Shift knob help

[TnWHTMARE]

I’m replacing the shift knob and I have one of the hard ones. I’m using a strap wrench and got it to move 6-8*. Can’t get any further than that.

What concerns me (and maybe it shouldn’t) is that the boot is twisting with it. Because of that, the reverse shift lock collar will not move either.

I have “some” idea of what a shifter assy looks like internally, having done them on my GT’s in the past. But the ball should be independent of the collar and boot. Which seems like it must be rotating the whole shifter.??? Still goes in the gates fine for all forward gears. Any ideas as to why it’s doing that and am I hurting something?

Thank you!

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[TnWHTMARE]

I’ve kept pushing forward and finally destroyed the knob while only getting another 5-6*. But the more I turn the knob the more the boot twists with it.

 

[Bitten in '69]

You might have an issue now because the boot should be unaffected. Are you also replacing the shifter? If so, pull up the whole boot and carry on.
If not, you should stop the reverse detent from turning. You don't want to break the plastic inside.

 

[skinnyb]

I know its not helpful in your particular case, but my Mach 1 (Tremec Trans, very similar), the knob was REALLY on there, but it did twist and come off. I believe they used red loctite. I put blue loctite on mine going back as well... Changed my knob at first, then ended up going to a MGW shifter altogether.. Had my local shop in Luttrell TN install for me

 

[TnWHTMARE]

You might have an issue now because the boot should be unaffected. Are you also replacing the shifter? If so, pull up the whole boot and carry on.
If not, you should stop the reverse detent from turning. You don't want to break the plastic inside.

I agree 100%. As you can see in the picture, all I had done was rotate the shift knob with the strap wrench. The boot just went with it from the start. I don’t understand why.

 

[WD Pro]

I’m on a GT, so admittedly not a direct comparison.

My OE knob was ‘tight’, I was convinced I was going to break something.

I put the Ford Performance knob on with plenty of blue loctite …

Move on a few years and I put the Steeda shift collar on.

That blue loctite gave me half a turn, then locked up solid …

Surgical gloves over the knob, strap wrench, and taking it slow got it done, but it was ‘really’ hard work, and I was convinced something was going to break.

Everything turned out OK (I hope yours does too), but I was sure to only use a single really thin stripe of thread lock upon reassembly - I wasn’t sure if it would hold (which was a better option then the alternative), but it’s been perfectly fine.

I suspect it probably comes down to thread tolerance - with a tight thread binding up real tight, even with blue.

Whatever you are up to, just go really easy with the stuff on reassembly

WD

 

[matthewr87]

And here I am constantly having to rotate my OEM knob back into place because it spins so easily. Will have to get some blue loctite on there.

 

[Bitten in '69]

When I was installing my MGW shifter, removing the knob was awful. I worked it bit by bit. I had to keep escalating. Finally the fabric on the knob gave way. Ended up using a pipe wrench. After getting the knob off, I found that the reverse detent was broken. So, that is where my warning about additional damage comes from.
Whatever had been done at the factory was excessive and over the top.

 

[TnWHTMARE]

When I was installing my MGW shifter, removing the knob was awful. I worked it bit by bit. I had to keep escalating. Finally the fabric on the knob gave way. Ended up using a pipe wrench. After getting the knob off, I found that the reverse detent was broken. So, that is where my warning about additional damage comes from.
Whatever had been done at the factory was excessive and over the top.

So how did the reverse detent damaged? Is it because it’s rotating the whole shifter handle?

 

[Bitten in '69]

It must have bound up on the underside of the knob and broke when twisted too far.

 

[sothpaw]

I had the same experience, got my turned about 30 degrees with a strap wrench. Then went to a large pipe wrench (about 15 inches long), turned it a bit more but destroyed the shift knob covering and quit because I was afraid I'd break something. Drove it to work like that and found it incredibly dangerous, difficult to shift, so figured I was past the point of no return. Went back with the pipe wrench and more muscle and finally got it off. Found red loctite on threads. New knob looks great but I vowed to leave my car alone after the experience.

 

[526 HRSE]

And here I am constantly having to rotate my OEM knob back into place because it spins so easily. Will have to get some blue loctite on there.

I always leave mine loose. I drove my jeep with a t handle Hurst shifter like that for a decade so it just became a habit to fiddle with it while I drove. When I changed mine in my car, I left it loose.

Fast forward, I had my car in the shop and when I got it back, there were a couple hundred extra miles on it and my shifter was glued.

I almost went Karen on them but I stayed quiet. It wouldn't have ended well so I let discretion get the better part of valor.

 

[honeybadger]

Some knobs need heat to loosen up without feeling like you’re going to break the shifter. Apply heat to the knob and it’ll loosen up. A heat gun should work

 

[DRIVEN]

The ones that are "on there" are almost imposible not to damage let alone destroy.

 

[Bitten in '69]

Yeah, in my efforts I used my heat gun. Got it as hot as I dared, then wrapped in microfiber cloth and applied a strap wrench. The red in the shift pattern melted and got all over, then the knob covering started to give way. At that point it was F-it, and the pipe wrench came out. As I said before, way overdone by the factory.

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