Outer Shifter Boot
My OEM vinyl outer shifter boot had several small splits. I ordered a replacement boot, in real leather, black with red stitching, from
RedlineGoods.
It costs about $50, and if you mess around on and off the webpage and it thinks you're leaving, it may pop up a 10% discount code. The shipping information was a little confusing, but I made a suggestion to the owner, who made a change to the webpage. It's much clearer now, with free shipping from Poland. It says it will take several weeks, but mine arrived in two. You can also pay for FedEx to speed it up.
To remove the old boot, I had to remove the shift knob. The knob screws on to the shifter rod, and has a locknut under the shift pattern insert to keep it tight. Some people use a plastic or rubber gripper tool to just twist the knob and nut off together, but I couldn't turn mine without damage with the tools on hand. So I removed mine the conventional way, which is actually quite easy.
Very important: Heat the knob up with a hair dryer. First I tried probing gently around the shift pattern insert with a small screwdriver with the knob at about 50°F. It was very stiff, and would obviously be damaged. After heating it to about 125°F with a hair dryer (quite hot to the hand, almost but not quite scalding, and not as hot as it gets in the summer sun) the knob was much softer, easy to probe around.
I slipped a skinny screwdriver down between the insert and the knob. There is a small notch in the insert at the left side, between 1st and 2nd. With a very skinny screwdriver you can get it in that notch. I didn't know that, so I had to feel around and get the screwdriver over the plastic lip. I reheated once. Then I pried the plastic insert out. The knob stretched and dented, but then quickly recovered with a little more heat applied.
I removed the lock nut with a 15mm socket, and then unscrewed the knob by hand. I pulled up the plastic bezel around the bottom of the shifter boot with my fingertips and slid it off of the shifter rod. It's held in place by four metal clips.
The plastic bezel has a metal frame underneath it, held to the bezel by the four clips. I pulled the two clips on the right side off, carefully, with needlenose pliers. Prying them too hard will easily bend and damage them. I stuck the tip of the needlenose in the small gap at the main fold in the clip and worked them off of the plastic studs. With the two right clips removed, the metal frame, with the shifter boot, can be lifted out.
I took lots of pictures of the way the boot was attached. The OEM shifter boot is glued to the metal frame with a very strong glue. I pried the boot loose, using a knife at the corners where the glue held especially tight to the vinyl. The fabric pulls away from the glue easier. It's easy to distort the metal frame, so I tried to go easy with it.
I scraped most of the glue residue and vinyl off of the metal frame, and sanded it lightly.
The new leather boot has two wider panels and two narrower panels. They are not greatly different, so I compared the sides carefully to figure out which way it should fit before proceeding.
I stretched the new boot over the frame, with the ends of the stitching just coming even with the frame, and about an inch of leather overlapping below the frame on all four sides. It's a snug fit, and I had to work it around a little to get the corners in place.
I clamped the leather boot to the frame with a bunch of spring clips on both long sides, using small wood strips to spread the clamp pressure over the leather so the glue would be squeezed evenly, and to protect the leather. I removed the clips from one side, and used a Q-tip to wet the leather where it will touch the metal. Then I applied a thin layer of Original Gorilla Glue to the metal, and pressed the leather against it. I replaced the clips and wood strips, and then glued the other long side. I used a couple more thin strips of wood to press the leather down over the edge of the frame, as it will sit under the plastic bezel. I didn't want the glue to hold the leather up stiffly along the top of the metal frame. I let those two long sides dry for 2 hours.
I trimmed the excess leather from the sides, and them trimmed the end flaps, notching the corners like the original boot to clear the tabs where the metal frame mounts. I was glad I had taken a lot of pictures. I glued the end flaps similarly to the side flaps and let them dry for 2 hours. Then I removed the clamps and left the whole assembly to dry overnight.
I trimmed and cleaned up the edges again, and cleaned up most of the excess glue. Gorilla glue expands as it dries, and gets where it shouldn't. I had to scrape some of the glue from under the leather to get it to squeeze down tight against the metal frame where the plastic bezel fits snugly over it. And I had to squeeze the corners down tight with pliers and wood blocks to flatten some of that fat glue. I wish I had used hot glue instead, since it cools fast and doesn't expand. But I was afraid that I wouldn't have time to glue it and then get the clamps in place to squeeze it all down evenly.
I placed the new boot with the metal frame into the plastic bezel and pressed the two clips back on. It was a tight fit.
I placed the assembly back on the shifter rod and clipped it down into place. The thick leather, along with the fat Gorilla glue, tried to keep the bezel from snapping down into place, but pressure back and forth did the trick. The bezel arches a little, but it did that with the OEM boot too.
After placing the knob on the stick, and tightening the lock nut, I had to heat the knob and use a small screwdriver again to get the shift pattern insert back in place.
I really like the new boot. It's a little stiffer than the original vinyl, and should last many years with an occasional wipe with leather conditioner/UV protector.