This doesn't show the black ring that the shift boot material stuffs inside. Then the black ring snaps over the boot flange. The boot material is sandwiched between the black ring on the outside, and the boot flange on the inside. That was the hard thing for me, to get the 4 lips at the bottom of the flange pushed in to get the black ring off. You can feel the end of the flange. I tried pliers, my hands, I couldn't do it. Finally I was able to work the material out of the sandwich without damaging it. Then it was easy to get the black ring off because it was part of the entire **** assembly. I stuffed the material into the black ring, screwed on the ****, and that was it.

 

Thank you very much MSC07MGM, I will try this method this weekend.

 

MCS07MGM Many Thanks for the info. . . .

My Whalen is due her any minute. This is gonna be EZ!

 

So, prying at location (2) released the **** from the shift boot, correct?

If I read your description right, you also had the shift lever dangling from the ****. Is that true? Or, did I misunderstand?

If the lever came away with the ****, how did you remove the **** from the lever?

Thanks,

 

Is this thread supposed to be funny? It is.

I'm doomed! I am getting a Whalen **** for Christmas and the most complicated mod I've yet accomplished was the antenna change-out. This thread doesn't bode well for a successful **** swap.

 

When I yanked very aggresively, the shift lever shaft was dangling inside the covering boot material ... putting the lever shaft back into place was just a matter of gently pushing it down until it slipped into place ... once back into place, a mild yank did nothing, the shaft stayed put ...

The **** came loose from the shaft with, as I recall, with a bit of fiddling ... no big effort at all ...

wls

 

Many thanks! I can't wait to try out this new method, as simply pulling was getting me nowhere. I would give it a go tonight, but it's cold, and I don't feel like going outside.

 

I would have freaked about the whole assembly coming loose!

One question. I've considering replacement shift ***** nothing more than decoration. How does it make it smoother than stock? Does the weight of the **** affect how the throw feels when shifting? I have a polished wooden shift **** in my 911 and never noticed any difference in shifting.

 

Be careful when it comes loose that you don't get yourself in the head!

 

My impression of improved 'smoothness' is due to the added height of the entire shift assembly ... according to Doug Whalen, the overall height of the assembly increases about 0.75 inches over factory **** ... in combination with the added mass ... factory **** weighs a few ounces, while WSM is some 18 ounces. So, the smoothness -- gear box changes gears with a satisfying click and positive latching -- appears to be improved somewhat ... a highly subjective call, especially considering the actual shifting in the MCS occurs via cables and their linkages.

On the other hand for the Z3, the mass of the WSM is the same as for the MCS variant, but the overall shift lever height actually reduces by about an inch ... and, the linkage is directly into the gear box, no cables ... so there was a VERY significant difference over the ounce or two of the factory Z3 ****.

Clearly, other people might have differing opinions ... for me, the MINI checkerboard vinyl inlay and brushed finish are COOL on the WSM ... I ordered it the day after getting the MCS ...

 

Installing my new Whalen **** (within hours of opening the box on Christmas morning) was easier than I thought it would be after reading this thread. Perhaps because I had already had my OEM shift **** replaced once (faux chrome was peeling off), pulling the OEM **** off the lever was a piece of cake. Separating the plastic boot flange from the lever groove was the hard part and required considerable counter-traction (which I achieved by use of my husband ). Once that was done, it was easy as pie.

Thanks for all the previous tips on this thread. Knowing the anatomy well made this pretty simple.

Here's the final result:


In my opinion, the drive does not differ in smoothness. However, the Whalen **** is much smaller than the OEM **** and does not have ridges on the top, and is therefore, much more comfortable for me.

 

I don't know how you guys are doing this. Is the boot just loose? You're relying on the seam to keep it up close to the ****?

Got my WSM ****, and I'm fabricating :( Took the whole assy. apart, was left with a ****, a boot, and the black ring that everyone knows about. Anyway, I ended up using a Dremel to cut off the bottom of the flange so that I could insert it to keep the boot pressed into the black ring. But I've no way to keep it near the ****. How are all of you doing this?

 

-adam ... merely rely on stiff boot material ... boot touches the bottom of the WSM quite firmly and has done so for 3,000 miles ... no problem

wls

 

Thanks for the info. I thought that might be it, but, I can't have that. I have a problem (lots of them, actually ) in that I'm sorta kinda really OCD.

When I posted before, I had just finished my "fabrication", and was looking for an answer as to how to keep the boot up. Well, I had to run for food, so I brought the boot with me and installed it. It fits and looks perfect. I'll post pics soon, but it was super easy to do, only required a Dremel, and I finished in less than 10 minutes. The only caveat is that you have to sacrifice your OEM ****.

I removed the boot ring from the base by pulling it up from the under-inside of the ring at 9 o'clock, with the front of the car being 12. Then I put the car in 2nd, and pulled. Now the whole ****+boot is in your hand. Turn it inside out. You can see that the black ring is held in place because it's snapped around the flange. Separate them, and cut off just enough of the flange that you can use it to pinch the boot against the black ring with it. Pop the new cut piece in the same way it was before, and turn the boot right side out. It should look great. This also narrows the diameter that the shift lever slides through, preventing any side to side travel. But when I installed it, I discovered that the lever itself seems to widen just a bit below the notch. Because of this, the boot will only slide so far down, and you futher compress it just a little when you install the Whalen ****/adapter. It looks and feels factory. I'm so happy I dunno what to do

 

I would suggest removing the boot at the ring, then removing the ****. Once out of the car, you can separate the two peices, without breaking either...

http://coopermods.com/archives/3

 

Thanks to all who posted "how to's" for the shifter removal. I just finished dinner it's 41 degrees out and it took me 10 minutes to remove the stock shifter **** and install the Whalen ****.

Quick review:

1. Put car in second gear Emergency brake on .
2. Remove boot ring to protect you from breaking the ring tabs when the **** lets go.
3. Grip shifter firmly with right hand while possitioned in the passenger seat .
4. Take reapeted firm tugs on the shifter . Trying to do it all at once will only wear you out . I am fairly strong, so I was able to place consistant pressure on the **** 4 times. On the forth pull, watch your face **** let go.
5. Turn boot inside out to remove retainer ring that holds the boot to the ****. You will not be using this part with the install so keep it with your stock ****.
6. Return boot and ring to the stock position prior to installing the Whalen ****:impatient .
7. Just follow the directions with the **** and your done .

10 minutes .

Great product .

 

Reminds me of when I was 20 and driving a Ranger parts truck for the local speed shop. Down shifted to third and the whole shifter came out of the floor Oh **** ! Stuff it back in the floor and hope it works ! It did and I drove it back 70 miles to the shop. The problem was so bad I was met with laughter when I told them what happened, they actually had the shifter in stock because it happend so often

 

Well, we had warm weather yesterday, so after the drive home I decided to try the 'butter knife' method that was described earlier, having failed at the brute force approach several time in the past. Well, the butter knife method was unsuccessful as well, and another brute force attempt also failed. I'm starting to think they glued my stock **** on, for some reason.

This is driving me nuts! I'm really anxious to get the Whalen **** installed. I wonder what my dealer would say if I took the Mini in for an oil change and asked them to remove the stock **** as well.

 

My MA removed the **** for me at MINI of Mountain View. He knew just what to do, and was a rather strong guy.

 

Just a thought.

Try taking a hair dryer to the lower section of the **** and see if you can soften up the plastic tabs a bit.
Warm it up real good; maybe that will make a difference.

 

They'd say, thanks, that'll be $300.

 

that's alot of work. Was it worth it?

 

Was what worth it?

 

You're probably right.

 

What about for automatic transmissions? (CVT) You've got the button that you have to push to get out of PARK to deal with... I want to replace the shift boot, not the ****, and it looks like I've got to get the **** off first so I can slip the old boot off and the new boot on. Any good answers?