10
This original grommet is brittle
and broken after 40 years living
in a tough environment. A screwdriver
helped to pry the broken pieces out of
the firewall.
13
Remove the shifter plate to inspect
the rubber shift boot. Tip: gently
tighten each screw before removing it. It
is common for the console’s plastic tabs
to be broken and it’s better to know this
now so that you can make repairs when
the shifter plate is removed.
16
An extra layer of insulation placed
under the carpet or anywhere else
in the passenger compartment works
well to keep the temperature down.
This white insulating material had been
installed previously. Note that the con-
sole plastic tab is partly broken where it
holds the left lower screw clip.
11
The new grommet is installed after
a little finagling and the use of the
screwdriver again. It took little effort to
install this grommet because its flat side
is out and it’s always easier to insert the
chamfered end through the firewall.14
Unscrew the shift knob and
remove the reverse lockout handle
and spring. The handle and spring can
be greasy so have a paper towel or cloth
nearby to place them on.17
The old rubber shifter boot has a
number of large tears. This hidden
damage undoubtedly has been allowing
very hot air into the passenger compart-
ment for quite some time.12
Strip-caulk is very useful for seal-
ing any gaps around wires going
through the grommets or for sealing any
other firewall gaps or air leaks.15
Carefully remove everything con-
nected to the shifter plate, such as
the ground wire and the cigarette lighter
wire. Note that the cigarette lighter wire
is always live so keep it away from any-
thing grounded.18
Remove the six screws on the
shifter plate. A 5/16-inch swivel
socket helped to access the forward two
screws. Pry the flange up to break loose
any sealer, and then pull the boot to the
right, up and out.40 VETTE 19.0 4
[ TECH]