Gear Knob Removal

[Scooblitz]

Hello

I've had the z for just over 3 years and the shifter has been way down the to do list and just lived with it.

I have tried to removed it with force but either I'm not tugging hard enough or it's not for budging. I don't want to tug much harder as the shifter is attached to the linkages themselves.

The semi-sphere is solid metal so taking a Dremel to it is going to be too messy an affair.

Any thoughts on how remove this would be most welcome.

Is there a way to perhaps remove the gear shaft if i can't remove the knob itself?

 

[DrWong]

This is relevant to me as I’ve got a second hand one getting delivered this week. My plan is to drop hood so I can stand (but not on the seats), put it in gear and then brute force, being careful not to be above so I don’t smash my face with my knob when it, erm, releases

In your case, I’d be encouraged by the aftermarket jobbie, as it shows the original must’ve come off somehow.!

 

[mwpe]

Cheers Mike. Was good to see you again. That means it took us 4 hours to do all that.

This is relevant to me as I’ve got a second hand one getting delivered this week. My plan is to drop hood so I can stand (but not on the seats), put it in gear and then brute force, being careful not to be above so I don’t smash my face with my knob when it, erm, releases

In your case, I’d be encouraged by the aftermarket jobbie, as it shows the original must’ve come off somehow.!

That is the best method, they take quite a pull.

 

[Z Victor 1]

I used the hood down stand over the gear lever and pull method and nearly pulped my wedding tackle ! Be careful, but that was a standard gear knob. As yours is after market who knows what the fit is like?? Most steel or alloy knobs have little grub screws to secure the knob so if this doesn't it may be an even tighter fit than normal. Good luck!

 

[Mike Fishwick]

I wonder if the chrome ring can be pushed down to reveal a couple of grub screws?

I have never had any problems removing my standard knob by tilting and pulling it. The idea of exerting a 110 pound pull - as in the Bentley manual - seems an excessive way to remove it.

In the worst case, removal of the knob and gear lever is easy - just pull the leather gaiter up, to reveal the pivot ball, and release it as per the photos in my article on making a short-shifter.

 

[Robert Hill]

I agree with z victo1 I have just removed mine as the gear gator is going to leather buff for restoration
I thought I was going to damage gear linkage I was pulling it with both hands eventually it gave way

 

[bertiejaffa]

Pull the boot/gaitor out at the bottom and up over the gear knob - it could be that there are screws under the boot/gaitor that are fixing the knob to the stick.

 

[Scooblitz]

Thanks for responses so far.

Brute force - I can feel no play whatsoever in the gear knob.

Grub Screws - can't see anything screw related after lifting up the boot gaiter.

Bit of a loss....could be a full removal of the gear stick as a whole.

 

[Delk]

To pull the shaft lever you have to remove the entire shaft linkage from below the car.

Two spring clips alow the shfter rod to the gear box to be removed.
Then there is a pin at the end of rhe gearbox. This comes out and you can pull the shifter bracket and lever out together.

 

[ZEDonist UK]

If you slide the boot down from the gear knob I assume you just see the shaft and the base of the gear knob is chamfered?

Have you tried unscrewing it?
They may have threaded the gear shaft and screwed it on. It does seem an excessive process though….

 

[Mike Fishwick]

'To pull the shaft lever you have to remove the entire shaft linkage from below the car.'

No you don't! If you remove the gaiter etc and look at the gear lever, you will find a spring clip at the base, which is easily removable with a pair of pointed bent pliers. This allows the pivot pin to be removed from the lever without disturbing the shift rod.

 

[ZEDonist UK]

This is what the shaft and original gear knob looks like

 

[Delk]

Learn something new every day. I have only done mine from underneath when pulling the gearbox.

 

[DrWong]

Sorted mine over the weekend and it took far longer than anticipated. The original gear knob was in two pieces and held together with an elastic band. When I tried to remove it, it then broke into three pieces leaving the inner plastic collar stuck to the metal shaft The plastic had somehow welded itself to the metal shaft over the course of two decades(!) and I had to break it apart to get it off. This got the bulk of the plastic off but left lots of manky plastic residue in places. The locating slot on the top of the shaft was full of plastic and had to hacksaw a relief cut and chip it out with a screwdriver. Then used a sharp blade to clean the rest of the residue, but this scratched off loads of the plating and left bare metal exposed. So masked the car off and sprayed some primer and top coat before installing the replacement, which went on in seconds.

Original gearknob

After removal:

Manky plastic left on the metal shaft:

After cleaning:

Masked up for painting:

After primer and colour coat