I liked what the service sheet said - considerable effort. Possibly that means, get a big friend. Just not too big, because considerable effort is just shy of excessive effort according to the glossary in my mechanics book.

I hate vague instructions.

 

While we are on the topic of automatic shift **** replacement, lemme tell you what I recently discovered.

After putting a new shift **** in my 08 automatic, I discovered I could not turn the ignition off after putting the car in park. I kept getting an error message saying the car was not in park and I couldn't turn it off.

So I pulled the new **** off and put the old one back on and it worked fine. I then took both of them apart to see what was going on.

What I discovered was that the internal mechanism had been changed slightly. Notice in the photo below how the button on the new **** (one on left) doesn't stick out as far as the old one on the right. You can even see part of the white plastic release mechanism on the old ****, and you can't on the new one.



After taking the ***** apart, I found this part was changed. Notice the new lip on the new part (red arrow on left) compared to the old part (blue arrow on right). This part acts as a stop to prevent the release mechanism from going too far forward. At first look, it would appear this was a design improvement so the release didn't pop so far forward exposing the mechanism, and improves the overall appearance. However, the problem is that this prevented the lock mechanism on the shaft from going all the way up when released, hence the microswitch that tells the car the transmission is in park would never close.

My fix was to simply file off a little of the bottom edge of the plastic on the new "lip stop" so that the new part would allow the mechanism to go a little further forward and release all the way. I didn't have to take off much, maybe 1/16th of an inch or so. After I did that, it worked just fine.





And yes, I pulled a muscle trying to use "considerable force" removing the old **** before I figured out that the manual had an error and you should NOT push down on the ring. I also found it interesting that the box the new **** came in was marked "Made in Sweden".

 

Pictures of the new consiol please

 

Some posts just never get old - Thanks to Talon 90 as I found this link on EXACTLY what I needed to remove my A6 shift **** in this post while redoing my interior -

Talon90's website. A good write up there along with other great info.
http://www.theredlion.us/C6%20A6%20S...20by%20WHT.pdf

 

LINK FIXED

 

TAG for future reference

 

I worked getting mine off what seemed like forever. I happened to be lucky and I had an extra shifter that had the **** on it. Removed that one pretty easy. The key is to rotate the ring to the right to about 100 oclock . I was rotating the boot and not the ring. As soon as I rotated the ring the **** popped right off!

Contact me and we can discuss wiring a controller button on an auto shifter ****-I am in the process of doing just that and I am looking for buttons- I want to mount it on the side just like the Man **** has its button located.I have tried just about every place looking for a flush momentary button that would fit.

 

Thanks to this link I was able to install my new super Alcantara preforated black/black shift and ebrake boots with little effort and short time.

Thanks for the work that you've done making it easier for others.

 

This is an update four years later in July of 2022 because the shift **** plastic inside wore out again on my 2006 I suggest you order part 1584-4216 if you have a 2006 basic coupe while it is still available at $200.
The shop manual section is 7-250. There is no staple clip to remove from the ****. The manual is not correct.

VERY IMPORTANT. Do NOT pull down the boot that is below the ****. Not one bit. Just turn the retaining ring at the top of the boot from 12 o'clock to the 1 o'clock position where this a slot inside. Keep the retaining ring at 1 o'clock at all times to allow the two assembly clips down below to be released. Read all of this before proceeding. Do not lower the ring at all. There is a tab at 9 o'clock and one at 3 o'clock inside the boot just below the retaining ring to help you find 1 o'clock. Keep the ring as high as when you started. This is essential. Keep the ring at its original height.

The retaining is not just a retaining ring. It is the top of a cylinder/tube that slides up and down the shifter shaft. If you push this cylinder/tube down at all, if it is low at any point in this process, the two clips below will be covered by this cylinder/tube and will be NOT allowed to be released. I spent a couple of hours studying the instructions and photos and trying to pull up the ****, before I realized how crucial it is to keep the boot/retaining ring/cylinder/tube high at its original position, just turned from 12 to 1 o'clock.

This is all easier it you can shift into neutral for better access to these components. Well ya, set the parking brake first.
Likewise, after are able to pull up the **** with moderate force, then to install the new ****, you must set the retaining ring in the one o'clock position for inserting the new ****. Again, if you place your fingers on the boot, just below the retaining ring, you can feel a tab at 9 o'clock and at tab at 3 o'clock, just below the retaining ring, to help you turn the ring from 12 to 1, and to know where you are at clockwise at any time during this process. Keep the cylinder/tube up HIGH again at 1 o'clock as you push the new **** down on the shaft. It can be a bit tricky to guide the shaft that is within the boot with your fingers as you lower the ****.

Now you know to be a bit more careful to shift with you fingers depressing more gently on the lower part of the trigger, The hinge at the top of the trigger is cheap plastic that breaks easily. You are still going to have to do this again, because the cheap thin plastic contact points inside the **** wear out. I have 90,000 miles on my C6 and I had the original new ****, then I replaced it and now I had to replace it again today. Order the part 1584-4215 if you have a 2006 basic coupe. $200 you are going to need one or more of them.

 

As the proud owner of a broken '08 shift **** let me emphasize "Handsome" knows what he is talking about.

 

This whole thread is gold, I just swapped my shifter assy and it was a breeze