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Ok, so I know a lot of us have been searching for a way to remove that pesky shift knob, without having to cut or drill. Thankfully, I have found a way.

Tools you'll need are: 7"-10" pair of vice grips, and cutters

Est. removal time: 5-10 minutes

1. First, you'll remove the boot, simply by grabbing the base of the boot, and lifting with your fingertips.

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2. Next, you'll lift up the boot over the knob, and use the cutters to cut the ziptie off of the boot

3. Once that's done, you can pull the boot off the rest of the way, over the shift knob.

4. Once you get the boot off, you'll take your vice grips, and lock it into place, where the ziptie was holding the boot up

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5. Now comes the fun part. Using your free hand, grip the lever bar for support; and with your strong hand, twist the knob using the vice grips in any direction until it gives.

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6. Once this happens, you're basically going to work it left and right. I found that after it gives, if I use the palm of one hand to press down on the shift knob, while twisting; this will increase the amount of friction and wear down the glue/plastic faster. Once it's twisting back & forth easy while pushing down on the knob; you can now twist the knob back & forth, while pulling up. Eventually you'll be able to slide that sucker right off, and reveal the diamond beveled lever tip underneath

(Sorry for the blurry picture)

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Now your Spark is ready for the desired custom shift knob of your choice :) I hope this helps!!!

Edited by Jopar_X
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OK, so the gorilla approach was the correct one all along.

Yes and no. But mostly yes lol. You just want to be careful when lifting, but the housing for the shift lever's ball joint, looks like super cheap plastic. Which is why I recommend twisting the snot out of the knob 'til it feels super loose.

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  • 3 months later...
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What about if you have an automatic Spark? has anyone removed the shift knob on one of those, and if so, what steps does it take? I want to be certain before i spend ogod money on a conversion kit and aftermarket knob.

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  • 7 months later...
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What about if you have an automatic Spark? has anyone removed the shift knob on one of those, and if so, what steps does it take? I want to be certain before i spend ogod money on a conversion kit and aftermarket knob.

I agree I have a automatic 2015 Spark LT and really want to change the shift knob. Help!

Edited by Dirt road master
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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks to the help on this forum I took my ugly factory knob off, shortened my shaft some & added a custom knob from SpeedDawg - love the way it turned out & much better feel when driving!

I've wanted to do this for two years now, never got around to it. After seeing the pictures, I think I'm going to make the move!

Did you get an adapter with the knob? The link to the one in this thread doesn't work, since it's so old.

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Yes, SpeedDawg offers an adapter for non-threaded shafts - it's universal & has rubber inserts for various sized shafts & then an aluminum base to go around that & that is what ball screws to. Lots of different designs on the shift balls too!!!

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