PMS shifter - mods to ease the rattle

[RustyMojo]

So finally picked one up today! Before I fit I want to make sure I complete all the necessary mods to limit the rattling. Now I understand it’s a ‘track’ shifter, so it’s going to rattle. But would love to hear people’s suggestion to limit the noise as much as possible. Filling the arm with lead shot? If so how much? What parts actually cause the rattle? TIA

 

[frayz]

1.5kg of lead shot.
NMB ABT12 bearing in the tower.
OEM rubber boot over the linkage arm to gearbox packed with heavy grease.

That’s about as good as you’ll get it Russ.

 

[RustyMojo]

1.5kg of lead shot.
NMB ABT12 bearing in the tower.
OEM rubber boot over the linkage arm to gearbox packed with heavy grease.

That’s about as good as you’ll get it Russ.

Thanks mate, knew you’d have most of the answers! I am going to heat shrink the selector shaft as a test to see if that dampens the vibrations slightly as well. Worth a try for a couple of quid, always Stanley it off if needs be.

Wont be fitting for a week or so now I don’t think, lad I bought it off didn’t realise the front pivot was actually part of the setup! I’m already regretting not buying a new one…

 

[frayz]

Haha. Disaster!
I think almost all car parts I’ve regretted if I’ve not bought new.
Something else i experimented with is packing grease around the spring under the gearknob. It too makes a difference but in the hot weather the grease melts and runs down the top of the shaft. I’m yet to find something thermally stable enough to put on it that will reliably stay.

 

[RustyMojo]

Haha. Disaster!
I think almost all car parts I’ve regretted if I’ve not bought new.
Something else i experimented with is packing grease around the spring under the gearknob. It too makes a difference but in the hot weather the grease melts and runs down the top of the shaft. I’m yet to find something thermally stable enough to put on it that will reliably stay.

It’s not the end of the world, he just presumed that was part of gearbox. Worse case I’ll put it down to experience and order replacements.

 

[clio_ross]

Pretty much as per frayz post above:-

- I filled the sector rod with lead shot (ensure you leave enough of a gap at the end of the rod to allow the the front pivot to be lengthene/shorted when setting up the shifter - I didn’t and had to take the rod back off to empty some of the shot back out )

- filled the OEM pivot and selector rod boot with red rubber grease when I transferred these over to the PMS shifter.

- replaced the selector pivot bush and circlip with new OEM.

- used some foam draft-excluder-type tape around the flange at the base of the shifter tower, where it mounts to the shell, to give a slight dampening between it and the shell.

I haven’t replaced the bearing in the tower (I bought mines brand new in 2019), but doing the above mines has been absolutely silent in the 18 months it’s been fitted.

that said, another thing to watch out; check the big nut at the bottom of the selector (below the zinc-plated/carbon fibre selector cover) to ensure its tight - mines was slightly loose and resulted in a rattle/vibration. As soon as that was tightened, the rattle went away.

hope this is of some help Russ

 

[YorkshireKyle]

Step 1: Grow a f**king pair
Step 2: Done

 

[Ex-User (99307)]

Undo the bolt at the top and remove the gearknob. Add a spacer made from whatever rubber hose fits between the spring and the gear knob.

Totally resolved mine.

 

[VenomUK]

It’s not the end of the world, he just presumed that was part of gearbox. Worse case I’ll put it down to experience and order replacements.

I’m in the same position. The pivot was left off of the one I got. I emailed PMS last week and they are waiting on stock and told me to get back in touch in a few weeks and they will have spares back in stock

 

[jameswrx]

Undo the bolt at the top and remove the gearknob. Add a spacer made from whatever rubber hose fits between the spring and the gear knob.

Totally resolved mine.

Sounds interesting.

My mate has one and I’ve always assumed it’s a design fault as his seems worse in ‘stick forward’ gears.

Be interesting to see if Zeropoint get theirs to work better.

 

[RustyMojo]

I’m in the same position. The pivot was left off of the one I got. I emailed PMS last week and they are waiting on stock and told me to get back in touch in a few weeks and they will have spares back in stock

Ha, I’m 100% assured it’s all still on the box on the car he stripped. We will see I guess. Got plenty to get on with in the mean time. Garage is nearly clear again now following the house build so maybe, just maybe the car can get back in its home

 

[Louis]

Also add an oring between the lift up sleeve and the big nut at the bottom. At 70 mines fine, at 71 it rattles. f**king horrendous thing and probably one of the mods I don't rate as mine has never felt 'good' since fitting.

 

[VenomUK]

I got mine off my mate and to get fair I got it at a really good price so I’m not too bothered. The replacement bush is missing that is held in with a c-clip so I would have replaced that regardless.

 

[jameswrx]

Also add an oring between the lift up sleeve and the big nut at the bottom. At 70 mines fine, at 71 it rattles. f**king horrendous thing and probably one of the mods I don't rate as mine has never felt 'good' since fitting.

Aside from the rattle I think they’re awesome. Mine and my mate’s cars are pretty similar but he has a PMS shifter, it feels so much more fun to drive with the shifter over mine. I get back in mine and it’s like stirring a pudding in comparison.

 

[Louis]

Aside from the rattle I think they’re awesome. Mine and my mate’s cars are pretty similar but he has a PMS shifter, it feels so much more fun to drive with the shifter over mine. I get back in mine and it’s like stirring a pudding in comparison.

I'm comparing mine to the custom scenic I had. I know it's not quite setup right and needs some tweaking but it was such a b*****d to get it to this stage

 

[frayz]

The issue I find with the modded Scenic shifters is the control weights are too light. So whilst they don’t rattle and the shifter height is good, theyre too light to use and don’t feel right to me.

I’ve tried something else with mine today but nit driven yet. Will report back tomorrow.

 

[VenomUK]

Unsure of what bearing is in mine but where do I buy one of these NMB ABT12 bearings from please?

 

[frayz]

Merlin sell them i think. Just google the part number

 

[VenomUK]

1.5kg of lead shot.
NMB ABT12 bearing in the tower.
OEM rubber boot over the linkage arm to gearbox packed with heavy grease.

That’s about as good as you’ll get it Russ.

Seeing as my shifter is second hand, I'm thinking of changing the baring regardless. How easy/hard is it to change the bearing?

 

[Louis]

Seeing as my shifter is second hand, I'm thinking of changing the baring regardless. How easy/hard is it to change the bearing?

Most are easy but I needed to grind mine slightly with a carbide burr as it was way too tight when a new bearing went in.

 

[ozclio03]

Is the bearing change actual worth doing, as I read somewhere it makes no difference, has any one just changed the bearing and found it dramatically quieted down the rattle?

 

[Torvalds]

Hi lads PMS Shifter owner here too , i got his for 6 months now and let s just say i fix it and for now i don t have any rattle in my car no matter the rev range . The picture that i ve attached shows the small metal link that connect the gearbox to the selctor rod , that small link has a round ball that goes where that rubber gasket is and it sits in cone shape , i ve put some electrical tape on that ball and the put the small link back and connect everything , i know it temporary job but im looking for something permanent , the original link that ball was made out something softer more like teflon coated .

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[Torvalds]

Forgot to mention i got standard bearing and not the teflon coated one but between the bearing and tower where it sits i ve put a fine cardboard washer with loads of grease and then put that securing clip at the bottom .