How to Remove The Shifter From Manual Transmission

There are many different types of transmissions and vehicles, so changing a shift form a manual transmission will vary between models. With this in mind, the actual process is virtually the same in every application, so without going into too much detail, let’s take a look at how to remove a shift from a manual transmission.

Introduction

For consideration, the reason people like to remove the shift is to replace it with a vamped up one or to replace an older or damaged lever. Shifters have a large aftermarket, so consider your vehicles make, model and year and make sure you buy one that suits your purposes without hindering performance.

Ford F150

The Ford 150 is a classic example to use for removing the gear shift. Ford is a company that is ergonomic in its design process, which means it tries its best to make it easy to reach and fix anything in its vehicles. Here is how to remove the shift from the Ford 150 manual transmission.

Step 1

Unscrew the four retaining bolts in the shift boot. These are each located on a corner of the boot, and you need to lift up the corner to reach the bolt.

Step 2

Expose the shift lever’s nut and bolt by pulling the boot directly upwards. Note that you don’t need to completely remove the boot from the lever and you don’t need to touch the shift knob either.

Step 3

Locate the nut and unscrew it using a socket wrench. Now push the bolt’s threaded side through the lever. Get a hold of the bolt from the other side and pull it out from the shift lever.

Step 4

You can now remove the shift (lever) from its square mounting boot.

Ford Ranger

As you can see, the removal of the shift in the F 150 is simple, and will only take you a couple of minutes. Now let’s take a look at a more timely version as found in the Ford Ranger.

Step 1

Unscrew the four retaining bolts in Take out the console that surrounds the shift boot and shift.

Step 2

Locate the two bolts under the front lip of the shift boot and unscrew them.

Step 3

Expose the shift lever’s nut and bolt LNow notice the protrusion at the front, it goes into a slot in the floor. Pull the locking cam all the way out from the shift. You do this by tightening the locking cam nut which slowly moves the cam out of its position.

Step 4

You will need to cut away or destroy the base of the rubber shift boot, this is a part you need to buy too when removing the shift in the Ford Ranger. This rubber boot uses plastic knobs to attach it to the console, and they break off when you apply pressure. Either break them or cut them off and remove the rubber boot.

Step 5

Now you can attach the new shift in place.

Conclusion

As you can see, the application is similar, its all a matter of locating the shift boot locking mechanisms, and the shift locking bolt. Once you have located these, you just remove them to remove the shift. In some instances, the shift might be placed under a large or integrated console as in some trucks and sports cars, in this instance, you will need to know how to remove the console before removing the shift. The Dodge is a classic example of how a large console with a shift boot and shift locking pin that needs to be removed, but the operation again is very similar to the Ford. In all cases, the tools you will need include a Screwdriver, a Socket wrench with a Socket set.

Editorial Staff

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