Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

I'm trying to remove an original gear shift knob from my gear shift, but it is stuck.
I've tried PB Blaster to loosen it, but it is still stuck.
I've been using an old towel and have been trying to loosen it by hand.

I don't want to use vice grips for fear of damaging the surface of the knob.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Neil

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

if you don`t care about the nickel on the shifter. take a torch and heat the shifter about 1" down from the knob and let it cool, sometimes it takes a couple times, you want the heat to work it way down into the knob,

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

What if you used a strap wrench to try and rotate the knob.They make them with a leather or vinyl covered strap and that should not damage the knob.

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

Go to the kitchen and get one of the grippy things you wife uses to open jars or tell a teenager he can’t remove it by hand

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

Bighammer, I was just going to type in the same thing. Use channel locks over it to not scratch anything.

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

With arthritic hands, thinking outside of the box helps, sometimes

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

Believe it or not it is possible to have a knob stuck so hard that no matter what you do, you will twist the end of the shift stick off or disintegrate the ball before it comes off.
I had one like this on a customer car once.
We used a strap wrench. It was absolutely not slipping or marking the ball but the ball was not moving so the owner said go for it and see what happens. The end of the stick twisted off. We drilled the piece out of the ball, re-cut the thread on the stick and sent him on his way.
By the way we had the stick on the bench and clamped in a gunsmith type barrel clamp.

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I chuckled and appreciated the good humor suggestions, as well.
I did remove it tonight. I first wrapped the knob with a velcro strap and then tried turning it with a huge pipe wrench. That did not work. The velcro did not seem to grip the knob.
Next, I wrapped the knob with velcro again and placed it in a vice. I then turned the shift mechanism by hand and it came free.
The knob is scratch free.

Thanks again,
Neil

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

First time I've heard of using velcro for an anti-slip "gripper".

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

I use an old thick leather belt for things like that

Re: Need help removing gear shift knob without damaging it.
 

[QUOTE=Big hammer;2111613]Go to the kitchen and get one of the grippy things you wife uses to open jars or tell a teenager he can’t remove it by hand

This was my favourite. Tell a teenager he can’t possibly remove it. His hands will hurt and his face will be red !