I just bought the AE 5 speed shift ****, and my question is regarding installation; How hard is it to remove the stock shift **** without damaging it, I heard that's it's actually glued with loctite to the shaft. Is that true ? I'm thinking of wrapping the **** with a towel and twisting it with some wrench, is that enough ?
Once I take it off, would the AE **** just screw on, or would I need some glue lock it in place ?

 

If you have a strap wrench you should use that instead of vice grips.

I used a vice grip on mine and it took quite a bit of effort. I wrapped the shifter with a sock but still got a little scuffing on the leather. Try twisting the shifter off by your hand first. I am not sure if the AE **** will need to be glued. I would dry fit first and see if it is needed. I would only use glue if it is absolutely neccessary.

 

I got mine off pretty easily by hand. Just let the car sit in the hot sun for a few hours, which will loosen up the glue. Then just twist it with all your might. A towel may help you get a better grip.

 

I bought the AE shift **** for my '95 SE, and have had it installed for about 5 months now. It's not quite as well made as you'd think. The top portion scratches VERY easily. It's starting to look rather ****ty, actually. Wherever a scratch occurs, shiny aluminum shows through. I'm going to try coating it with a Krylon matte clear coat, to see if I can stop it from getting worse. But overall, I'm VERY disappointed with the quality of this product. My next step is to contact Nissan and complain.