How to Remove the C6 Corvette Shift Knob and Install the Southern Car Parts Shift Knob
The C6 Corvette Shift knob is kinda tricky to remove. Unlike most Shift Knobs, they simply unscrew. The Corvette C6 Shift knob comes off a little different, but once you know how to do it, it is really simple. See below for a quick and easy way to replace your shifter knob.
Tools Needed
T20 torx driver needed (2005-2007 and 2009)
Phillips Screwdriver (2008)
3mm hex key
Loctite (optional)
See Below IF YOUR SHIFTER BOOT HAS A CHROME RING
AT THE TOP (GENERLY 2008 AND UP)
Remove the OEM as shown below (if your boot has a chrome ring see below)
Install your new shift knob, give it a few hard twists while putting downward
pressure to seat the knob. This knob has a precision fit, it's critical to be sure
the knob hole is in alignment with the screw hole in the shifter or you may strip
the threads. The OEM screw has a starter stud in the front to help align the
screw. If you meet resistance installing the screw check alignment and try again.
Reinstall the OEM screw using loctite if you have it. Tighten firmly using a ΒΌ
ratchet if you have an adapter or as tight as you can if using a universal driver
handle. Slip the boot over the retainer ring working one side up and then the
other, you may have to twist the boot over the ring or use some Windex as a
lube.
2008 and up shift knob removal and installation
Remove the OEM knob by grasping the chrome ring and rotate it COUNTER CLOCK WISE until the ring drops down and exposes the screw
on the driver's side. Depending on the yr, you will either have a phillips or torx head screw. People have had problems removing the phillips
screw and most likely that is why GM switched to torx which is much less likely to have problems. To successfully remove the phillips, I
suggest the following. Use the best #2 phillips screw driver you have (do not use a power driver). Remove the screw when the car is hot
(after a good drive). Have someone hold the OEM knob and apply force from the passenger side as you apply pressure on the driver and
remove the screw.
Once you are happy with the ring fit, install the new bolt into the knob (loctite optional) making sure you are aligned with
the hole. Do not force the bolt in or you might strip the shifter. Using a 3mm hex key, make the bolt tight. the fit between the bolt and the ring
is very close and you must have the chrome ring positioned so the little tabs are facing front and back at the 12 and 6 positions. This will
give you the most clearance to install the bolt. Reinstall the chrome ring when you are done.
Corvette C6 Leather Console Cover Replacement
Another Modification for your C6 Corvette that takes 15 minutes and really makes the interior look like an exotic sports car.
You can find leather Corvette console covers all over the internet, but we are partial to the Down South Vette's leather console cover.
The quality is impeccable and the extra cushioning they put in it really makes a difference.
Difficulty: 1 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 5 minutes.
The tools used are:
A T15 Torx driver to take off the console cover screws.
A flashlight may help get a better look at the screw location as you start.
We are ready to install a Down South Vettes leather console cover.
The OEM cover to replace:
Open the cover to reveal the four T15 Torx screws that hold the cover in place
Remove the four Torx screws and then remove the console cover. Take caution as
you remove the last screw. The console cover can fall off and you don't want to
damage your cover or interior at this point. Remove the last screw with your left
hand while holding the top center of the cover with your right hand.
Here are the two covers side by side:
And a close up to get a look at the added padding in the DSVettes cover:
You simply need to reverse the process now to install the new DSVettes cover in
place of the old OEM cover.
Seated in the driver's seat, hold the cover in place with your right hand and with one
of the screws in your left hand. Find the threaded hole and start the first screw.
Once the threads start, take out your driver with the Torx T15 insert and tighten the
screw most of the way. While still holding the cover, start one of the remaining four
screws with your left hand. When both of these are in tight, you can release your grip
on the console cover. Insert and tighten the remaining two screws and sit back and
enjoy your new console cover.
Once complete it will look like this:
Corvette C6 Leather Shift Boot Installation
The interior of the Corvette C6 is pretty top quality BUT you can make a few upgrades that will really set it apart from the crowd. A favorite is replacing the fake leather components used on the console lid, shift knob, shift boot, etc....with real leather pieces. This in the installation of the Down South Vette Leather Shift boot on a Corvette C6. Maybe a 30 min project, BUT it reaps beautiful results!
Difficulty: 2 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 30 minutes.
The tools used are:
A small blade screw driver to open the tabs that hold the ring into the console.
A T25 Torx driver to take off the shift knob
A flashlight to get a better look at where the tabs are located
Flat tweezers to reseat the new boot around the base of the shift knob
Common desktop stapler to reattach the new boot to the trim ring.
The original OEM shift boot to replace.
The shift knob comes off with a T25 torx screw. Just pull down the top of the old boot to expose
it.
Using your screw driver you will need to pry back the five tabs that hold the trim ring into the
console. These are located at roughly 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock.
Here is what the assembly looks like out of the car.
A side view.
The console location where the shift boot just came from.
Use your small blade screwdriver to pry up the staples. It is best to put the staple under the
boot and pry each side up and off the trim ring. Do this all the way around until all of the
staples are free.
Orient the new boot so that the notches in the leather line up with the tabs on the trim ring.
You want to make sure that your seams are in the center at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. Once you
are happy with your placement, start using your stapler to attach the new leather boot to the
trim ring. Start at 12 o'clock and work around the ring keeping an eye on your seams. Don't
worry, if you miss a staple or aren't happy with the placement, you can simply pry it out and
try again. You'll need to press firmly and slowly with the stapler to make sure the staple goes
in straight and reaches the trim ring through the leather. When you are done it should look
something like this.
The new boot mounted and ready to be installed.
Now comes the hardest part. Putting the trim ring and the new boot back into the console. It
is best to start with the bottom of the trim ring and get it seated in the console location. You
will literally need to work your way around clockwise, deforming the ring towards the shift lever
and pressing down to seat it into the console. Keep an eye the leather to make sure that it is
not bunching up around the outside at any one location. Keeping working around and pressing
down until you can fully seat the ring and feel the five tabs return to their original positions
flush with the console locations. Gently pull up on the leather to make sure it looks even
around the console edge.
Once you have the trim ring back in place in the console you will need to replace the shift knob.
To do this you will need to compress the leather boot quite a bit more than you did with the
OEM part as the new boot is a bit thicker. Place the knob on top of the shifter. Compress the
boot with your right hand and try to insert the torx screw back into the hole with your left hand.
The next step is to get the boot seated around the base of shift knob. Using your tweezers in
between the boot and the lip at the base of the knob, slide the boot up the tweezers and get it
over the lip on the base of the knob, now rotate the boot counterclockwise and leave the
tweezers in between use this as a slide to get the boot around the base. Once you are about
halfway around you can take out the tweezers and just keep working the boot up and rotating
counterclockwise. This twisting motion will allow the boot to seat on the lip. Once the boot is
seated, twist to align the seams to center
The finished product back in the car and ready to go.
Down South Vette Corvette C6 Emergency Brake Handle Installation
Difficulty: 3 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 20 minutes.
The tools used are:
A small blade screw driver or flat tweezers to reseat the new boot around
the base of the e-brake handle.
T15 Torx driver to take off the console cover.
Phillips head screwdriver to remove the e-brake handle.
flashlight may help get a better look at the screw location as you start.
The original OEM boot and handle to replace.
The first step will be to remove the center console cover so you have access to
the screw that holds on the e-brake handle. Open the center console to expose 4
T15 Torx screws. Now, remove the center console cover.
Once the center console cover is off, pull down the e-brake boot to reveal a
Phillips head screw which holds the e-brake handle in place.
Once you remove the Phillips head screw, the only thing holding the handle in
place at this point is the brake release button at the top. The button is held in
place with a friction fit and a detent in a notch. To remove (easiest from the
passenger side), grip the OEM handle firmly and pull (slide) the handle off which
will "pop" the brake release button off the top of the handle. You can now slide
the handle off with ease.
Now that the handle is off you need to remove the OEM brake boot. Take a
minute to examine the new Down South Vettes boot. This will give you a better
understanding of the four attachment points on the OEM boot.
The boot is held in place by two press to fit clips on the driver's side and two
angled clamps on the passenger side. Start at the front and lift up and towards
the windshield and the front two clamps will come out. The rear clamps are a
little harder to get. Next pull up near the rear press fit on the driver's side. Last,
pull the boot up over the handle to get the metal frame underneath back to level
and work to pull up and forward to unseat the last clamp. Once this is complete
the boot will lift off of the brake handle.
Take the new Down South Vettes brake boot and place it over the top of the
handle set at a convenient angle. Through a combination of movements the
object is to get the frame and leather boot over the handle and back to level so
that you can press it into the four retaining points on the console. Snap
everything firmly into place.
Now we need to get the handle back on. Your new shift boot is considerably
thicker than the OEM boot and as such it is difficult to screw the handle back into
place. Move back to the drivers side of the car and get the handle, the Phillips
head screw and your screw driver ready in the open console.
Using your right hand, compress the boot as far down as you can and see if you
can get a clear view of the hole on the side where the screw needs to go. You
may need to twist and maneuver the boot a bit to get it compressed enough to
allow the screw to be reinserted. This will take some effort but it will go. Once
you are comfortable that you can compress the boot, hold the boot down and
place the handle back on the arm. Now use the handle to hold the boot down in
place with your right hand and try to start the screw with your left. Once you
get it started, use the screw driver and tighten screw to a stop. Be careful not to
drop the screw into the boot as you will need to remove the boot to retrieve it
and start over again. Once the handle is screwed back in place press fit the
silver brake button over the black cap and down into the hole on the emergency
brake handle. Press it down well and it will snap back into place.
Now it is time to get the boot reseated on the base of the handle. Using both
hands work the boot around the base starting in the back (or top) as pictured
below. Once the boot is started you can twist counter clockwise while pressing
the boot up into place. This will allow the boot to seat the rest of the way
around the base of the handle.
Now all that's left is to put the console cover back on using the four T15 Torx
screws, sit back and enjoy the look of your new leather.
