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COOLERWORX Pro Short Shifter Installation Tips & Tricks + Linkage Redesign Discussion

JDG

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Over the holiday break, my Coolerworx Pro Short Shifter showed up after purchasing it direct from Coolerworx in Lithuania over their Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale. The shifter was packaged very well with form fitting packaging in a nice box with carry handle.

The machined components that make up the unit are very impressive and the design is borderline incredible. I really appreciate the amount of time and thought that went into designing the system. There were two imperfections on the unit that looked like either a burr on a machined piece and/or an imperfection in the paint. I quickly forgot about these once the unit was in the car because they could not be seen and the performance of the shifter overshadows everything else about it.

The unit arrived with no instructions but luckily "Spark Plug Steve" on YouTube made a solid video going over the installation on his UK Fiesta MK7.5:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz1YoETyC48&t=909s


I wanted to make a couple of notes for USDM Fiesta ST owners who plan to install this kit that differ from what Steve mentions in his video.
  • If you have a short shifter on the transmission arm in the engine bay, uninstall it first
    • Get this out of the way before you begin the installation to reduce the likelihood of running into shifting issues once the Coolerworx is in
    • This also gives you the added benefit of feeling the sloppiness of the OEM shifter that you long forgot about
  • Once you remove the center console and surrounding plastics, you will be ready to remove the shifter assembly.
  • Take a second to note that the shifter cables are plastic and relatively delicate. Get familiar with how they lock into their respective locations with the locking collar; Understand the mechanics before attempting to remove
    • Use plastic trim removal tools for this job to limit the possibility of damage
    • Once cables are removed from the OEM shifter assembly, unbolt the nuts holding it to the vehicle chassis while taking great care to not drop the nuts into the various small holes in the vehicle body
  • Upon getting ready to drop in the Coolerworx shifter, install the shift cable collars first
    • I recommend you do not bolt down the Coolerworx shifter before getting the cables in the locking collars on the shifter first
    • You will need to bend your shifter cables to get the shifter to bolt down to the OEM studs on the chassis and doing this after the shifter is bolted down is virtually impossible
    • I suspect that the UK Fiesta shifter cables are different in either how substantial they are or the routing or the length because I could not install them how Steve did it in his video (I spent about 2 hours trying to do it the way he recommended)
  • After installation, ensure that all jam nuts on the adjustable linkages are tight. Coolerworx adjusts these at the factory so that no adjustment is necessary for the shifter install but after my first drive, some of the jam nuts loosened up.
The Coolerworx unit uses a M12X1.5 Thread for the shift knob. Any shift knob in this size will work. I chose to purchase the correct threaded adapter manufactured by Raceseng for their Raceseng Orbature Delrin shift knob that I had installed on my OEM shifter. The added weight of the aftermarket knob compared to the Coolerworx knob smooths out some, but not all, of the notchiness of the unit and makes it feel perfect.

Unfortunately, I did not take as many photos as I originally planned because of all the cursing and bleeding that transpired while trying to get the cables seated in their respective places. Once I realized that I could install the cables before getting the Coolerworx shifter bolted down to the OEM chassis studs, the process took about 30 minutes.

Once those two steps were completed, though, the remainder of the install is just putting the plastic trim panels and center console back in place. I left my shift boot off to expose the mechanics of the shifter. It is truly impressive what they were able to design and build and I want to keep it exposed so I can stare at it at red lights. I did not need to trim any of the plastic trim panels.

Adjustment of the grub screws is straight forward and you can see in the attached video where each one is supposed to go. In the video, I also shift into each gear while at a standstill and demonstrate the shifter play in each gear:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWNfMjn-WQI

Despite spending a little under 2/3 of list price, after driving the car for nearly two weeks with the unit installed, I would not hesitate to spend the full list price on this kit. The transformation of the car is truly unreal and it makes the car so much more enjoyable to drive.

I hope this was helpful; please feel free to post any questions or comments about the shifter or install.
 


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JDG

JDG

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Thread Starter #4
Love mine. I put the cables in before bolting it down and literally had to put my entire body weight into getting it over the studs.
Exactly this, not fun. I felt so bad for my shifter cables but so far so good, no binding of any kind.
 


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These tower shifters are BA. This looks like a quality setup. I would need to figure out a boot set-up for my daily use of the car. I would be worried about random debris falling in there. Good, hardcore stuff, thanks for sharing.
 


Woods247

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@JDG is your Raceseng knob 12x1.25? If yes, will you please post a link to their adapter? Their website isn’t really clear. I’d like to use my OEM Carbon knob instead of the Coolerworx so I need a 12x1.5 to 12x1.25 adapter.
 


OP
JDG

JDG

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Thread Starter #7
@JDG is your Raceseng knob 12x1.25? If yes, will you please post a link to their adapter? Their website isn’t really clear. I’d like to use my OEM Carbon knob instead of the Coolerworx so I need a 12x1.5 to 12x1.25 adapter.
Sorry i wasn’t super clear. Raceseng makes adapters for their knobs only to fit a variety of different cars. I was able to convert my Raceseng knob designed for the fiesta to the Coolerworx shifter with a different insert for their knob. Their insert won’t work with other brands’ knobs.
 


DangerMouse

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My Coolerworx finally arrived yesterday! I knew I wanted to use my cobb knob for a subaru sti, it's slightly smaller than the fiesta cobb knob, fits my hand better. While I was waiting for the Coolerworx to get here, I ordered a 12x1.5 threaded insert and drilled and tapped the knob. Fits perfect and looks great. Can't wait to see how it feels now.
 


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JDG

JDG

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The fucking ball joint on the Coolerworx shifter just sheared where it mounts in the cable. What a POS.

Waiting for a tow truck...





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OP
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One of the rod ends for the linkage sheared in half at the threads, not where the cable goes in. Guess my trust for this thing was short lived. Emailed Coolerworx. Hopefully they can send me the specs so I don’t have to wait 2 weeks for the part and can find it locally. What a joke.


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JDG

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Almost made in three years before leaving me stranded, self induced of course - so frustrated at this thing.




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OP
JDG

JDG

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From what I can tell this thing uses 6 of these rod ends with the ball. All the same thread which means if I want to continue running this I will need to keep spares in the car. What a joke. I’m so bummed. Probably gonna sit here for hours waiting for a tow truck. Ugh.

Glad I have another car at least.


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From what I can tell this thing uses 6 of these rod ends with the ball. All the same thread which means if I want to continue running this I will need to keep spares in the car. What a joke. I’m so bummed. Probably gonna sit here for hours waiting for a tow truck. Ugh.

Glad I have another car at least.


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Were you doing a pull or something? That makes no sense as to why that would happen.
 


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Were you doing a pull or something? That makes no sense as to why that would happen.
Just shifting into 3rd gear like normal. It must have been overtorqued when it was assembled by Coolerworx and yielded. Only possible thing I could think of. Or it’s just too small a thread for the forces it sees...




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JDG

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Thread Starter #17
Coolerworx is shipping out replacements on Monday. Hopefully they send some extras like I requested. They are saying they make the rod ends which is surprising to me.


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Woods247

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Coolerworx is shipping out replacements on Monday. Hopefully they send some extras like I requested. They are saying they make the rod ends which is surprising to me.


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WTF?! I sure as hell hope this isn’t a common issue.
 


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