OK youse guys with the Hurst/FX4/etc. seriously BENT-BACK shifters...

[fixizin]

... they look great, and I guess the Hurst even works better/smoother, but it LOOKS like the pronounced back-bend in the stalk would cause your hand to interfere with the seat and/or console when in 2/4/R...?

Is this just an optical illusion? Is the lower part (below the "knee") biased way forward, so that with the steep back-bend, it partially cancels out?

I ask because if I bent my factory straight stick, I'd only do it by about an inch, otherwise I couldn't comfortably drive with my center console/armrest flipped down (got the 60/40 split cloth seats).

 

[fixizin]

Or is it just so much TALLER overall that it clears everything?

Please, talk me out of spending $$ on this.

 

[racsan]

height is just a little bit lower, i added a 2" extention to mine because it felt like i was leaning forward to reach the knob in 1,3&5. now my hand can rest comfortably while i shift without streaching for the knob. here is a couple of pics. but sometimes its just one of those things you have to see in person and feel for yourself.

talk you out of spending money on a hurst? well the only negitive thing i have to say about mine is the noise, the factory boot and the way the stock lever is made really does a effective job of cancelling noise. its not extremly bad, but it is noticeable. i feel its well worth the money. and because it has a threadedshaft, you can easily put on any knob you want. 3/8-16 threads. ive had mine for 2 years and the only reason i kept my old stock shifter is so when the day comes to "retire" the truck, im taking the hurst with me-and puting in the next ranger i get. yes in the 1st pic i had the shifter boot on backwards.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

OMG if I only had an extra $200! Those shifters are amazing! I test drove a 91 STX 4.0 2wd truck with one. So nice! I miss shifted my truck when I got back in it. The difference is night and day. It was so smooth, crisp, and comfy to drive.

Wait a min, you asked us to talk you out of it... oops.

Anyways, it goes up higher before bending, making the angle look steeper. Clears the console better than the oem one. You also gotta keep in mind the throw is much shorter

 

[Chris.S.]

I can't say anything abou the Hurst or ofther shifters but the other day I pulled my stock shifter off and bent it back a bit-probably close to 1 inch or so. It's perfect now, doesn't hit the seats in 2/4/R and my my knuckles don't bash th dash in 1/3/5.

Careful if you do that, it (the shifter) looks solid but it is in fact a hollow pipe that will kink as soon apply force it......

 

[racsan]

thats part of the sound-cancelling design. spend the $ on a hurst, its well worth it.

 

[racinranger]

My shifter in the fx4 hits anything in the cupholders, a standard 20oz bottle will stop you from completing the shift. its perfect to contact the knob and hold it slightly out of gear. Its damn nonsense i think im going to bend it to the left an inch and see how i fair. i cant bend it forward or else i'll punch the dash. It would be fine if i didnt have the dual cup holder fx4 center console. Its like ford knew this and did it to see peoples reactions to hitting almost everything in the immediate area with your hands trying to shift. i feel like a god damn monkey

 

[fixizin]

So it sounds like the FX4 is the same actual clunky long-throw shifter, just a nicer stalk, whereas the HURST totally redeems the M5OD, and proves there's really nothing wrong with your shift rails and forks afterall, lol.

The difference is night and day. It was so smooth, crisp, and comfy to drive.

Anyways, it goes up higher before bending, making the angle look steeper. Clears the console better than the oem one. You also gotta keep in mind the throw is much shorter.

My shifter lust grows...

I need to study how Hurst makes the throw shorter AND smoother... and why doesn't FoMoCo get a CLUE-by-4?

 

[fixizin]

I can't say anything abou the Hurst or ofther shifters but the other day I pulled my stock shifter off and bent it back a bit-probably close to 1 inch or so. It's perfect now, doesn't hit the seats in 2/4/R and my my knuckles don't bash th dash in 1/3/5.

Careful if you do that, it (the shifter) looks solid but it is in fact a hollow pipe that will kink as soon apply force it......

Pipe-bender? What diameter is it?

 

[Chris.S.]

Pipe-bender? What diameter is it?

Don't think a pipe bender would work, its tapered. I used a hydraulic press.

 

[fordboi415]

Anyone have the link for that shifter I waant to get one for my 01 3.0 5spd

 

[racsan]

i pm'd you back, but i'll re-post for everyone else. theres 2 main sources i order from, summit and jegs. mine came from jegs but summit is just as good to deal with heres the links, jeg's: http://www.jegs.com/i/Hurst/530/391-5020/10002/-1 summit: http://store.summitracing.com/partd...&part=HUU-3915020&N=700+4294908331+115&autovi

 

[03FX4]

I have an FX4 but I do not have the bent shifter arm? It's just straight.. did all come with bent shifter or was mine changed previously or something? Looks pretty stock to me.. but i do have a different looking shift knob its rubber and is just different than most shifters i've seen in rangers? Was this ever made factory with FX4? Just curious.

Here's a pic: (sorry it's not really a shifter shot)

 

[Bent Bolt]

I believe it was the FX4 level II that had the funky shifter.

 

[AllanD]

Actually the stock lever is angled back right off the trans the hurst lever sticks up quite a bit before it bends back.

the Hurst lever actually increases the clearance between the shift lever
and the console and manages to move the knob back a bit in the bargain...

and that is compared to the '98-style shift lever...

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