Sparco Shift Boot Install
6/17/07
The leather shift boot that Nissan put in my SE-R was looking pretty sad after 14 years, and let's face it- it didn't look that great when it was brand-new either, so I decided to upgrade to a really nice Sparco one. The one I got is a real beauty...soft, black leather with red stitching.
The first step is to take out the stock boot along with the section of the console that surrounds the shifter. You've got a white plastic ring that goes inside the shift boot, and the other piece which is the black plastic console trim. Taking a look at the bottom of this, you can see how the stock boot is held in. It's basically sandwiched between the two plastic pieces which are held together by these 4 metal friction-fit washer thingies.
Pry off the 4 washers carefully. I used a thin-bladed screwdriver. You have to be careful because if you exert too much force, you can break off the posts the washers are attached to. Don't ask me how I know that. Luckily, there are 6 other unused posts, so if this happens to you, you can just use one of the unbroken ones when it's time to put everything back together. Here are the two trim pieces separated:
Next, take off the stock boot and pull the new shift boot onto the inner plastic ring. It's a super-tight fit, and I wasn't sure it was going to go on, but I just worked with it for a few minutes and it did. If you don't want to fight it, you could sand or cut away some of the plastic, I suppose.
Now that you've got the new shift boot on, re-assemble the the two plastic pieces and push the four washers back on to lock them together. Put everything back onto your shifter and reinstall the shift knob.
My MOMO shift knob is held onto the shifter with 3 allen head bolts. Tighten these down...
...and then screw the boot onto the knob. It's sort of counter-intuitive, because you have to screw the whole boot/console assembly up onto the knob, but that's the only way to do it.
Snap the console back into place, and you're done! This whole install only took 15 minutes, but man, what a difference! I was going to do a before and after, but the before was just too embarrasing. Just trust me; it looked like poop.
Page 1: Intro Page 2: Pics Page 3: Dyno results and list of modifications Page 4: Praise from the press for the original SE-R Page 5: Clutch Disc Replacement and Suspension Pics Page 6: Sparco Shift Boot Install - You're here!
