Chocolate Bar™
Replacing Gear Knob in Phase 2 Clio II
After reading what a few people on here have said about the removal of the gear knob I thought I would have a go, and keep a ‘photo log’ as I went as it may be of help to some people in the future.
Time taken: approximately 2 hours, however a lot of faffing around, and once the gear knob is removed it is literally a 1 minute job.
Tools used were:
Drill, Junior Hacksaw, Mole grips(although not really used), flat head screw driver.
Flick the centre cap of the gear knob off. I did this by sliding a kitchen knife into the base of the cap, and then by tilting the knife so the bit popped out. For the record I had sprayed the centre cap metallic dark silver and is available if anyone wants it
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105544909__0001.jpg
2. Then I drilled through the centre of the gear knob until I hit white plastic (as advised by Finals Maxim.) Once I had done this I tried to twist and pull the gear knob off using a combination of mole grips and general violence.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105544947__0003.jpg
3. I honestly couldn’t get the gear knob to budge using this technique (perhaps I’m weak and everyone else succeeds
) so I opted for the tried and tested technique of sawing the gear knob off. Primarily because I knew I wouldn’t be keeping it as a spare, or to sell on because the previous owner had damaged it.http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545005__0005.jpg
4. In sawing the gear knob off I found that after cutting down one side I could quite easily pull the outer layer of grey material off. This allowed me to see the plastic internals of the gear knob and to assess how I would cut into it.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545051__0007.jpg
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545130__0008.jpg
5. Before starting this I didn’t truly understand how the lift-up reverse works, and so I didn’t want to cut into the mechanism. As such I cut small chunks and then used a flat blade screwdriver to force the chunks off one at a time so I could survey what I would be cutting into. Personally I wouldn’t advise this as it was very painstaking and a bit pathetic.
It would in fact have been much easier to drill down the centre of the gear knob until I hit metal, and then to elongate the hole sufficiently so that I could see the entire of the top of the metal post. You can then quite safely cut alongside the metal post without affecting the mechanism.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545237__0009.jpg
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545280__0011.jpg
6. When I had done this it was simply a matter of chipping off the last bits of plastic that were stuck to the post, to reveal the metal post.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545321__0015.jpg
7. I was fitting a momo sphere airmetal gear knob, and it shows on the instructions that depending on the size of the metal post you may have to put one of their spacers on (a metal spring.) I found the post to be 12mm and as such it didn’t require the spacer to be used. It was therefore a simple matter of screwing the grub screw into the gear knob until it was flush with the inside where it exits.
Then I offered the gear knob onto the post, checked that the lift up mechanism worked, and then I tightened the grub screw using the allen key provided after checking that the gear knob was straight.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545321__0015.jpg
8. Finally sit back, open a can of Kronenbourg and admire.
http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1105545426__0030.jpg
This is intended as a guide of how I went about the works and should not be followed explicitly. I accept no blame for any damage done to an individuals car
Any other suggestions or improvements to this guide would be more than welcomed, because as I said earlier I thought it was a little bit daunting to start without any idea of what was needed.
Sorry about the disclaimer but I have to cover myself. Many thanks to my girlfriend for having the patience to sit with me whilst I did the job, and for taking the photographs
