DIY : M6 shift knob removal on a 2013
 

I recently put my MGW shifter into my 2013 2SS M6. I originally installed it my 2010. Back then, the instructions were to simply pull up hard on the knob and wiggle it until it popped off. Once the knob was loose, you simply pushed down on the plastic trim ring for the top of the shifter boot and it seperated from the bottom of the knob.

When I started trying to yank the knob off of my 2013 it wouldn't budge. Recognizing there must have been a change, I put out a thread asking for help. Forum member Minge came to my aid and told me there was a screw below the trim piece. He told me you had to wiggle and turn the plastic collar and push it down to access the screw. Knowing this, I went back and mis-interpretted his instructions and promptly broke two little tabs off of my collar for the boot.

No worries for me as my install doesn't re-use the collar, but I thought I'd put this thread up for those that need to or those that simply don't want to ruin anything.The trick to the collar is to lift a little, turn it counter-clockwise a bunch (like a quarter of a turn!) while pulling it down, away from the shifter knob. Wiggling and pulling no longer does it.

Good luck!

Were you able to re use your leather boot for the hurst?
How did you get the coller off the boot?

Thanks for posting this...it was my fault you broke your collar my instructions were not very clear. You did a much better job.

It is nice to see so many people rake the time to post things like this it is so helpful to others.

Your advice helped a bunch. I just added the details you really couldn't get without a picture. Thanks, again!

I put in a MGW. My retro knob shaft has a diameter with a groove machined into it. After removing the collar you invert the boot and pull it up over the knob so the bottom edge is just below the groove. You then put a zip tie into the groove and pull it tight. The stock 2010 boot and collar are done this way.

The 2013 collar has a chrome half and a black half that is hidden under the boot. There are 4 little locking tabs holding the two together. You pit a few little screw drivers under the tabs and the halves will seperate. The boot is sandwiched in with a bit of trim glue but if you pull slow and careful it will seperate.

^^^^^^^^ Thanks!!!^^^^^^^

Your a life saver!!!!!!!!

Thanks. The goal was to help "even if it was one person". Lol

Glad I did.

Omfg I have spent over an hour trying to get the knob out with force. Took three guys and it never budged. I love you (no homo) for this thread!

This is great. Ill be changing mine to a white ball and couldn't figure this out. Thanks

LMAO. Thanks for the props. I know I pulled on mine until I was sweating and my hands hurt because my 2010 just yanked off. I figured it would help someone. I've managed to score three or four wins. I still love C5. Much more useful than Fakebook!

Thank you. This made the install of my new shift knob so easy.

Some helpful tips, the bit needed is a T25 and about 90% of the force needed was used to rotate the shift boot trim ring, 10% of the force is needed to pull the trim ring up.

Agreed, on both points! Thanks.

Bringing up an old one here but this just saved me lots and lots of cursing. So THANKS!

You're welcome.

Does anyone know if this also applies to a 2014 V6 manual shift knob? I have been pulling and twisting and cannot get that chrome ring to budge. I really don't want to break stuff on a brand new car.

No idea. Should be easy to try.

Thanks so much for this. Now to find a brushed stainless cueball sized knob...

Thank you for this write-up! Saved me some aggravation haha! And I was able to remove it without breaking the tabs... and get my new paint-matched SS Red Rock Metallic shift knob installed... whew!!

You're welcome. What brand is that knob? What shifters does it fit? What colors do they offer? It looks really nice.

I got it from here:

http://camarocollection.com/accessor.../interior.html

they have them for automatic and manual trannies...

it does NOT fit factory hurst short-throw shifters on the 2010-2012's...

they DO have one for 2013-2014, and it DOES fit the GM performance short-throw shifter - that's what I have...

for the manual tranny, they have one for 2010-2012's.. and it's a different model for 2013-2014, due to the way it attaches...

they have them in all (or most) of the factory colors...

Thanks. Sounds like I keep what I have!

Were you able to get the ring to twist off eventually? I have the same model and will be starting this project soon. Thank you

Treat it like a medicine bottle with a safety cap. While sitting in the driver's seat, pull upwards, and twist left, this let's it do a quarter turn, then you just lower it down the shaft to get access to the screw.

Super easy.

Thank you, will be installing this Thursday

can't wait to do this

This article is not helping me though.

I've tried pressing up while turning the collar and pressing down (both ways) while turning the collar counter clock-wise and it still won't budge.

However, it looks like you broke yours apart.

Do the little black tabs retract inside inside the collar when pressing and turning it?

What yr is your car? The screw locks and how you remove them are different depending on year

I have a 2015. That means I have the single torx screw on the side securing the shifter to the shaft However, trying to remove the collar to access that screw is proving to be nearly impossible.

When I get my little mechanics mirror and point it up into the underside of the collar, I can see the little black tabs in the collar sitting in the grooved pocket on the shifter shaft.

The thing is, I don't know how they release from the shifter shaft. Do they retract when you apply downward pressure on the collar? It seems this would be counter intuitive because if you press the collar down while turning it, the tabs would get locked down even further into the grooved pocket on the shifter shaft.

If I apply upward pressure on the collar while turning it, this seems to work a little better. However, the tabs still won't clear the "step" inside the grooved pocket on the shifter. It just gets stuck there and won't turn anymore. I don't know what the secret is.

Maybe jamming a very small screwdriver underneath the collar to release the tabs might work, but I don't want to fark things up if I don't have to.

Check this out. The chrome collar gets rotating cc slightly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdQmj9_YMk8

Should be a lift and turn to get the tabs over the hump, then continue to turn while pushing it down.

So, it's a lift and turn to clear the hump in the groove?

The problem is, when I try to lift the collar, the bottom of the shifter knob gets in the way. Not much clearance in there to lift it up that much.

I remember someone saying to treat it like a medicine bottle top. However, with those you press down while turning.

Alright, I'll try pressing it upwards against the bottom of the shifter as much as I can to see if it will finally turn.

Thanks chef-beavis!

Yep look closely at the photo of the groove on the bottom of my shifter knob and you should be able to see which way you have to twist it when you lift it and how far you have to lift it.

That was me! I know you press down while turning for a medicine bottle, I just was using that example because you want to apply the turning motion WHILE pulling upwards. Much like how with a medicine bottle you have to turn WHILE pressing down. Because it's not just lift up THEN turn, it's lift up AND turn.

Make sense?

Alright, just as a follow up to this little mini ordeal I was having, lol, I finally was able to get the shift collar detached from the shifter shaft.

What I eventually ended up doing was turning the collar counter clock-wise with one hand while reaching under with the other hand and pushing up from under the bottom of the collar.

As soon as I did that, the collar turned and then slid down the shaft. I think trying to do everything all at once in one motion while turning the collar and pressing up (or down in the case of a medicine bottle top) made things worse for me.

So, if it doesn't want to budge doing it like a medicine bottle top, try doing it my way to see if that works better. It did for me. ;)

Is it possible to change the knob without changing the actual shift assembly? The knob I want is threaded and I wasn’t sure, but didn’t think it was a threaded stem on the shifter? Any help would be appreciated!

Thru hole on the stock shifter stick. No threads.

Just did this my self and this was the perfect analogy for taking off the shifter. Then there was a torque 25 screw and that was it. Got my shifter from speed Dawgs. Fits amazing.

Glad that helped :)