T56 isolator cup bushing

[d124716]

Hello, planning to put on IPSCO shifter on my 2000 GTS. Watching some videos it was recommended to change the isolator cup bushing while at it. Found a few, some plastic others are bronze. Does anyone have any feedback on the isolator cup bushing, which one to use, pros... cons...

Thank you!

[Steve M]

I used a bronze one in my previous project car with a T-56. I noticed a lot of transmitted transmission noise directly after.

I wasn't a fan, and will never run one again.

[Old School]

I've done it on a few vehicles, haven't really noticed any noise, but my vehicles are usually loud anyway. Be aware, sometimes Tremec will glue the original in quite well and it is hard to remove, especially in a Viper since the shifter is not directly under hole in the tunnel.

[Steve M]

I've done it on a few vehicles, haven't really noticed any noise, but my vehicles are usually loud anyway. Be aware, sometimes Tremec will glue the original in quite well and it is hard to remove, especially in a Viper since the shifter is not directly under hole in the tunnel.

I'm pretty sensitive to stuff like that, but that car was LOUD (catless exhaust, headers, bullet mufflers) and I still noticed it.

Let me put it this way: I'd have to break multiple plastic ones in quick succession before I'd consider running a bronze one.

[GTS Dean]

After 25 years of stock shifter and bushing with many many track miles, I put a bronze cup and Ipsco shifter in mine. I have no complaints about them except the stiff gate spring going to 5th. Unforgiving on soft upshift.

[dave6666]

I have a B&M Ripper shifter from back in the day when places like IPSCO were not doing shifters. Leaving B&M as the only aftermarket game in town. Been so long ago I don't exactly recall what the bushing was so I googled the T56 B&M kit and it looks like the plastic bushing is what was supplied. Assuming they have not changed that over the years.

Anywho, so now well over a decade later, still on the plastic bushing, still shifting accurately. Unwanted feedback through the shifter handle is minimal. I've never thought it's anything that needed improving or changing.

[d124716]

Steve M - So I understand a bit better about the noise... is it something that could be FELT through the shifting lever as increased vibration? Was the lever shaking? Or was the noise so bad you could actually hear it in the cabin without "feeling" the vibration when the hand is on the shifter ball?

All good feedback you guys, very appreciate it!

PS
Decades ago a buddy of mine decided to put poly engine mounts in his civic..... after he was done we couldn't read the speedometer because the car was shaking so bad.. he had to revert back to stock mounts... what I am trying to avoid is a situation like that... while obviously trying to be greedy and take as much "slop" out of the handle as possible. Thus, thinking on the bronze but want to understand what I am getting into... Ebay has both bronze and plastic so I want to make the right chose.

Thanks!

[Steve M]

So I understand a bit better about the noise... is it something that could be FELT through the shifting lever as increased vibration? Was the lever shaking? Or was the noise so bad you could actually hear it in the cabin without "feeling" the vibration when the hand is on the shifter ball?

The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like a mechanic's stethoscope - it just amplified the sounds of the transmission internals. It wasn't something you only felt, you could definitely hear it.

[Steve M]

PS
Decades ago a buddy of mine decided to put poly engine mounts in his civic..... after he was done we couldn't read the speedometer because the car was shaking so bad.. he had to revert back to stock mounts... what I am trying to avoid is a situation like that... while obviously trying to be greedy and take as much "slop" out of the handle as possible. Thus, thinking on the bronze but want to understand what I am getting into... Ebay has both bronze and plastic so I want to make the right chose.

Thanks!

Some people have a high tolerance for noise, vibration, and harshness. They are willing to dismiss it by saying stuff like "race car", and for some people, that's how they use their cars. Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't believe you have to compromise when it comes to things like that unless you have unique circumstances (like trailering your car to/from race tracks, and never driving it anywhere else).

Mine is dual purpose, but mostly a street car. I've been there, done that with aftermarket shifters, bronze shifter cups, and poly engine/trans mounts in my previous car. I didn't realize how bad it was until I test drove my Viper before buying it - no annoying vibration, no weird noises outside of some differential noise that has since been fixed. From that point forward, I decided to keep everything as stock as feasible, at least where it matters. I'm still on the stock shifter, plastic shift cup, and stock engine/tranny mounts in this car. Unlike my previous car, I still genuinely enjoy just going out for a nice long cruise...it drives well, and has a tolerable level of random noises, at least to me. It isn't stock, but it isn't far from it.

You can see how much the shifter moves around in this video when I'm racing:



I could definitely tighten it up, but it isn't really holding me back, so why bother? If I was frying motor mounts or destroying shifter cups every other pass, it'd be a different story, but that just hasn't been the case for me. As Dave mentioned above, if something lasts you many, many years, why not just put the same thing back in if you do end up breaking it? I get wanting to do a "one and done" type of thing, but I don't like living with mistakes forever either.

[d124716]

Got it, I understand. I'm all about street cruising and definitely keeping things as good OR better than stock without sacrificing anything for a benefit of anything else. Thank you for your feedback.

[d124716]

I've done it on a few vehicles, haven't really noticed any noise, but my vehicles are usually loud anyway. Be aware, sometimes Tremec will glue the original in quite well and it is hard to remove, especially in a Viper since the shifter is not directly under hole in the tunnel.

Hi Old School, quick question for your. Did you (are you suppose) to glue in the replacement? If you are, what to use for glue? Any special directions?

PS
My slave clutch cylinder leaked, thus I have to remove the tranny anyway. That is the only reason I'm doing the shifter too. I've noticed slop in stock where it doesn't spring back to 3/4 gate when in 1/2 gate position... but I wouldn't touch it with trans still on and wouldn't remove the trans just for that. Now that the trans is coming off might as well do the shifter... and see if the cup needs to be addressed too.

[Old School]

Hi Old School, quick question for your. Did you (are you suppose) to glue in the replacement? If you are, what to use for glue? Any special directions?

PS
My slave clutch cylinder leaked, thus I have to remove the tranny anyway. That is the only reason I'm doing the shifter too. I've noticed slop in stock where it doesn't spring back to 3/4 gate when in 1/2 gate position... but I wouldn't touch it with trans still on and wouldn't remove the trans just for that. Now that the trans is coming off might as well do the shifter... and see if the cup needs to be addressed too.

I used some hardening gasket cement to glue the new cup in.

Also, on one trans, the cup was glued in so well, it was easier to knock the roll pin out and removed the part of the trans that the cup goes in so I could scrape out all the glue.

And yes, I did the same thing, it is much easier to replace the shifter with the trans sitting on the garage floor.

BTW I have 50k miles on my IPSCO shifter without issue.

[d124716]

Nice! Thanks Old School.