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Blowfish Racing Shifter Fix

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Tri-bar said:
Got my Retro kit today, thanks Steve. Sadly, I still get the Marble sound, it's not as loud and goes away faster through the RPM band. I might have to swap to a MGW and get rid of my Barton.
Not the news I was hoping to hear. I too have the Ford Racing shifter (aka Barton) and also had excessive noise and vibration. I had to remove the BFR Bracket to keep driving as it was that bad in my case. I'll keep my current setup as I'm happy with the FR shifter. I don't plan to change out my shifter but I wonder what design feature of the MGW compared to the FR shifter allows for the elimination of all NVH when coupled with the BFR bracket.
 
TMSBOSS said:
A few mounts require relief. Take a file and remove material on the MGW mount near the two studs for the original mount. Intent is to ensure the mount does not touch the studs.

I'm not really interested in modifying the MGW mount. I have an install for an MGW race-spec shifter scheduled with George after the holidays. His core replacement program might not be valid with what in his view would be a damaged part. In the meantime, I will continue to live with the rattle. It is interesting to me how much difference there seems to be in the manufacturing tolerances from one Mustang to the next. :eek:
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
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I hear ya!!

I have had zero issues with fit on Ford, MGW, Blowfish M&M etc parts.

I did have issues with Stiffler drive shaft loop. There was contact between the loop bracket and the cross member. Sounded like I had removed the soft mount between the trans and the cross member. I relieved the mount with a grinder, problem solved.

Its amazing how the smallest contact point can effect noise and vibration.

The way Ford mounts the rear bracket to the shifter a difference of 1/4 fore or aft on the studs would not have a negative effect. Unfortunately, this does not work for some aftermarket parts designed to a tighter tolerance.

Good luck with the new shifter.
 
Tri-bar said:
Got my Retro kit today, thanks Steve. Sadly, I still get the Marble sound, it's not as loud and goes away faster through the RPM band. I might have to swap to a MGW and get rid of my Barton.

Before you drop 300+ on a new shifter to remove noise try placing some Dynamat on the reverse mechanism of the Barton and see if that will absorb the noise.
 
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Brandon302 said:
Before you drop 300+ on a new shifter to remove noise try placing some Dynamat on the reverse mechanism of the Barton and see if that will absorb the noise.

Just where are you placing the dynamat on the reverse mechanism?
 
Tri-bar said:
Just where are you placing the dynamat on the reverse mechanism?

m5lp-1303-2012-mustang-boss-302-stock-shifter.jpg
So the cylindrical area I believe is where the rattle may be coming from, if you maybe put some Dynamat on that maybe it will go away. At worst you toss 12 dollars.
 
Great video Steve. Hopefully you posted it on Christmas day and didn't actually create it then.
 
I have the non-race style MGW shifter with the blowfish bracket and it works well except for the rattling noise. I installed the new $20 MGW rear mounting bracket and it took away the rattling noise and it is back to OEM NVH levels. I think the blowfish bracket was rushed to market too soon as the original MGW rear mounting bracket was just too big to remount upside down and not hit anything (my opinion only). I think the new MGW support bracket should have been included in the original kit (my opinion only). I did see where the original bracket was hitting something but it would have taken a lot of machining to get it to clear properly. Hopefully the new rubber grommets (automotive quality?) will last as long as the car does. Overall I am now very satisfied with the shifting quality this bracket(s) provides.

Tim
 
Glad to here this, I have also ordered the $20.00 rear mount.I did some grinding on the MGW rear mount, but still have a rattle when on the gas.Wish I had known about this fix before grinding my MGW,suppose I wont be able to trade in for $200.00 on the Race MGW shifter now.Glad I did not cut OEM studs as some have done.Hope I have the same results, tired of shifting issues.
 

576

You reuse the MGW rear mount. Just installed the Race Spec today. Did take longer than 15 minutes. And my helper was only 6 years old, but made it all the better! Someday he or his brother will be driving my old carcass around in my Boss, hopefully at the track.
 
Installed my retro kit last week (stock shifter) - it was a PIA to get the tail mount on over the driveshaft with the lower bracket in place but it's done. As for the death rattle it seems to be gone under normal to heavy foot daily driving and the vibration is just a bit more than stock. The real test will be the next track day when things get hot and expand which was when the rattle from hell really stepped up - will know pretty soon though!

Thanks Steve for addressing and standing behind your product!
 
I was going to install the modified MGW mounting bracket last night, got to looking at everything pretty closely and could not see any interference issues whatsoever, took the car out for a spin and really paid attention to what was happening and it seemed that the vibration issue I am having was coming from within the shifter itself, got online and looked up MGW shifter vibration, looks like most of their shifters, no mater what kind of car vibrate. I might try the rubber mount that came with the shifter to see if that helps, if not I am going to try the stock shifter with the BlowFish mount and see how that works.
 

drano38

Wayne
1,130
318
Installed my mod kit today (stock shifter).
Viper1mx is right, getting the upper bracket up there and turned upright is tricky, but can be done.
Getting those small bolts in for the snout piece wasn't easy, but I got 'er done. No way to get a torque wrench on the passenger side bolt, so just went goot-n-tite with a ratchet wrench.
No test drive since its winter in eastern SD. Maybe in March if I'm lucky.
Thanks to Steve for listing to us and providing a lower NVH option.
 
I just installed my retrofit the other week. There is still a slight marble sound (OEM shifter) in mid rpm ranges, but overall, it's now something I can live with. Tried moving the bracket up and down and at all adjustments, same result in regards to noise. We would all like no noise, but the way the shifter feels is well worth it IMO.

Thanks!

BTW, if something comes up and you have a way to cure all the noise, I'd like to be on that list, but like I said above, I can live with it :)
 

drano38

Wayne
1,130
318
I installed the retrofit late last fall after the Boss went into hibernation.
Finally got a test drive yesterday.
Nice NVH improvement on my stock shifter.
Still a burble/vibration from 3,000-4,000 RPM, but easily acceptable for bracket's benefit.
Great product, and even better--listening to customer feedback and offering the retrofit kit for those of us getting more NVH than we wanted.
 
I have install the retro bracket also, a slight improvement over the MGW rear mount, but still rattles.It seems to be coming from inside the shifter, but could be the OEM slinky shift arm. The new race MGW shifter may cure the ratttle but I am happy with the shifting now.Is the trade in period over ? and would the new race MGW shifter clear the Blow Fish drive shaft loop? as I want to keep this, running a 1 piece Drive Shaft.
 

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