Shift Knob
 

ok, so for the last month or so i've been wondering how to get my shift knob off. you guys may laugh but two mechanics and a dealership "master" mechanic later its still on there solid. apperently i have to take a hacksaw or dremmel tool and cut the top part off or just replace it with a shortshifter. either way i'm going to get destructive. is there ANYONE who might have a idea or method of getting it off? thanks

iuno try 2 pipe wrenches 1 on the shift link and one on the shift knob and giver! =D

lol, tired that......twice

The shift knob, as in the rubber piece? Unscrew it counter-clockwise. You may want to heat it up with a heat gun or maybe hair drier to loosen it up some

yeaah......tried that. Didn't work.
heat gun? is that really going to make enough of a difference that two channel locks couldn't undo?

On my 2nd supra I had to use the heat gun, got it kinda gooey but it came off... My first one just unscrewed with a little TLC (it was probably removed at some point before I owned it).

In any case, you have the right idea on how to remove it- they do unscrew.

ok. well first i gotta go find something to produce heat. and i'll try that. hopefully it works

Shift Knob
 

Mine turns in my hand, Figured it just unscrewed. You guys saying it doesn't unscrew?

thats what i expected at first. and at first i was embarrassed to ask anyone because i thought i was just a weakling lol. but when i took my car in to get the clutch replaced the mechanic told me that he couldnt get it off either. and today i took it to the dealership and their mechanic used a pipe wrench-vice grip combo thing and STILL couldnt even get the thing to budge.

Hmmmm
 

Does your turn like mine or is yours just solidly stuck on there and can't be moved?

.............? Shouldn't all shiftknobs be removable? especially a stick shift?

they are. -.-

Lol. Thought so.

should have used pipe wrenched they get tighter as u turn

from what btwilson said. it sounds like it is fitted with a sealant from the factory. probably due to the vibrations making them come loose and what not. so they slapped some glue on it when they put it on in the factory.. a heat gun costs like 20 bucks maybe and those guys do get hot.

It could be that someone thought they would be smart and use some epoxy or glue to stop it from coming loose. Who knows what people do to a 20 plus year old car.

907's got it here... They weren't glued on from the factory, just slightly undercut threads to ensure a high friction bond. I've seen quite a few glued on in various parts cars over the years.

greeeeaaaaat.......
ok. so i guess heatgun and melting away it is. i hope by the time i'm done i can put another shift knob back on.....:(

Melt away?
 

You're going to try and melt it off? I would saw it before I would try something like that. Cut down off center from top to bottom enough to be able to crack it with a chisel, the same way you would chisel cut a stripped nut on a rusted bolt. Use a power rotary saw to weaken it enough to break it away. This will leave it clean and ready for a new knob. Wire wheel off whatever glue they used. Even if you saw into the shifter no scarring would show once you put on the new knob. Treat it like an Apple. Just cut it apart....SIMPLE.

that post gave me a mental image of nerds on one end of the room with there gadgets trying to coerce an item off.. and in walks this big guy with a sledge hammer.. "move out the way nerds and let me SMASH it off."

gave me a snicker.

Dissection
 

Dissection more than smashing, but I get your point.:bouncy:

To clarify I wasn't suggesting anyone melt the damn thing off, I suggested the heat gun to either loosen up the rubber/plastic so it was more pliable/less bite on the shifter, or to loosen any epoxy that may be on it.

(CRE drops torch, pulls goggles off, hangs head and shuffles off mumbling disappointedly.)

btwilson86, i understood what you meant. i didnt mean to give the impression that i was litteraly going melt the WHOLE shift-knob. lol

and LOL to the rest of you who like destroying things

Melt away
 

Yes I understand that but heat can discolor chrome and if they used something like JB Weld or something heat resistent that would not work. Cre you crack me up!:rofl2:

........chrome? and i really hope that someone didnt go through the trouble of using that for a shiftknob......lol

well i still like my pipe wrench idea! (not chanel locks) there 2 different things~

hmm now i want a snicker... the chocolate bar

well, tired the pipe wrench today. still didnt even budge. wtf. lol
guess i'll wait till my girlfriend brings over her hair dryer. lol

maybe a pic of the shifter? or is it stock?
Mine is a short shifter with hockey tape and some plastic chrome ball.

Its excellent because it will pop off if you ever speed shift from 1st to second.. just to remind me that either my synchro is shot or something else is wrong.. therefore protecting second gear...

yeah. I'll take a picture when I can. but it's a stock setup as far as I know

Lol.. I have tried finding a "cut-away" picture of the shift knob.. : )
Nada.. I would just pop into the local Toyota dealer and ask to see it on their parts screen. I dont see it in the TSRM either. You may just want to crack it open if you arent too concerned with keep it.. (cut it in half basically). I would be worried about twisting something if I was wrenching it around in the socket...

i was just looking at your parts page.. you can get those balljoints for about 70 bucks.. plus tie rod ends off of ebay.. im scared to try it out tho..

Actually, I got those, and I have a friend that is a GM Master mechanic. He came over to assist (in the end.. he did it all). Took him about an hour to do both sides.. he just removed the shock from the arm, and I held it down with a buster bar. Was quite simple for him.. would have taken me the entire day.. lol.

Now, though, when I take a fast corner in one directing I get a squeak/scraping sound from time to time. Thinking my bushings may be dry. And the steering does not feel tight.

Being that I am not a mechanic, I will probably get a front end guy to look at it and see if there is more wrong.

good idea. so you did get an ebay set tho?

No, I bought it from one of the resellers in the forums (cant recall who, have to hunt down the bill, because its not in my digital files yet). I think it may have been Auto Village, if I remember right. They are the sealed ones with the rubber cup and no grease nipple. Look pretty well like the OEM version.. and I think I paide 80.00 for the pair (did both sides).