Billetworkz shifter knob installation

[murick]

I got a new ball knob for my shifter from Billetworkz. First it surprised me by coming in two pieces - the steel ball and an aluminium insert. I must have missed that when ordering - thought it would be a single massive piece.

I did not care much until I tried to screw the insert into the ball and got stuck at 1/2 - 3/4 turn in. It felt like if I was trying to screw two different threads together - either by a diameter or by a pitch. Confused I contacted a support to learn that the threads are most probably fine and I should not try to do it in hand, but in the car on the stick. I believe I could try to screw the insert onto the stick first, jamming it with a counterpart and then screw the ball onto the insert, but I do not like it.

The reason is that there is nothing on the insert which could help me to unscrew it, neither from the stick (I guess a "nut profile" so I could use a wrench from a side would be fine), nor from the ball - this one is even worse as it seems, if I manage to screw it in deep enough there is no easy way to take it out as there are no "hardpoints" on the out facing rim.

I thought, ok, it does not look it is supposed to come apart once assembled, so I may as well put some loctite on the insert when screwing it in and make it one piece. But since there is no way to try, I am little worried about maybe getting stuck half way through and not being able to disassemble it again. I am also not sure if I should screw the insert fully in, then it will get sunk into the steel well, or just try to make it flush with the edge, which if not working may give me some troubles too.

It looks like it should have come already in one piece from the factory, but the fact that it did not makes me hesitant to try make it one on my own.

So I wonder, did you guys, who use Billetworkz knobs, have any such troubles, or what was your approach to the task?

I have MGW shifter, so there is just a jamming nut facing it from the stick side.

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[Johnny Rockit]

I installed mine as soon as I got home from Carlisle Nats.
Picked it up at their office. The lockout sleeve went on first, then I used the nut and insert to adjust for correct height. Loc-tite after that and once snugged tight I put the ball on hand tight.
For your situation I would use a set of pliers on the insert with a rag to protect the threads and remove the ball by hand. You should see any thread issues pretty easily and use knife file in the insert to clean it up. Not sure about the inner ball threads but I bet it is just misaligned and will go together nicely when done. The insert is hidden (mine is hidden anyway) so looks are ocd more than anything. Do you have the lockout sleeve too? Yours looks a bit different than mine.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

I have to say summer heat makes it like a branding iron. Getting cold now so I may need a glove until things warm up a bit.

 

[WD Pro]

I got a new ball knob for my shifter from Billetworkz. First it surprised me by coming in two pieces - the steel ball and an aluminium insert. I must have missed that when ordering - thought it would be a single massive piece.

I did not care much until I tried to screw the insert into the ball and got stuck at 1/2 - 3/4 turn in. It felt like if I was trying to screw two different threads together - either by a diameter or by a pitch. Confused I contacted a support to learn that the threads are most probably fine and I should not try to do it in hand, but in the car on the stick. I believe I could try to screw the insert onto the stick first, jamming it with a counterpart and then screw the ball onto the insert, but I do not like it.

The reason is that there is nothing on the insert which could help me to unscrew it, neither from the stick (I guess a "nut profile" so I could use a wrench from a side would be fine), nor from the ball - this one is even worse as it seems, if I manage to screw it in deep enough there is no easy way to take it out as there are no "hardpoints" on the out facing rim.

I thought, ok, it does not look it is supposed to come apart once assembled, so I may as well put some loctite on the insert when screwing it in and make it one piece. But since there is no way to try, I am little worried about maybe getting stuck half way through and not being able to disassemble it again. I am also not sure if I should screw the insert fully in, then it will get sunk into the steel well, or just try to make it flush with the edge, which if not working may give me some troubles too.

It looks like it should have come already in one piece from the factory, but the fact that it did not makes me hesitant to try make it one on my own.

So I wonder, did you guys, who use Billetworkz knobs, have any such troubles, or what was your approach to the task?

I have MGW shifter, so there is just a jamming nut facing it from the stick side.

For insert removal (if it’s only screwed in by hand and it’s not been swung on), use a nut and bolt of the correct thread.

Screw the bolt in, lock the nut against the insert, then unscrew the bolt. I use a similar concept to give me a handle when I’ve refurbished gear knobs :

WD

 

[murick]

Do you have the lockout sleeve too? Yours looks a bit different than mine.

I have MGW shifter installed so I did not opt for the reverse lockout or the reverse lockout adaptor as suggested by Billetworkz page. The "metal sleeve" on MGW shifter stick (which may look like a reverse lockout) is actually just a very nicely done jamming nut, on which, the ball (with the insert) alone, should fit fine, according to some old posts here.

 

[murick]

For insert removal (if it’s only screwed in by hand and it’s not been swung on), use a nut and bolt of the correct thread.

Good advice! I love how the bolt you got looks more like a surgical equipment than something associated with Ford .

 

[WD Pro]

Good advice! I love how the bolt you got looks more like a surgical equipment than something associated with Ford .

It's titanium ...

WD

 

[murick]

Following the advice from @WD Pro I got a 12x1.25 bolt and nut. Apparently it is considered to be a "fine" thread so was lucky to find a hardware store with one (literally one size and one nut size). With the nut I was also lucky as its relatively large height made it easy to operate.

I tightened the insert to the bolt with the nut, and tried a "dry run" on the ball. It went easily enough, it just seemed the insert thread was a bit sharper and wider, but since it was an aluminium against steel, after one in-and-out there was no friction anymore and it went in freely.

After that I applied a blue loctite on the inner thread in the ball and screwed the insert in, tightening it with the bolt. This went well too. Removing the bolt was a breeze and screwing the ball (with the insert) onto the stick was also no problem.

The jamming nut from MGW Shifter (has a diameter of 21 mm) fits almost exactly into the well in the steel ball (diam. 22.7 mm). The insert is sunk a bit into the ball, so the nut goes in for that part, luckily the part to catch with a wrench remained accessible.

When weighting the ball in hand I was afraid it could be too heavy or have a big inertia which would make the shifting "heavier". After putting it on the stick I realized nothing of that happened. It seems that the short stick together with a quite strong neutral of the Tremec makes it no issue.

Is it better then than stock or MGW ball?

I believe the inertia pays off when shifting is notchy. With the MGW ball the shifting felt sometimes almost difficult because of how light the ball was. It lacked the "intention". So feeling is better.
It also filters out the low freq. oscillations of the stick and dampens the vibrations of high RPMs. How this change in mass of the shifter stick affects the dynamics of the shifter assembly and its integrity is yet to be seen.

 

[Racer57]

I'm old school. Hurst T-Handle is what I would use if I had a manual.

 

[murick]

I had it on mind and did not want to start a new thread, so here is the short review (and weights) of different knobs.

While the MGW ball seems to be "full" it has a cavity inside and is the lightest of all three. The difference in weight is perceptible when shifting compared to e.g. OEM Ford.

The OEM Ford would be actually quite nice, if it did not have 1/3 of the mass cut off and have the thread cut in its top part (which makes it sit quite low, if used with MGW short stick).

Billetworkz weighted is heavy, but feels alright in hand.

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