Help! Short Shift Installation

[jangu1206]

Hi. I am in the middle of installing B&M Short Shifter Kit and I am not able to take the shift knob off the shaft. Is there special way to take them off? I have 2004 996 40th Anniversary edition. It is just regular 911 knob. Thanks and happy new year all!

Edited December 30, 2006 by jangu1206

[Tool Pants]

I don't think that one has a set screw.

Unclip the boot and look under the knob to be sure.

Grab the knob and twist it hard to the left and then hard to the right. You want to expand the plastic sleeve that holds it on the metal shaft.

Then pull hard. If it does not pull off, then pull harder. You are not going to break anything by pulling as hard as you can.

[jurichar]

i second that. I have a 01 996 and it comes off, it just requires a little elbow greese...pull on it hard!

BTW...dont forget to mark the position of your cables w/ a marker!!!!

[jangu1206]

Thank you guys. I was finally able to get it out. I had to pull it really hard. I didn't have a chance to drive too much, but I think I really like how it feels.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!

[mpikounis]

I may be a little bit off-topic here, but I am looking for a short-shift kit for my 996 and I have found several items on ebay that seem to be copies of the B&M short-shifter. The prices range from 80-150 euros. Has anyone tried any of these "no-name" kits?

[Tool Pants]

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...26&hl=shift

They are all over US and Euro ebay. The lowest price that I was able to find on US ebay has a starting bid of $55 or a buy it now price of $60. I bought one a few days ago but do not have it yet. Had to pay $57 because someone bid against me.

When I get it I am going to borrow an uninstalled B&M, still in the box. I am going to put both units side-by-side and compare them, and take pictures.

[jurichar]

this came up over at six speed a few weeks back. A guy had an Ebay special on his car and replaced it with a B&M because of the price special bumperplugs.com. He said the difference was substantial and the BM was FAR superior due to a lack of binding and/or sticking between gears.

As a general rule...you get what you pay for when it comes to porsche...why put a busch league part on a 100k car?!?

[Tool Pants]

One guy's subjective post on a message board does not mean much to me. People have also said there were the same problems with their B&M installs. I was not there when it was put in and adjusted. For example, most people try to adjust the set screw when it is bolted in the car - I never do it this way. Maybe the guy screwed up with the first install. Maybe he did not adjust it properly. I bet the only install he ever did was just one car, his.

Also, I am not impressed by price. When Porsche came out with a 996 short shift people were saying how much better it was than the B&M. Turned out they were identical except for the color. You could buy a B&M for $200 or the Porsche version for $760. People think if they pay more it is a better product, but this is not always the case.

Loren and I have put a 100 plus B&M units over the years. It will not be hard to tell if this $55 ebay special is inferior. To date the only objective messages I have seen is that the shift lever on the special is installed "backwards," but that is easy to fix.

Stay tuned for the review....