How do u remove oem shift knob?

[patdawg]

Hoping someone can help me out on this one. Cant seem to remove the oem shift knob on my 1m. Don't wanna break anything experimenting.

[wkndwrrr]

1) un-clip the shift boot
2) shift into 2nd, 3rd, or 6th
3) pull upward in the direction the shifter is now facing
4) be careful not to hit yourself in the face like I did

[Dan Parker]

Punching yourself in the face is a BMW right of passage. If you do it you are one of us now.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Dan Parker

Punching yourself in the face is a BMW right of passage. If you do it you are one of us now.

Yup! Been there done that. Now I only need the T-shirt!!!

[mattm]

In my old '96 318i every so often the knob would loosen up. Usually during autocrosses at the most inopportune time. I'd do the 1-2 shift and the knob would launch into the back seat and/or hit the rear glass. Pick one up at the dealer the next day.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by mattm

In my old '96 318i every so often the knob would loosen up. Usually during autocrosses at the most inopportune time. I'd do the 1-2 shift and the knob would launch into the back seat and/or hit the rear glass. Pick one up at the dealer the next day.

IF your knob is loose... you can put a little bit of RTV (Silicone) on the shifter arm/lever... it has that fork top part... put some RTV in there and then pop the knob back on. Try to let the RTV cure over night. That should keep the knob attached... plus IF you ever need to remove it... it can be done. Using glue here would be a No-Go.

[mattm]

The 318i is more or less retired from autocross duty so no more highly aggressive shifts. Actually it is so retired I need a used M44 motor (1.9 four cyl., fits E36, Z3, 318ti, 318i, 318is) as mine has this "little" rapping noise meaning the motor is more or less done for.

[patdawg]

Originally Posted by wkndwrrr

1) un-clip the shift boot
2) shift into 2nd, 3rd, or 6th
3) pull upward in the direction the shifter is now facing
4) be careful not to hit yourself in the face like I did

Thanx yo... So does that mean the shift boot has to come off too? I only wanna change the knob..

[Dan Parker]

Having the shift knob come off while auto-xing or driving on the track is considered data acquisition by many. At Road Atl I know I've nailed 10A when I have to bang the knob back down coming out of 10B for the shift from 3rd to 4th. When this happens, you are truly at 10/10ths.

For reference:

[wkndwrrr]

Originally Posted by Dan Parker

Punching yourself in the face is a BMW right of passage. If you do it you are one of us now.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Yup! Been there done that. Now I only need the T-shirt!!!

Let's get t-shirts going! hahahah

Originally Posted by Patdawg

Thanx yo... So does that mean the shift boot has to come off too? I only wanna change the knob..

Yes, because the shift knob is actually attached to the shift boot quite well, you need to remove the shift knob with the shift boot attached, then with a screwdriver or something else with a small tip to unlatch the 3 teeth clips that the shift knob is connected to the shift boot with!