Hullo,

Ive got a '99 Max SE, 5 speed and wanted to replace the rather cheesy stock shift ****. I purchased one, but i cant figure out how to get the damn stock one off. Ive tried unscrewing it, but its on pretty good and i dont want to twist the tranny off.

any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

 

twist counter clockwise VERY HARD!

i had to get some friends to help me get my stock shift **** off...it was a PITA

 

Strap wrench from Sears...

 

you're not going to bust your tranny or anything it's ok.
they screw it on really tight so it won't ever start moving.

 

there are many threads on this topic, where , if searched for, you can find many good suggestions. i cut mine the *@&$ off

 

Wrap a towel around the shifter, use a wrench, and twist counter clockwise like you have a set.

 

thanks for all your help, i will be trying that first thing in the morning... i had looked long and hard for a way to do this, but nuthin came up

glad there is a place where a n00b can ask questions

thanks again

 

IT is hard dude, I posted this a while back and some people found it easier to heat it up with a hair drier or something called a heat gun.

It's always hot in Tx so I wrapped the **** with a small towel and used like a plumbing wrench and twisted HARD. The reason it's tough is because they put some type of glue around the thread so it doesn't move when you're shifting, like the others have stated.

 

I used vice grips and it popped then unscrewed. Does your replacement use allen screws to keep it in place? If so, you may want to dab a smidge of trim glue in there to keep the ne know in place

 

if you're planning on saving the stock one.. you can forget about it.. the stitching and the cheap leather are going to twist and tear..so don't plan on it.

 

That's what I used to help a friend remove his oem ****. It was a dog to get off even with the strap wrench!! The nice thing about it is that it doesn't do any damage to the **** itself. Rubber wash gloves can also come in handy to removing the **** once it's been worked loose.