAT YOU CAN SLIP A SMALL ALLEN WRENCH OR PUNCH INTO TO PUSH AGAINST THESE CLIPS WHICH WILL RELEASE THEM SO THAT YOU CAN PIVOT THE CLIP UP AND JUST SLIDE THE PINS OUT. ITS REALLY A REACH AND FEEL AS THERE IS LITTLE ROOM TO ACTUALLY SEE WHERE THE HOLES ARE. THEY ARE JUST BELOW THE PIN THOUGH AND ONCE YOU GET A FEEL FOR WHERE THEY ARE YOU WILL HAVE NO TROUBLE ACCESSING THEM. WE PROVIDE A SMALL 1/16TH ALLEN WRENCH TO DO THE JOB. YOU DO NEED TO PUSH FAIRLY HARD TO RELEASE THE CLIPS .ONCE YOU HAVE THEM RELEASED SIMPLY PIVOT THEM UP AND THEN SLIDE THEM OUT . ONCE THEY ARE REMOVED THE SHIFTER WILL BE COMPLETELY FREE TO REMOVE FROM THE VEHICLE.

Either way, this is probably the most difficult part of the install. Patience will help more than might. Having a friend along who can hold a flashlight is also a good idea.

NOTE: MGW recommends removing the reverse lockout solenoid. I didn't have to do this, so I don't have pictures... but you may want to.



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Step 11

Next, you'll need to remove the shifter assembly from the car. This part is a bitch, no way around it. If you want to do it without removing the driveshaft, you'll need to pull it up through the inside of the car. The best way to do this is the work the front of the shifter arms so that they're pointing down on either side of the driveshaft. It'll take some work, but you should be able to get it.

NOTE: If all else fails, remove the driveshaft.


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Step 12

Now it's time to start installing the MGW shifter. The first part of installing it is to find the front two support arms that make up the front of the shifter linkage. Attach them to the front of the tranny the same way the OEM assembly fit in... with the OEM clips. Make sure the clips are secure. They will "click" or "pop when they are all the way down. Run your finger over them to make sure they are both as flush as can be.

When you're done, it should look like this:



NOTE: If you removed the reverse lockout solenoid, reinstall it now.
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Step 13

Now it's time to install the MGW rear support bracket. Find the bag, open it, and be careful the lube (it's messy). You'll want to install it where the rear support bracket was (remember the two studs with the 6mm bolts?). Make sure you install the bracket so the center adjusting screw in the middle is pointing towards the rear of the car.

MGW supplies Loctite to secure the bracket with the OEM nuts. Definitely use it.

NOTE: DO NOT overtighten these nuts. If you do, you run the very easy risk of snapping the studs off. You do not want to do that.



When you are done, it should look a little something like this:


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Step 14

The next step is to install the main body of the MGW shifter from inside the car. Simply drop the main body in the hole and line up the two large stainless pins with the holes in the rear support bracket. Slide the whole unit back.

It should look like this:


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Step 15

Using the supplied bolts and washers, connect the front support arms (connected to the tranny) to the main shifter body. You'll need to slide the main body up to make the hole meet.

Make sure to use the supplied Loctite on the bolts when installing them.

NOTE: If the tranny is still lowered, you'll likely need to raise it back up to get the holes to line up without the main shifter body dropping out of the bracket.



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Step 16

The next part of the install is to reattach the shifter linkage (with that bolt I said not to lose) and set your "throw". In case you forgot how it was when you removed it, the shoulder bolt goes in through the driver's side, and the nut goes on the passenger side. I went ahead and used Loctite on mine. You can never be too safe. You'll definitely need the allen wrench this go around to tighten it enough.



As for setting up the throw, I'm going to copy/paste the instructions straight out of the MGW, as they're important. I ended up on a setting of 4, which was much, MUCH better than stock.

NOTE FOLLOW THESE STEPS CAREFULLY!!!

FIRST THING IS TO TURN THE LINKAGE ON THE SHIFTER ( IT HAS A BIG ARROW THAT SAYS DRIVER ON IT ) ALL THE WAY IN CLOCKWISE UNTIL IT STOPS. THEN UNSCREW UNTIL THE ARROW IS POINTING TO THE DRIVERS SIDE THE FIRST TIME. THIS IS THE ZERO SETTING

THE MAX NUMBER OF TURNS YOU CAN SAFELY SET THE SHIFTER TO IS 10 ...THIS IS VERY NOTCHY AND RARELY IS ANYONE USING THAT EXTREME OF A SETTING. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEMPT TO SET THE SHIFTER LINKAGE ANYMORE THAN 10 TURNS OUT. THIS CAN DAMAGE THE SHIFTER, CAUSE IT TO BREAK AND WREAK HAVOC UNDER THE VEHICLE WITH THE SPINNING DRIVESHAFT. DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!! MOST PEOPLE HAVE PROVIDED FEEDBACK FROM OUR 2005-2010 SHIFTERS AND THE CONCENSUS SEEMS TO BE THAT BETWEEN 3-6 TURNS IS THE BEST BLEND OF SHORT THROW AND SMOOTH SHIFTING.

ONCE YOU GET IT SET , PUSH THE SHOULDER BOLT INTO THE LINKAGE ARM AND TIGHTEN THE LOCK NUT.

...continued

 

[Flapjack]

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Step 17

Nearing the end of the install, we're ready to put the rest of the shifter together inside the car.

First, lay down the rubber sheet that came with your shifter as shown in the picture below.

Next comes the MGW top plate (install with logo as shown below). Use the supplied bolts and washers, along with the back OEM nuts, to tighten down the plate. You will see some tar from the DynaMax sheet coming out. This is normal.

Finally, lay down the sound pad on top of the top plate and you are ready to put the upper and lower consoles back on.


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Step 18

Installation of the upper and lower console is reverse of normal.


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Step 19

Next, install the shift knob bracket onto the center shaft. You can play around with the orientation, but the pic below shows what I settled on.


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Step 20

Installation of the knob and shift boot will vary according to your setup. Mine, with stock shifter, is shown here.


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Congratulations! You're done. Go enjoy the best shifter made for the GT500 and the TR6060 transmission!!

A big thanks goes to George at MGW for getting this part out. It definitely is a fine piece of work!

 

[Dreadknought]

Very cool. This will be a great resource in the future.

 

[KIMMER]

Perfect timing, mine came in a couple days ago! Now, after I get done trying to get my truck fixed, I can install this and do a review for it. Can't wait! The quality of the parts is amazing compared to what's offered out there. MGW really seems to go above and beyond with the quality of their products!