How do you separate a MT shift lever?

[Vaughn]

95 4wd 4 runner manual trans

To be more precise, I need to replace the rubber boots on top of the trans shift tower - which requires removing the shift lever up and out of the trans using the press down and quarter turn method. I then need to separate the upper shift lever from the lower shift lever - in order to fit the new shift tower boot, because it will not fit over the top, nor will it fit over the shift ball on the lower lever. The upper has to be separated from the lower in order to fit this boot.

I have to do the same on the transfer case shift lever.

I am NOT talking about the rubber shifter boot underneath the vinyl shifter boot that matches the interior color, nor am I talking about the vinyl boot itself. I am taking about the boot on the transmission tower itself.

 

[SV_Dude]

It should turn right off... lefty loosey rightey tightey. It will be tight because it probably has never been taken off before. Grab a cloth and put it in between the shift lever and some pliers. Then turn

 

[GonOvr]

Yea... you gotta to put some M-A-N into it.

 

[Vaughn]

That is good to hear.

I thought about using the brute force method (ie turning it until it breaks) - the problem is that rarely works on Eurasian cars (in general). I wanted to make sure that there wasn't another method before getting out the pipe wrenches.

Thanks.

 

[SV_Dude]

Yea... you gotta to put some M-A-N into it.

If you're married, ask your wife if you can have your balls back for a minute. I gotta do that once in a while when parts are giving me a hard time.

 

[Vaughn]

Well, as it turns out - the shift lever and the transfer case lever were glued on - no threads to be seen on the shaft. This is on a 95 Limited edition. There were rubber isolators inside the upper shaft, and these were glued onto the lower shaft. If you think about trying to remove a rubber isolator from a leaf spring eye - and how difficult those are to remove - that is what these isolators were like inside the upper shaft, and just about as easy to remove as the rubber from the leaf spring eye.

On top of the upper shaft (where the shift knob goes) is a hole drilled down the upper shaft - apparently this is where a special tool "looks" like it goes to help push the upper shaft off of the lower shaft - like a gear puller does. Using that in conjunction with the threads for the shift knob, you could pull the upper shaft off without an issue.

Probably the salient detail you should glean from this is that if your upper shaft has a hole drilled into the center when you take the gearshift knob off - you probably have a glued on upper shaft.