Shifter Knob

[kazyee]

how in sam hell do i get this fricken knob off >:/ im going crazy here without breaking anything anyone know?

[AllWheelGrip]

it manual or auto

[kazyee]

man.

[AllWheelGrip]

B6 A4: Changing Shift-Knobs
By Jumanji

Things You Will Need: Screwdriver, Electrical Tape, Your favorite replacement shift-knob and boot. In my case, a "Euro" Shift-Knob from EP Importers.

Mod Time: .5 hour

Difficulty (1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult): 1 - Really easy, all it takes is some basic tools, a bit of patience, and some muscle.

Step 1
The first step is the removal of the aluminum trim around the shifter. In order to do this, you pop open the ashtray, and while lifting, you pull the aluminum trim towards the stereo of the car. It takes some work to get it off, and you will be breaking two pieces that the aluminum trim uses to secure itself to the car.

Step 2
After removing the aluminum trim, you want to pull it up, exposing the actual shifter rod and a metal clamp, as you can see pictured below.



It takes some time, however you can get it off fairly easy. Just takes some force to get it to budge. Once you start turning the clamp counter clockwise, see if you can remove it completely by pulling up. If it still doesn't budge, you have to loosen the clamp more. I had to break mine in order to remove the shifter.

Step 3
After having removed the shift-knob, you're going to want to transfer the new shift-knob and boot to the aluminum trim. If you turn it around, you will see where there are little plastic clips. Press them in, and remove the boot from the aluminum trim. Replace the new shift-boot and shifter onto the aluminum trim.



Step 4
Go to your car, and take a look at the area where the shift-knob was. You will see two clip-type things stuck in the spot where the aluminum trim clamps onto. You have to remove those, and insert them back onto the aluminum trim. After you do this, then it's time to put the shift-knob on.

Here is where they are on the car:



What I found helpful, was to remove the foamy substance, and then push the clips through the bottom. Once I had both of them removed, I put the foam back. You want to be careful, because you don't want the clips to fall down and get lost.

Here are the clips on the aluminum trim. You can see how I removed them from the car, and inserted them back onto the aluminum trim.



Step 5
Push the shift-knob down onto the shift rod. And I do mean PUSH!

After you have it set, turn the knob a little from the left to the right. If it moves 1/2 inch, that means you didn't push hard enough, and/or the tip of the rod didn't fit perfectly into the shifter. The shifter makes a perfect fit for the shifter rod. Like i said previously, the clamp really isn't needed.

Step 6
Once the knob is secure, the last step is to put the aluminum trim back on. Start with the two back clamps, and then push the front down. You will feel a "click" when you put the aluminum trim back in place. Make sure everything is secure. If not, remove the aluminum trim and reseat it. It is much easier to remove the trim now that you have broken the two pieces that were there.

And that's it! You now have a very unique and very nice looking new shift-knob installed.