A common issue with the Saturn Sky is the shift knob will come, somewhat, loose and rattle as you drive. It is very annoying and the only way to keep from rattling is to keep your hand on it as you drive. This too is very annoying.
Looking up an OEM replacement, I came to find that GM wants too much money. Also it may just break again and most important, this is my chance to mod the car! The stock shift knob does not just screw off. It is a one-piece bit of nonsense that takes the shift lever and boot with it if you want to replace it.
Well if I am going to have to replace that much of the shifter might as well look for some alternatives. DDM Works makes a short shift kit for $100 bucks. They also make a part that will allow you to attach a standard screw-on shift knob. The only missing part was the boot.
I ordered the DDM parts, went on ebay and found a shift knob I liked along with a boot with yellow stitching.
Parts cost:
DDM short shift kit - $100
DDM shift knob adapter - $37
Ebay no name "carbon fiber" shift knob - $23
Ebay no name boot - $20
Shipping - $10 (only DDM charged shipping)
Finally, some bolts! Get a 10mm socket, an extention, and your wrench. Remove the 4 bolts.
Wash your hands and go back to the car and drop in the new DDM ring that has the two slots in it. The slots line up with the pins inside the shifter hole.
Take the other DDM ring with 4 holes in it and line it up over the shifter hole so the 4 bolt holes also line up with the bolt holes in the tranny. It should just sit on top right now. Do not bolt it down yet.
Take your new DDM shifter and make sure the bottom nylon is straight and not at an angle. Slowly drop in the new shifter through the first ring and through the second ring inside the hole making sure that the bottom nylon piece stays straight. If it goes in at an angle it will not go in fully. It may take a couple tries, but you will get it. The middle collar slots need to face front to back so they line up with the new pins. It will all make sense when you actually do it.
Using the new longer bolts from DDM, place the metal plate over everything and screw in the new bolts till snug then use an allen wrench to tighten.
Stretch the inner boot that you took out earlier over the entire assembly and place it under the rib of the larger boot.
Look at you! You installed the DDM short shifter. From here you could install your stock shift knob but what fun is that? Now it's time to install the DDM adapter so you can install that sweet custom knob.
Slide the DDM adapter on the stub and screw the set screw in until tight.
From here your shift boot may be different then mine. The one I got was a generic boot so I had to figure out how to install it. Your boot may go on the same way or you may have to deviate from these instructions a bit.
Get the stock shift knob assembly and seperate the chrome trim ring from the inner black ring. You just need to press the chrome tabs out of the inner ring. You can use a screw driver but be gentle.
The boot is held onto the inner ring with some weak glue or something. Find a starting place and peel off the boot.
Press the black inner ring into the new boot. This may take some stretching of the new boot. Work slow and carfully.
Cut slits on the side of the boot to expose the tabs where the chrome ring will snap into. Slide the chrome ring over the boot and with some help and slow gentle but firm pressure you will be able to get the chrome ring to press over the boot and engage the inner ring tabs.
Almost there. Fold in any extra boot material into the inside of the boot and install the new boot into your car. Simply press the trim ring into the opening same as when you removed it.
Screw on your new shift knob and make sure you can engage all your gears. You are done! Look how cool your new shifter is! Dude, time to hit the track!
Looking up an OEM replacement, I came to find that GM wants too much money. Also it may just break again and most important, this is my chance to mod the car! The stock shift knob does not just screw off. It is a one-piece bit of nonsense that takes the shift lever and boot with it if you want to replace it.
Well if I am going to have to replace that much of the shifter might as well look for some alternatives. DDM Works makes a short shift kit for $100 bucks. They also make a part that will allow you to attach a standard screw-on shift knob. The only missing part was the boot.
I went from this (meh):
To this (Oh yeah!):
I ordered the DDM parts, went on ebay and found a shift knob I liked along with a boot with yellow stitching.
Parts cost:
DDM short shift kit - $100
DDM shift knob adapter - $37
Ebay no name "carbon fiber" shift knob - $23
Ebay no name boot - $20
Shipping - $10 (only DDM charged shipping)
This mod took less then two hours, can be done from within the car and uses standard tools.
Tools:
Socket set with 10mm socket
Allen wrenches
Needle nose pliers
Grease
Sharp razor
Paper towels or rags
Let's begin!
Engage the e-brake and place the car in neutral. Remove the chrome trim. Hold the chrome trim from the inside and firmly but gently pull up and work your way around the trim. It is being held in by plastic tabs that do not have a super tight grip so it does not take much to get it off.
Using an allen wrench, loosen the bolt at the bottom of the shifter. It has thread lock on it so it will take some muscle to break it loose.
Pull off the knob-shaft-boot-trim assembly and put aside. Remove the insulation pad and set aside. What you should have left is a rubber boot covering the tranny with a little stub of a shaft sticking out.
So now comes the only part of the mod that is a little scary but dont worry, it's simple. Take a sharp razor and cut out the center of the boot in a rectangle shape just under the first rib. It does not have to be perfect, just fairly clean and straight.
When done, you will not need the piece you cut out. Now you will see there is yet another rubber boot. Russian nesting dolls??? Reach in and pull this boot out. It is just slightly stretched on so feel around the bottom of the inner boot and you can pry it off fairly simply.
You will not need the bolts but save the metal plate that comes out with the bolts. Remove the shifter by pulling up. Out will come a shaft that is greasy and has a nylon collar in the middle and at the bottom.
The middle collar has a thin metal ring on the top. In the hole that the shifter came out of should be another thin metal ring. Make sure it is there and leave it there. If it came out with your shifter, put it back in the hole.
Place the greasy shifter on a paper towel or rag.
This is where you should be now, a hole where your shifter used to be and a greasy shifter wrapped in a rag or paper towels.
Take the greasy shifter and your new shiny DDM shifter and find a solid work surface to work on. You will need the grease and needle nose pliers handy. Grease up the new DDM shifter. You only need to apply grease on both ball sections.
Remove the larger nylon collar from the old shifter and slide onto the DDM one. Line up the large slots on the DDM shifter with those on the nylon collar. The smaller nylon collar will need to be pried off with the needle nose pliers. It's a bitch and takes some muscle. You will get grease on your hands, but its all part of the fun! Once you get it loose, press it onto the DDM shifter bottom ball untill it snaps on.
Take the other DDM ring with 4 holes in it and line it up over the shifter hole so the 4 bolt holes also line up with the bolt holes in the tranny. It should just sit on top right now. Do not bolt it down yet.
Take your new DDM shifter and make sure the bottom nylon is straight and not at an angle. Slowly drop in the new shifter through the first ring and through the second ring inside the hole making sure that the bottom nylon piece stays straight. If it goes in at an angle it will not go in fully. It may take a couple tries, but you will get it. The middle collar slots need to face front to back so they line up with the new pins. It will all make sense when you actually do it.
Using the new longer bolts from DDM, place the metal plate over everything and screw in the new bolts till snug then use an allen wrench to tighten.
Stretch the inner boot that you took out earlier over the entire assembly and place it under the rib of the larger boot.
Look at you! You installed the DDM short shifter. From here you could install your stock shift knob but what fun is that? Now it's time to install the DDM adapter so you can install that sweet custom knob.
Slide the DDM adapter on the stub and screw the set screw in until tight.
From here your shift boot may be different then mine. The one I got was a generic boot so I had to figure out how to install it. Your boot may go on the same way or you may have to deviate from these instructions a bit.
Get the stock shift knob assembly and seperate the chrome trim ring from the inner black ring. You just need to press the chrome tabs out of the inner ring. You can use a screw driver but be gentle.
The boot is held onto the inner ring with some weak glue or something. Find a starting place and peel off the boot.
Press the black inner ring into the new boot. This may take some stretching of the new boot. Work slow and carfully.
Cut slits on the side of the boot to expose the tabs where the chrome ring will snap into. Slide the chrome ring over the boot and with some help and slow gentle but firm pressure you will be able to get the chrome ring to press over the boot and engage the inner ring tabs.
Almost there. Fold in any extra boot material into the inside of the boot and install the new boot into your car. Simply press the trim ring into the opening same as when you removed it.
Screw on your new shift knob and make sure you can engage all your gears. You are done! Look how cool your new shifter is! Dude, time to hit the track!
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