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hi all

Ive had my Skunk 2 gear knob for a while now.. It took me a great deal of effort to get the damn thing to face the right way up with use of a locking nut. That is.. get the H pattern to be right way up when fully tightened. When I got it right, it still it sat too high but i let it be.

Today the knob came loose and when i tightened it back up it wouldn't sit the right way up!
Tried so hard to get it right.. tightened the locking nut so hard that I was worried the gear shifter it self would snap off.
BLoody annoying!

Got a few questions:

a) How the hell did other people get it to sit right? I'm just having no luck and its driving me nuts.

b) What are the chances I can snap the gear shifter ? I can try turning the locking nut harder with a wrench but worried im going to do some major damage here. Can feel the whole shaft is rotating more than the nut is turning.

c) Are there any places I can take the car to have extra thread put on the gear shift shaft? Might call Mania tomorrow but anywhere else?

Any help would be appreciated! thanks.

? ?
I don't understand what you are doing wrong.
The only thing I can deduce is that you wound the locking nut down to the very bottom of the thread on the gearstick and THEN installing the knob itself onto the locking nut, then continue to turn the nut and knob further down the thread, forcing it in hopes that it will face the right way.

Tell me if this is what you are doing:
1) install locking nut onto gearstick, with flange facing upwards
2) wind locking nut as far as you can down toward the end of the thread
3) install gearknob and wind it down to the locking nut
4) wind the knob up or down until "H" pattern faces correctly
5) turn locking nut until it locks the gearknob in place

And as for question C, why not just borrow a tap and dye set from someone and do it yourself? 3 minute job.

Hi Red,
At first I did it that way and forcing it down enough would make the H sit the right way..

Realising the locking nut isn't meant to be forced all the way down I tried to get it to lock when in the right position but it simply keeps turning with the knob and not lock in place. Make I've worn the Damn thing out

Anyone have a tap and thead set?

I would not be using a tap and die- it should not be necessary. Usually the knob is threaded internally ie you screw it on to the threaded gear stick ( shaft). A lock nut is put on the shaft and run down to a certain point and then the knob follows. You lock the knob by holding the knob and tightening the lock nut against it. Pressure on the knob to the right and pressure on the lock nut to the left- right position for H patt is a little trial and error. Disregard this if the Skunk has a different system! It is possible that you have stripped the thread on the lock nut- but you usually need quite a deal of force to do this. Get another nut to try. ired5 has said much the same as me.

Mr Morlock wrote:I would not be using a tap and die- it should not be necessary. Usually the knob is threaded internally ie you screw it on to the threaded gear stick ( shaft). A lock nut is put on the shaft and run down to a certain point and then the knob follows. You lock the knob by holding the knob and tightening the lock nut against it. Pressure on the knob to the right and pressure on the lock nut to the left- right position for H patt is a little trial and error. Disregard this if the Skunk has a different system! It is possible that you have stripped the thread on the lock nut- but you usually need quite a deal of force to do this. Get another nut to try. ired5 has said much the same as me.

Yep thats what I tried to do but no matter what the lock nut will keep sliding down so i reckon i've stripped it bad.

I'd like to use hte tap and die though to get the know to sit a little lower than it is at the moment. Theres a huge gap between the end of the knob and the start of the leather boot.

Mania don't have the tool.. and buying one is expensive.


Anyone else done this to get their SKUNK2 to sit lower?

I modified the inside of the knob so it would come down further then adjusted the thread on the shifter so it would finish in the right place.

You have a thread length on the shaft and also in the knob. If you buy a bolt you can see how far it will screw into the knob. You can check how much thread is on the shaft and compare the 2. If for example you have 30 mm of thread in the knob and 40 mm on the shaft you can only screw the knob down to max 30 mm . You might be able to see and measure the thread in the knob with a vernier or with a drill bit and metal ruler. If you cannot lock the knob it suggests to me that a thread is stripped- the lock nut, the shaft or the knob. The weakest I would think is the lock nut as the thread is no more than the thickness of the nut. If the knob were stripped you might need a die chaser run into it- it is at worst maybe a minor thread damage. If you want the knob to go lower the constraints are thread length in the knob or thread length on the shaft. Running a button die over the shaft can lengthen the thread but do not forget it will have an interference at some point with the knob. Hope I have not made this too complicated.

Mr Morlock wrote:You have a thread length on the shaft and also in the knob. If you buy a bolt you can see how far it will screw into the knob. You can check how much thread is on the shaft and compare the 2. If for example you have 30 mm of thread in the knob and 40 mm on the shaft you can only screw the knob down to max 30 mm . You might be able to see and measure the thread in the knob with a vernier or with a drill bit and metal ruler. If you cannot lock the knob it suggests to me that a thread is stripped- the lock nut, the shaft or the knob. The weakest I would think is the lock nut as the thread is no more than the thickness of the nut. If the knob were stripped you might need a die chaser run into it- it is at worst maybe a minor thread damage. If you want the knob to go lower the constraints are thread length in the knob or thread length on the shaft. Running a button die over the shaft can lengthen the thread but do not forget it will have an interference at some point with the knob. Hope I have not made this too complicated.

Thanks Morlock.. not complicated .. more things to consider:)

Okibi - Do you remember off the top of your head how much extra thread you had to create on the shaft and knob?
Got a pic of how it sits now?

Nope don't remember sorry.

Hope this link works ..

http://mx5cartalk.com/phpBB-3.0.2/garage.php?mode=view_image&image_id=172