DIY 2012 Civic Si - How to remove your shift knob

stormtrooper said:
So I followed these instructions the other day. No offense to the people that designed the OEM shift knob which looks really cool but its metal. Here in the desert I would get in my car and I can't touch my shift knob because it is literally to hot to handle. Like you can burn your self hot here in AZ. So ordered an installed an aftermarket Momo shift knob the other day. I installed it like the DIY instructions stated. Here is the finished product.
View attachment 27821 View attachment 27822
But after looking at it after a while I think I did something wrong because now the boot won't go up all the way because I don't have the original shifter shaft on. The shift knob had its own bottom part but I can't fit the retaining clips on the bottom
of the shift knob. So now there is this gap in between the boot and the shift knob.
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Is this a problem that there is a gap between those two areas other then for aesthetics? It would be nice if my boot came up to the bottom of the shift knob like everybody else. Did I install this incorrectly or am I supposed to take the retaining clip out of the boot? If so how do you take your boot out of your car without having to uninstall half your dashboard? If I take the retaining clip out of the boot will it still say up and flush with bottom of shift knob?
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The only issue you would have is dirt and debris dropping down the opening.

As far as getting it to sit flush, you will have to improvise. Have you tried to just use the stock retainer?
 
try ^^^ or maybe take the knob off, remove the boot and plastic piece again, and slip a fat rubber grommet on the shifter shaft. Once you put the boot and knob back on, slide the grommet up the shaft by hand, right through the boot material. That's what I did. It will hold the boot in place at the top as long as the grommet is fat enough to catch the underside of the clips on the boot retainer. I hope that made sense.
 
squiggy said:
The only issue you would have is dirt and debris dropping down the opening.

As far as getting it to sit flush, you will have to improvise. Have you tried to just use the stock retainer?
Click to expand...

I'm going to try to remove the stock retainer and boot to see what my options are.

hotdogjohnny said:
try ^^^ or maybe take the knob off, remove the boot and plastic piece again, and slip a fat rubber grommet on the shifter shaft. Once you put the boot and knob back on, slide the grommet up the shaft by hand, right through the boot material. That's what I did. It will hold the boot in place at the top as long as the grommet is fat enough to catch the underside of the clips on the boot retainer. I hope that made sense.
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Is there a proper way to remove the boot? Is there clips on the edges by the plastic silver rectangle and the base of the boot or something? Yout mean put a rubber grommet on the outside or inside of the boot?
 
stormtrooper said:
I'm going to try to remove the stock retainer and boot to see what my options are.



Is there a proper way to remove the boot? Is there clips on the edges by the plastic silver rectangle and the base of the boot or something? Yout mean put a rubber grommet on the outside or inside of the boot?
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My bad. I was thinking you had the boot off but you just had the knob off. there'a a DIY (I think it's Squiggy's) on replacing base bushings. In it are pix of the process to get knob, boot, etc. off. Here is what you do. Remove your new knob and retainer. Then reach into the rear of the boot with fingers from both hands, and pull up fairly hard. This piece will come free from the rest of the console, with the boot attached.
2d Boot.jpg
Before you try this, look at the DIY and you should be fine. The grommet I'm talking about would go inside the boot near the top of the shifter and will hold the boot up by the plastic ring once you put it all back together.
 
So I removed the entire shift console like you directed. Then I removed the stock retaining clip shaft/cylinder. Went to home depot got a rubber grommet 5/8". Put the boot end through the grommet and flipped it inside out on the edges so it wraps back up like the stock retaining clip. Moved it up and was able to make flush with bottom of shift knob.
:thumbsup:
IMG_20131004_104919.jpg
 
squiggy said:
Tools needed:
9/16 open end wrench
Flat head screwdriver - possibly

1. Remove the shift knob by pulling down on the shift boot. It will not simply pull straight down. I found it is best to pull down and angle it slightly and work it from there. You may find it easier to use a flat head screwdriver and pry the clip loose while pulling it down. Once the boot clip is off, use the 9/16 wrench on the retaining piece for the shift knob. Turn it right to loosen it. Once you have done this, you can turn the shift knob to the left. It will take about a dozen full turns to get it off.

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When putting the knob back on, you will want to screw it back on as far as it goes and then position it so the image lines up right. After you do that, then you will want to hold it in place and tighten the retaining ring to keep it in place.
Note:You want this to be tight so it doesn't come loose mid-shift!
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So I tried to lock it into place with the numbers aligned but the retaining ring doesn't seem to want to tighten so my numbers are vertical instead of horizontal. :(
 
rayrayfit13si said:
So I tried to lock it into place with the numbers aligned but the retaining ring doesn't seem to want to tighten so my numbers are vertical instead of horizontal. :(
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I put on a pair of rubberized work gloves, the grippy kind, and held the retainer ring still with left hand while tightening down the knob with right hand. Obviously, you align the numbers before doing this. In fact, I ran the knob all the way down on the threads to the last point where the numbers aligned where they're supposed to be (before it bottomed out - I like the shifter to look short). Then I backed the knob off a little, ran the retainer nut up to it, and tightened the two against each other. Hope this helps.
 
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My only problem is no matter what way I turn the retainer nut it stays in the same place.. Am I pretty much screwed on this..?
 
rayrayfit13si said:
My only problem is no matter what way I turn the retainer nut it stays in the same place.. Am I pretty much screwed on this..?
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can you post a pic of what your setup looks like right now, pointing out the retainer nut?
 
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Where I have the red marks is where the 12mm open end wrench goes. There're 2 flat sides there. Re-align your numbers how you want them, hold the knob still and tighten the nut up against the knob using the open-ended wrench. I hope you didn't round off the flat sides by using a vicegrip. If you did, file two sides down flat and put a smaller open end wrench on it.
 
hotdogjohnny said:
View attachment 28947

Where I have the red marks is where the 12mm open end wrench goes. There're 2 flat sides there. Re-align your numbers how you want them, hold the knob still and tighten the nut up against the knob using the open-ended wrench. I hope you didn't round off the flat sides by using a vicegrip. If you did, file two sides down flat and put a smaller open end wrench on it.
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Okay, so I tried doing that but it won't tighten. It's like it just keeps spinning. Would putting a washer there work?
 
rayrayfit13si said:
Okay, so I tried doing that but it won't tighten. It's like it just keeps spinning. Would putting a washer there work?
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If it keeps spinning, it's a spinning problem inside the knob. The bolt can't keep spinning against a solid object above it. I've never used a washer to stop a spinning object myself.
 
Do you have a threaded insert that came with yor knob, to match the Honda threads? If so, take the knob off, remove the threaded insert sleeve, put a few drops of semi-permanent (blue) threadlocker on, run the insert in just until its flush with the base of the knob, not all the up into the top of the knob, and let it dry for 30 mins. Then try the install again the above-described way. Be forewarned, the threadlocker may nake it toough to get the insert out if you ever switch to another car.
 
hotdogjohnny said:
If it keeps spinning, it's a spinning problem inside the knob. The bolt can't keep spinning against a solid object above it. I've never used a washer to stop a spinning object myself.
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Okay well the knob is okay it works just fine I tried it on my buddies car. It seems like there's something wrong with the nut?
 
I bet the nut is not spinning, but the wrench is spinning because you rounded off the nut. Try your buddy's nut in your car (that just sounds wrong, sorry).
 
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