How to remove the manual shift knob from a C4
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 46
Likes: 4
From: Diamond Bar CA
How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4
How to remove a C-4 manual shift ****.
Take a small screwdriver and pry out the cap with the shift pattern.
Use the old vice grips in your tool box (the ones with the rounded jaws).
Clamp down on the steel wedge and make lots of shiny slivers of metal while rounding the wedge. Do this several times to make sure the wedge is distorted on all sides.
Grab a set of flat nose wide pliers – must be the ones with the wire cutter blades behind the jaws.
Hold on to the wedge as hard as possible.
When the pliers slip off, jam the skin on your finger between the wire cutting edges.
Use two (2) bandages to stop the bleeding. Ignore your wife laughing at you.
Go to the auto parts store and buy a new set of $15.00 vice grips.
Get a real good grip on that wedge. Make sure you are looking straight down on it and pull as hard as you can.
Get another bandage to stop the bleeding on your forehead when the vice grips slipped.
Call a Corvette shop and ask how they do it.
Find a huge (like 12 inches) set of dikes.
Angle the dikes as low on the wedge as possible and lever against the top of the shift ****.
Watch that steel wedge slide out.
Swear at the GM idiot who thought of this setup.
[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] :mad
Take a small screwdriver and pry out the cap with the shift pattern.
Use the old vice grips in your tool box (the ones with the rounded jaws).
Clamp down on the steel wedge and make lots of shiny slivers of metal while rounding the wedge. Do this several times to make sure the wedge is distorted on all sides.
Grab a set of flat nose wide pliers – must be the ones with the wire cutter blades behind the jaws.
Hold on to the wedge as hard as possible.
When the pliers slip off, jam the skin on your finger between the wire cutting edges.
Use two (2) bandages to stop the bleeding. Ignore your wife laughing at you.
Go to the auto parts store and buy a new set of $15.00 vice grips.
Get a real good grip on that wedge. Make sure you are looking straight down on it and pull as hard as you can.
Get another bandage to stop the bleeding on your forehead when the vice grips slipped.
Call a Corvette shop and ask how they do it.
Find a huge (like 12 inches) set of dikes.
Angle the dikes as low on the wedge as possible and lever against the top of the shift ****.
Watch that steel wedge slide out.
Swear at the GM idiot who thought of this setup.
[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] :mad
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Re: How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4 (Newtoy)
Well, the vise grips will do the trick, but pulling on them won't.
You need to tap in an upward motion with a hammer and the wedge will slide right out.
trying to wiggle it out will only result in chewing up the wedge and/or damaging your face or roof panel.
You need to tap in an upward motion with a hammer and the wedge will slide right out.
trying to wiggle it out will only result in chewing up the wedge and/or damaging your face or roof panel.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 561
Likes: 0
From: YOUR BACK PORCH
Re: How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4 (Mr Mojo)
trying to wiggle it out will only result in chewing up the wedge and/or damaging your face or roof panel.
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Re: How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4 (93TorchRedC4)
trying to wiggle it out will only result in chewing up the wedge and/or damaging your face or roof panel.
OUCH! Sounds like experience talking there! It's true, be patient, or pay the consequences!!! :seeya
OUCH! Sounds like experience talking there! It's true, be patient, or pay the consequences!!! :seeya
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 6,080
Likes: 3
From: Clearwater FL
St. Jude Donor '06
Re: How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4 (Newtoy)
The hardest job by far that iv'e done on my car is getting that @#%*ing steel wedge out. On 4 different occasions I tried the 2 sets of vise grips tapping upward method and finally got it out. My pin looks beat to hell. One corner sheared off, and I was contemplating tapping a screw in and using a slide hammer, but it finally came out. While doing the job, pictures of hitting the roof, windshield, console, radio, a/c, my face and hands with the hammer danced through my head... :cheers:
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
Likes: 25
From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
Re: How to remove the manual shift **** from a C4 (C4DC)
I removed the roof, so i could stand up over it and really yank on it.
Also, the shift pattern button is easiest to pry out on the top edge.
Also, the shift pattern button is easiest to pry out on the top edge.
8th Gear
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Big Island, Hi
I know this is an old post, but in trying to put the wedge BACK in, I found that putting the wedge partially into the **** before screwing it back on helps to get the angle right. Otherwise you'll drive yourself nutz trying to pound it back into place...
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
