For those who've changed their shift knob...
 

... how do you get the bloody knob off the boot? Getting the boot off the console is easy enough, and the lock ring keeping the knob on is simple as well. But now I've got the knob/boot assembly out of the car and I can't separate these two parts. What's the secret?

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

pull hard !

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

I thought that was just to get the knob off the shift lever, which I've done. Pulling hard on the knob to detach it from the boot appears to be very hard on the boot itself. You sure about this?

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Hi Mike

Be a little careful with the boot being semi frozen to the knob. Use a hair dryer on the (lowest) setting. Hold it a couple of inches away from the top of the boot & work it around the entire boot slowly. It should become supple enough to gently pry it off the knob without to much force. If not apply a 2nd or 3rd round of heat, again not overdoing too much in one spot & stop & check if any progress is made. Good luck.
Crossfireone

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

I had some time to take a closer look at the pieces yesterday. There is a press fit collar with two slots in it that pinches the boot between it and the base of the knob. The knob has two tabs that fit through holes in the top of the boot itself and then through corresponding holes in the collar.

With the boot turned inside out and pulled up over the knob I took a thin screwdriver and pryed the collar off, releasing the boot.

I would strongly suggest to others that you NOT just pull hard! to get the boot off the knob.

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Right you are sir - the automatic doesn't have a boot. I'll get some pix showing the bits and pieces in detail soon.

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Weird, I just loosened the base screw thingy and gave a little pull and it came right off.

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Pictures!

Once the leather boot is pulled up and the collar unscrewed then whole assembly comes out (this is the boot turned inside out, of course):

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...0/IMG_0005.JPG




Remove the locking collar completely and you see another collar with two tabs through it and the leather, holding the boot to the shifter. Trying to just pull the boot off the knob at this point was stretching the leather around the holes and I didn't want to just keep pulling for fear of damaging the boot. Here is is pryed up on one side:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle.../IMG_00041.JPG


With the retaining collar pryed off you can clearly see the tabs protruding through the leather of the boot:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle.../IMG_00031.JPG



One of the pre-cut holes in the leather for the tabs to fit through:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle.../IMG_00021.JPG

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Crap, only 4 images per post!!



Finally, the bare knob with the locking collar back in place, sans leather boot of course. Here you can see the pins on the base of the knob and better understand how the top of the leather is then pinched between the base of the knob and the locking collar. These did not want to separate simply by pulling firmly on the knob - that's when the leather was coming under abuse I wasn't willing to give it.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum.../IMG_00012.JPG



So now it's off and I can get my custom shift boot made up to match my two tone leather interior, complete with light grey stitching!

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

Look like I am screwed. Upon taking the shifter off. I am missing the locking collar of this assembly. It appears mine has been messed around with by previous owner. So I have no idea how I am going to get my Momo knob on. Or am I missing a part that came with the knob?

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

How does your factory knob stay on without the locking collar?

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

That locking collar does not fit the MoMo knob. I've tried using a wire tie to keep the boot up on the knob, but after a few shifts it slides down. I'm not real happy about it, but I'm still trying to figure out some way to keep the boot snug up on the knob. If I can't, then it was money thrown away and I'll have to go back to the original knob.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

The bottom part still screws onto the base. It keeps the boot tight on the knob.

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

I didn't think that it would. I was always under the impression that this was a simple swap out. How is everyone else installing their shift knobs??

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob..
 

haha I was just going to ask everyone.. I might order a different boot to save the hassle

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob...
 

On my custom grey leather boot (do a search on the forum for the company that makes them) i just used a zip tie around the top of the boot inside (pull the boot up over the shift knob, zip tie the boot just a quarter inch or so above the end, then pull it back down). Been good for months now......

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob...
 

I'd like to ask what may strike some of you as a dumb question ... I understand most of the 'mods' that I see talked about here ... many are things I feel no need to do, but I understand why others would ... I don't understand the reason to replace the shift knob ....

Why do so many want to make this mod ???

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob...
 

I guess it's like any other visual mod, really - just to give the car some "personal" touch. Some people don't like the feel of the factory knob and would prefer leather either in part or in whole.

Me, I just took some Aero Blue touch up paint and a very fine artists brush and painted the recessed numbers and extended "H" pattern in the stock knob. I like all the matching silver trim on the car as is. One thing I did change, however, was the shift boot - hence my reason for this post in the first place. Instead of the plain black boot, I now have a two tone boot that perfectly matches my two tone seats. Unfortunately, this image doesn't show the blue in the numbers, but my shift boot is the hotness.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...shift_boot.jpg

Re: For those who've changed their shift knob...