changing gear knob in a 9n3

[kc]

Ok So as promised here how to do it!



You will need, some pliers, a torx 15 bit, screw driver and some patients



first take off the handbrake cover and lift upwards as seen below



once you have done this remove the rubber cover and unscrew the torx and remove any loose object, i.e ash tray.




once the torxs are unscrew lift the gear shift cover gently from the side and rear to lift it up. (careful not to lif to hard as it is connected to the cigarette lighter)


once this is done you can rest the centre on the hand brake for ease of work.


Now remove the 12v connection from the cigarette lighter (push in clip)


NOW FOR THE FUN PART! you may need to take a leap of faith, (or man up lol oj) and take pliers to the clip! carefully twist and turn it around making it snap! MAKE SURE YOU DONT BREAK ANY OF THE PRONGS HOLDING THE GEAR KNOB!!


the clip should look like the above. also make sure to keep the metal ring that comes off once the clip is taken off, (as shown below)


once thats done you can now lift off the gear unit, shown below


push in the 4 white clips to release the gear gaiter and knob



after turn the gaiter inside out to expose the clearance clip, and carefully take the screwdriver and lift it upwards, there should be opening in the clip for seem of the gaiter so you can dig the screw driver from there as seen below




so now you can finally lift of the knob and replace it, if you also have a gaiter to replace then either remove the original gaiter or cover it over like i have.


ensure the gaiter i over the gear knobs lip and turn over to adjust to what ever position you like.



put the clip back over the gaiter and lip, making sure that the clips male part fits into the knobs female part (SOUND ABIT WEIRD MYBAD!) you get the idea!



ok for this some people may have a clip already on the knob, thus needing a crimping tool, however i just resorted to a hose clip from home-based (does the same thing if not better and if you want to change gear knob again its easier) size i used was a 13mm to 20mm


you can now slide the gear knob back on making sure that it reaches all the way down towards he abrasive part of the shaft. once this is done ensure to put back the metal ring that was taken off earlier, attach the hose clip and tighten. (i positioned the clip towards the front so its out of the way and not noticed (its small enough to not be noticed anyway)





once this is done reverse your steps and put everything back together and enjoy, hope this helps

fixed this for you mate, makes it easier to read instead of loads of tabs being opened

[ninjakev]

thanks Kc!

[aaronon]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to do all that!!! It's much appreciated. :)

I'm going to try it on Sunday!

[ninjakev]

Thank you, No Probs aaronon, hope it works out well for ya!

-=ninjakev=-

[aaronon]

I'm trying this now

When you unscrew the torx how did you get the thing to rest on the handbrake? I can't do that as the handbrake is in the way :S

[aaronon]

OH MY GOD I DID IT!

Snapping the metal band was HIDEOUSLY scary. I'm a big girl so I was too weak and it took me an hour of twisting and turning and I was afraid of snapping the actual gear pole (technical term). I just hope I tightened it all right and the cigarette lighter electric thing still works and the gear stick doesn't just pop off in my hand on the motorway!

Thanks a lot for your instructions and pictures as i'd have NEVER been able to do that by myself! :):):):):):) Anywho:

[ninjakev]

SWEET! well done aaronon. yeah sorry forgot to mention to put the hand brake up and sort of move the gear cover off to the side of the hand brake and then set it on top!! but you do it! !

[RUM4MO]

Hummm, I replaced the leatherette gaitor on my wife's 9N Polo with a proper soft leather one - but discovered her original was actually leather, but cheap hard low quality leather, I eased open the crimped part of the clip and could reuse it and recrimped it using blunt wire cutters! Once you get to know where the 4-off plastic retaining clips are, you can remove the gaitor complete with frame by just distorting the gaitor fixing frame at each of the 4-off clip areas. I was lucky though as I bought a "doner" leather gear knob and leatherette from ebay for pennies, removed the leatherette gaitor and after removing the gear knob and frame, I sent it away as a pattern piece for an etrader to manufacture a soft quality leather gaitor. Now when the postie delivered the gaitor and knob I bought from ebay, he took three attempts to try to get it through the letter box - then gave up (after breaking off three clips!) - so I knew exactly where the retaining clips were!

[aaronon]

Yeah I snapped one of the clips from the gator.

I have another question. See the "METAL RING" you show in a photo above? I actually put that back on the new stick and then put the new band that you tighten OVER THAT one. Was I meant to do this? The reason I asked is that it keeps going slanty as far this photo shows in both directions:

http://img848.imageshack.us/i/imagexxm.jpg

I know it's not much but it annoys me haha. Is it just a case of me taking all the stuff off and squeezing that tighten ring even more (as I'm a girly man I'll get someone to do it) or was I not meant to put that metal band on and that's what's keeping it loose!

Thanks for any advice! :)

[ninjakev]

Yeah I snapped one of the clips from the gator.

I have another question. See the "METAL RING" you show in a photo above? I actually put that back on the new stick and then put the new band that you tighten OVER THAT one. Was I meant to do this? The reason I asked is that it keeps going slanty as far this photo shows in both directions:

http://img848.imageshack.us/i/imagexxm.jpg

I know it's not much but it annoys me haha. Is it just a case of me taking all the stuff off and squeezing that tighten ring even more (as I'm a girly man I'll get someone to do it) or was I not meant to put that metal band on and that's what's keeping it loose!

Thanks for any advice! :)

Em yeah i put the metal ring back in an tighten over it like it was originally! its really to ensure a tight fit the hole way round the circumference of the shaft, sorry the image isnt working so i dont exactly know what ya mean, but make sure the gear knob is fully slid down on the abrasive part and lined up correctly! if its not sliding down all the way could be the gear knob it self? hence why it might be moving or its not on tight enough! if the crimping fails get the hose clip like what ive done and tighten, the hose clip, this should ensure a really tight hold on over the metal ring and prongs and hopefully stopping the slanting.

[aaronon]

Yes I might try and tighten again . . .the metal ring that came with the new stick was a bit different so I hope its not really hard to get off! Either way if it's really lose I'll get a "hose clip" as you say. Do these come in different sizes or can I just say "I can I have a hose clip please"?

Thanks for your help.

[ninjakev]

lol i used a 13mm to 20mm hose clip from B&Q there's an example pic of it above in the pack it came in!

[aaronon]

lol i used a 13mm to 20mm hose clip from B&Q there's an example pic of it above in the pack it came in!

I did it! It wasn't that I had it loose its just that I hadn't pushed the stick down hard enough to make it reach the rough part of the stick that locks it and stops it from twisting! All sorted now and looks brilliant, thanks for taking the time out to help me