Has anyone pulled theirs off? I am getting one with the Whalen adapter and would like assurances that when they pull (really hard I hear) it off nothing bad happens to the boot. Here's Don Whalen's photo on what the assembly looks like for the R56:
http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/in...d129d6260b2349

Any comments are appreciated. Newt

 

I think you want to separate the boot from the **** first, and then just pull like a mad man. Should pop right off. Just don't hit yourself in the face!

 

I hold the SHIFT **** in my left hand and hit upwards with the other(open) hand around the area of the wrist; and yes, don't have your face anywhere near the space where the **** will come off

wow, I'm coming up on 6th gear................cool

 

Open your sunroof if you have one, or the cabrio top if you have that. Stand up (cabrio) or kneel on the seat and get your face away from the shift. Then pull with even pressure, straight up, and it will come off. If you don't have a sunroof or cabrio, be careful not to hit your head when it releases.

 

The loaner R56 I had the **** came off in my hand while I was shifting.

 

that's the best way to do it

i hope you kept it as a souvenir

 

It came off without much force. BUT: the entire boot is still attached to the underside of the ****. Look at the picture in my link at the top. I can't figure out how to get the darn **** to separate from the top of the boot. Did anyone else get this done? I'm dying to get the new **** on there. I got the Whalen adapter today. Thanks!

 

The **** should not be attached to to the shift boot (or at least mine wasn't). My stock shift boot was attached to shift with a small cable tie above a ring on the shift so the boot won't slide down. The **** was totally detached.

 

The one I was driving the boot was attached to the ****. I believe that you have to first remove the base and then flip it inside out to get it off of the ****.

 

I think there have been times when the **** let loose, it slipped out of their hand and went thru the sun roof. That would be a PITA!!

 

Holy CRAP, I can't get the darn **** to come off! I wanted to get it done tonight since the car interior is still relatively warm from the drive home, and the weather will be getting colder for the next few days. Not to mention my beautiful Whalen **** just arrived.

Very frustrating! I keep thinking I should just keep trying, but I don't want to damage anything on the car (or myself ) in the process.

 

wow, those ***** sure look nice!

 

There is a plastic (feels like Nylon) tab that fits into a groove on the shaft. You have to pull up hard enough for this tab to bend and pop out of the groove.

http://www.robincasady.com/ShiftKnobs/Installation.html

 

I've seen your page; I think I'm just too hesitant to pull hard enough. I'll try again tomorrow night or over the weekend.

 

My MA at MINI of Mountain View pulled my **** off when I took delivery of the MCS. I asked him how it was done, and he showed me rather than telling.

He is a rather strong guy and used both hands in a weight lifting position to maximize his strength.

I had a replacement know with me.

 

Mine just pulled off, 1 hand, no magic tricks.

Guess it depends on the car.

 

I tried again tonight after the drive home from work, and it was a 'no go'. I straddled the shifter and pulled up as hard as I could but it would just not come off. I was worried about smashing my head on the sunroof, or banging into something else when it gives way, so maybe I held back a little. Nevertheless, I tried for a couple of minutes: constant pressure, 'pulsing' on and off (pull-stop-pull-stop), changing my grip in different ways, but the darn thing held itself in place. Perhaps I should wait for warmer days as the shift lever was probably still quite cold (it was -2 Celsius outside), and the plastic tab may be less likely to release under these conditions, even with a warmed-up car interior.

 

Hmm, could be the cold causing the plastic to be less pliable. What about trying a hair dryer on it?

 

Got My **** about a week ago............TOUGH pull .... I was MORE worried about the boot tearing (read some stories)....**** on mine released...but seperating(spelling?)boot... was A bit of a chore, theres is a post somewhere, that shows the factory **** release...after that "A walk in the park"

 

I have pulled till my face turned red, and I am not able to get the shift **** off. Do people on this thread have super human strength?

 

I don't have superhuman strength, only superhuman perseverance and tenacity (don't know when to give up). I pulled mine off in one fell swoop, and it separated from the boot simultaneously. I did pull a muscle, tho'. My new Whalen shift **** really looks good! It was worth the effort.

P.S. It may be that your MINI is Lightning Blue. Chili Red owners have found that Chili Red gives a 15 HP increase, and it must also increase the power of the driver as well.

 

I'm just glad I'm not the only one.

I think I'll probably just wait until spring, or maybe I'll go for a long enough drive that the interior gets hot enough to warm up the steel of the shift lever and then I'll give it another go.

 

Here is a slightly edited note that I sent to Doug Whalen about installing a WSM on my R56 MCS ... ideas might be useful to others ... in other words, installation can be done without yanking agressively on the factory ****.

Doug ...

0. Thanks. Thank you for the prompt delivery of my WSM for the MCS 07 R56 ... I got it last Thursday just as you had promised ... like the WSM that I purchased for the now gone Z3, the quality of the Mini WSM with the checkerboard inlay was just fantastic ... that said, there is a bit of a saga involved ...

1. Installation Saga:

a. Preparation. After supper I decided to install the WSM according to the companion instructions and your verbal guidance.

b. Entire Shift Assembly Woes. Put gear box in second gear ... yanked firmly on the factory **** to no avail ... so yanked a bit harder ... much to my startled chagrin the entire shift lever assembly came loose from whatever held it in place ... fearing the worse, I tried putting the entire shift lever assembly BACK to where it came from ... the Good Lord must have heard my prayers as the assembly gently slid back into place AND everything worked as perfectly as it had before the second more aggressive yank.

c. Pondering Woes. So there I was with a WSM and fearful of trying more yanks ... got to thinking about the picture on your web site showing the factory shift assembly and knowing that at least one other R56 Mini owner had successfully detached the factory **** from the shaft ... so one more aggressive yank ... the entire shift assembly came loose again ... and, again, slipped back into the correct location and everything was once more just fine ...

d. Solution Engineering. Pondered once more on the web site picture ... so with great reluctance but equal determination, one more aggressive yank ... with the entire assembly popping out like before ... with the shift assembly hanging loose within the boot, tried repeatedly to yank, twist, and otherwise persuade the factory **** to come OFF ... nothing doing ... then, looking at the factory ****, saw that the boot material was distinctly separate from the **** material ... so reasoning that a press fit was involved, went to the kitchen and got a stainless steel dining table knife -- actually, a butter knife ... began to gently, but firmly, force the blade near its shank between the bottom of the factory **** and the shaft going around the **** several times prying just a bit at each point ... after about 2 minutes of prying and pulling, the factory **** had enough and gently slipped OFF ... after that it was easy to install the WSM per instructions {{OK, I put it on with the logo backwards the first time}} ... I tried to retrieve the plastic ring, but just couldn’t get it to come out of the boot material without enlarging the opening ... so I left the ring settle to the bottom of the shaft where it still resides ... one more time, installed the WSM with the logo right-side up ... with a gentle whack on the top of the WSM, I seated it into place on the shaft and the locking mechanism clicked into place ... then, firmly put the still dangling entire shaft assembly back into place ... everything was perfect ...

e. Performance Check. Took the MCS for a short spin around the neighborhood ... WSM works fine, a bit smoother than stock, but, candidly, not the tremendous difference there was with the a WSM-equipped Z3 ... since then, I’ve determined there is a bit more solid feel with the WSM along with a huge amount of “the WSM looks COOL’ ... am greatly pleased!

2. Installation Instructions for MCS 07 R56 Minis. You might want to mention using the prying with a kitchen butter knife knife blade as an alternate way to remove the factory **** ... admonishing installers to NOT use a sharp knife as such an instrument could damage the factory ****, the boot materials, and/or installer fingers ... a dull putty knife might work as well, but, obviously, I can’t test that theory.

wls

p.s. Now have about 2,800 miles with no issues with WSM

 

Ahhh, that sounds like a much better method.

If the entire shift lever assembly had come loose while I was pulling I would have freaked!

Just to be clear, on which location were you using the butter knife?

 

At the point indicated by your arrow two (2) ... I have the factory **** in my hand ... location two shows some slight markings left by the butter knife ... very slight ...

Glad to share my results ... wls