Viper Shifter Shaft Installation

Installation of the Viper Shifter Shaft Upgrade

A normal installation should take about 30-45 minutes.

The first thing to remove is the bezel around the shifter and radio, it just pulls/snaps out. With it pulled loose unplug the road lamp switch, and unplug the cigarette lighter connections.
You can then set it out of the way (passenger floor).

The next step is to get the shifter boot out of the way. It's held in place by metal tabs that are bent over (pinched closed) on the underside of the console. You can reach the ones nearest to where the ashtray was fairly easily to bend them to where they point down. Once you do that on the one side the shifter boot can be worked up out of it's recess/hole.

With the boot pulled up you can easily remove the shifter knob using a 19mm (or 3/4 inch) and 17mm wrench. Then push the next rubber boot down over the shifter to expose the complete shifter shaft. You can then use the 19mm wrench to remove the factory shifter upper shaft.

The next step is to install the new solid steel shaft (a little thread lock on the bottom end threads is probably a good idea), thread it in and tighten it with the 19mm wrench.

Thread the original lock nut from the factory shaft onto the new shaft. If you're changing to an aftermarket shift knob at this time, pull the shift boot off the original knob and install it on the new knob.

Thread the shift knob onto the shaft and line it up properly, then tighten the lock nut.

Push the shift boot down into it's recess/hole, lining the tabs up as you go and bending them back to lock the boot in place. You can pinch them tight through the leather of the boot with pliers or Vise Grips and not hurt the boot.

Snap the radio/shifter bezel in place and you're done.

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