PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

For several years now I've had an aftermarket shift **** that's shorter than the stock ****, but it doesn't extend down over the shifter as far, and so the shift boot appears to "sag" below it. I've had a zip tie on the shifter below the boot for some time also, but the problem is that my shift **** attaches with set screws, and a trim cap that goes over the shifter first screws on to cover the screws. With the zip tie, it was difficult to push the trim cap down to get access to the screws, without having the boot look like it's sagging below the shift ****.

I had been trying to think of something that could go under the boot and hold it up in place, yet be able to slide down a bit when I need to take the shift **** off. I thought of something like rubber bands, but the heat from the shifter itself would cause the rubber bands to degrade pretty quickly and eventually break.

So this past week I had the idea of wrapping a small spring around the shifter and attaching it to itself, end-to-end. This way the spring can slide down the shifter if needed, or slide back up and hold the shift boot up to the bottom of the shift ****.

Now on to the pics. Unfortunately I didn't take one showing the gap between the boot and the shift **** before starting.


Shift **** removed, there was about a 1/2" gap between the boot and shift ****




Console removed, showing the old zip tie. With it tight enough to hold the boot up, there was no way to slide it down the shifter to get the shift **** trim cap off.




Spring I picked up at the hardware store. The shortest spring I could find was 3", and I had to cut it down to about 1.5" or so and make a new hook on the cut end.




Shifter with spring installed




Boot can slide down to allow the trim cap to expose the set screws




After trim cap is installed, the spring can slide up the shifter to hold the boot in place.


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And now for the money shot....

civicsmoke

awesome. im gonna give this a try thanks. i hate how the boot sags. looks cheap.

YodajdmEK4

Good idea!

racebum

the booty should lock on the shifter. mine has zero sag but did on the OEM boot. a new boot solved that problem. seems like they crack over the years and fall

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Booty lock on the shifter? What are you referring to? There is no way for the OEM boot to lock onto this shift ****. It didn't lock onto the stock shift **** either, it just pushed the boot down more so there was no room for it to sag.

koco

Viagra

wrx-killer-Sti-eater

iTrader: (1)

A lil trick that I done on a couple cars was to get a roll of electric tape and wrap it around the stick till it was tick enough to hold the boot. Then screw the **** back on. The tape would give a lil and sit perfect after. Years of no problems.

White95SiHB

I used a rubber band on mine and it worked perfect for 5+ years. I used a thick purple one that you find in the grocery store holding stalks of brocolli together.

That spring trick is genius though. I'll definitely do that when the need arises.

racebum

see that plastic ring under the **** on top of the bootie? when those crack the boot falls down the shifter. when they aren't cracked they stay up just like the one pictured. either that or there was a design change. i have a red stitch oem boot and it has zero sag

JaredP

this is a really good idea for sure. I'll be sure to keep this in mind if my shift boot sags when i get my new short shifter/**** setup

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

The plastic ring is not cracked. It's larger in diameter than the shifter, which means it sags, or appears to sag if the shift **** doesn't extend down far enough to actually push down on the top of the boot (like the stock shift **** does as shown above).

racebum

duh, shorty shifter, sorry, just now realized we were talking about shorties, i was thinking oe this whole time

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

My short shifter with stock shift **** is the same height inside the cabin as the stock shifter, as others have confirmed when compared to my pic above with the tape measure. I'm not sure if the diameter is the same as the stock shifter, but I suspect that it is, at least mine is. I could dig my stock shifter out of a box somewhere and compare I guess.

racebum

or if there was a design change. in your pic above where the zip tie is, my boot actually stops. the shifter flares out there and the opening of this newer boot won't slide down like my old one use to.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Yeah in that pic the zip tie is pushed WAY down, forced down really, just so I could get the shift **** off of there (room to push trim cap down to expose set screws).

SoTexDC2

Great idea! I've been using a rubber band for as long as I can remember.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Interesting. I figured a rubber band would harden and deteriorate after awhile.

Lord Helmet

This is what I've been doing to all my cars. No need to remove the shift boot. It slips over the tape with ease and will hold the boot up FOREVER

Work smarter not harder

SoTexDC2

I actually used a black hair band looped around several times, like making a pony tail. I removed the plastic ring completely, and flipped the top of the boot inside out and put the rubber band on from the bottom. It never sagged.

Spring looks like it works good though, I'll probably switch at some point.