swapping out the manual tranny knob
 

Has anyone here swapped out the manual shifter knob on their HHR? I tried twisting it but to no avail and until I know for sure it actually does unscrew I did not want to force it. :confused: The one on my Mazda unscrewed easily. I would like to replace it with either a metal or leather one with some blue on it to match the outside color.

I'd like to change mine too...but like you, don't want to force it and break something. Will keep my eye on this thread for responses from someone who may have already taken the plunge. :lol:

OK YOU GUY'S READY FOR THIS IT'S REALLY EASY. The boot the goes around the shifter push down need a little force to push it down and then there are for little white legs that hold the shift knob on and so take a small flat head and peel it back a little and pull up on the knob

Cool...thanks Phillip. That sounds easy enough. Now all I have to do is find a really cool NASCAR shifter knob. :lol:

how about the auto tranny shifter?

I sure like the looks of the short shifter he's got on his car for the 5 speed. :nuts:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...78_13_full.jpg

Actually you don't have to push down. Give the black plastic ring a twist and it will push down very easily. After that just lift the knob off. I have a little metal one (bad idea in AZ by the way) that has blue LED's in it that my g/f gave me! its Kewl!

For those of you who don't know this there are four white fingers on the shift knob that are exposed once you slide the boot down (I'm talking MTX since I don't know how thw ATX is designed). These four fingers have a raised part at the bottom that grips into a grove cut into the shifter shaft. Once you pry these away the knob simply lifts off of the shaft. If you want to replace the knob your best bet is to thread the shaft using a 12mmx1.25 die, you can also cut some of the shaft down first to make it a short shifter. Once you've threaded the shaft you can install a miriad of aftermarket knobs, many manufactures use this thread as their standard thread size therefore you can use any knob made for them. An example would be the knobs for the Ford Focus. They use the same thread pitch. Some of the knobs you find will be opened up at the bottom for a reverse lock out, if that's the case just use the knob without it.

Below is an example of what I'm using. I replaced my shifter with one made for a Cobalt with reverse lock out. I just used the shifter and left off the lock out mechanism. I then bought a gray leather "Hurst" shift knob made for a late model Camaro (of course it didn't fit so I had to mod it, but that's an entirely different post). The result is an extremely short shifter that blends well with my interior and fit's me to a "T".

Shot from the back seat:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...6/ee3065f4.jpg

From the driver's seat:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...4/ee3065f0.jpg

From the passenger seat:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...9/ee3065f3.jpg

Compared to seat height:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...b/ee30657f.jpg

-Dan

Dan-d is cutting the shaft as good as getting short shifter that you installed? Is that the only difference of stock and an aftermarket short shifter?