Shifter boot had a hole in it when I bought the Jeep and I finally got around to replacing it. Simple job, just remove the knob and pop the old boot out and put the new one in. Simple, right? 
The knob would not come off. You just pull straight out. But noooooo. Forum searches and YouTube videos show that it is indeed hard to remove the thing. There is a detent or something that the knob clicks onto on the shifter. You have to pull hard enough to get it past that. My old arthritic hands just couldn't do it.
I tried using a heat gun....no joy. I tried using a strap wrench...no joy. So I bought a new knob and just went to town on the old one with my Dremel tool.
New boot and new knob popped on and done in 15 seconds.
So, if you're looking at doing this in the future, just cut it off and save yourself a pulled muscle or two.
The knob would not come off. You just pull straight out. But noooooo. Forum searches and YouTube videos show that it is indeed hard to remove the thing. There is a detent or something that the knob clicks onto on the shifter. You have to pull hard enough to get it past that. My old arthritic hands just couldn't do it.
I tried using a heat gun....no joy. I tried using a strap wrench...no joy. So I bought a new knob and just went to town on the old one with my Dremel tool.
New boot and new knob popped on and done in 15 seconds.
So, if you're looking at doing this in the future, just cut it off and save yourself a pulled muscle or two.
