The shift knob on my 41 SD is broken in half. There is a knub firmly attached to the shifter. I assume I just need to grab it with a pair of pliers and twist to get it off? The instructions for replacement on Filling station say " View Cart Continue Shopping GEAR SHIFT KNOB Ivory This plastic gearshift lever knob is correct for all 1940-1948 Chevrolet passenger cars. The knob is ivory in color. Must be heated in hot water to be installed. It has a 3/8" ID hole for installation. Replaces GM# 3665490."
Any idea how hot? It's really just a friction fit?
I would slit the old knob so it can be removed with no drama. Place the new knob in hot water for 10 minutes, about 180 Deg. You will notice that one edge of the new knob is slightly thicker than the other. The thicker edge goes away from the steering wheel and the knob shold be not horizontal but perpendicular to the steering wheel.
Just to support Gene in his discriptiuon of the angle of the new knob. He is right.
Another way to look at how it is set is that it should be at about a right angle (90 degrees) to the plane described by the turning of the steering wheel. With the fat edge toward the dash. If you miss the angle by a few degrees, don't worry about it.
You can take the gear shift lever off and take it in the kitchen to perform this replacement. Stick the broke knob in the hot water and it wil swell and then will slip right off. Then you can slip the new one right on. As it cools it will seze to the arm. Put the arm back on the column and you're done. Send me ten bucks.
The knob was designed, positioned, and shaped to fit between your index and center finger for shifing with your fingers with out removeing your hand from the steering wheel.
This is how my current (broken) knob was positioned (fatter side is up). From everyone's descriptions....it needs to be rotated 90 degrees forward/towards the dash. Right?
The reason these knobs break off is that the engineers at Chevrolet designed them so that they would.
The reason they came up with this clever idea was that whenever someone who was not familiar with the vacuum shift got in the car and, prior to starting the engine, demanded that the stinkin' shift lever be in the neutral position and thus making spagatti out of the shift levers, the knob would break in their fist. Thanks to the engineers I say.
Gene is right. Just a couple of fingertips to let the lever know where you wanted it to go was all it took on a properly operating vacuum system. In almost all cases you didn't need to lift a hand from the steering wheel. Sweet!
You who have converted your shifting mechanism from vacuum to a mere lever, may not realize what you are missing.
Thanks Charlie I need to get down there and see what has been done. Watching the old videos and understanding what is going on is going to change my shifting action. It seems like a very deliberate “neutral” step is required between first and second (my struggle shift)
I you still have the vacuum unit it most likely needs to be lubed.How to lub. IF you have it and decide to remove and lube make sure you maintain ALL the setting on the linkage.
I you still have the vacuum unit it most likely needs to be lubed.How to lub. IF you have it and decide to remove and lube make sure you maintain ALL the setting on the linkage.
I saw shock insulating fluid on COTFs but also saw mention of transmission fluid in previous posts. Preference either way?
"To remove the gearshift lever without disturbÂing the balance of the assembly, shift into reverse gear position (this makes the pins much easier to reach and press in), depress the pivot pins (the two circles on top/bottom of the base of the lever, directly above the column) approximately 3/32" then lift up on the lever and pull it outward.
The gearshift lever anti-rattle spring and pivot pin spring may be removed by removing the pivot pins, compressing the legs of the spring and lifting it upward."
Re-assembly is simple: compress the pins, slide the lever back over, and wiggle it around until the pins pop back through. Note the pins are only held in place (it seems) by the pressure of the spring and tension against the shift lever so, once the lever is out, the pins might fall off and roll away. Just put them back in and push the spring back through the hole in the bottom, no big deal.
Knob removal: I tried the hot water method to remove my broken nob base from the lever, but sadly I didn't have any luck. I didn't have a great way to get good even pressure onto the stub of the knob. I thought it was glued on it was on so well. I ended up getting a Dremel with a wheel bit which cut right through the stuff. Wear eye protection, it will make a mess of hot plastic-like material going everywhere. All I had to do was cut a slit in it such that it could bend, careful to only cut it to the point it was very thin, and it fell right off. I suggest wrapping the handle in a towel to protect it from the Dremel and plastic shards.
For the knob re-install: See the attached picture, it seems the existing videos on here are broken. It's supposed to be perpendicular to the wheel such that you can take your fingers and get them on the top/bottom of it to then control it without taking the palm off the wheel. The thinner side of the plastic handle points toward the driver.
I ended up heating up the knob in hot water for 5 minutes (this seems to make it more malleable, re-installing the lever in the car, putting the knob on by hand to make sure it was angled correctly (make sure you test while part of your hand is still on the steering wheel for proper angle), tapping the knob on gently just enough to make sure it wasn't going to move during this next part, removing the lever from the car again, heating the whole end of the lever (knob included) back up for 5 more minutes, then placing the bottom of the lever on a towel and tapping the knob down the rest of the way on with a rubber mallet.
I would recommend you NOT attempt to tap the knob back on while the lever is installed. At least in my case, the knob was very snug and I did not want to send all that force into those two little pins that hold the handle in place and possibly bend/warp them. Best to simply take the handle out again and place the handle on a towel on a hard surface to then tap it back on. This made it very easy to tap the rest of the way down, especially without fear of damaging anything.
To install a new knob first soak in hot water. This softens the plastic slightly and also expands the opening. The flat end of the knob is slightly thicker on on side - that side goes away from the steering wheel, The knob is installed at the same angle as the steering wheel....the reason for the is that the shift lever can be moved with just your finger tips without taking your hand off the steering wheel (if vacuum is working OK)
I have a few new genuine new knobs in stock for $10 + shipping (in the US)
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