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Shift Boot/Tranny Hump Modification fix after body lift???

10K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  atomicjoe23 
#1 ·
OK Guys. . .I finally did the first mod to my '94 YJ and installed a 4WD Parts complete 2" body lift kit. . .

. . .everything worked out just fine and I didn't end up needing some of the stuff that was included (didn't need to relocate the air filter housing and I didn't need to extend the vacuum hose going into it since it didn't need relocated). . .I ran into one SNAFU where one of the body mount bolts had already been broken off inside the tub (it's the driver's side rear corner bolt. . .I just have to get a longer drill bit to get it out with an EZOut and I will have that fixed) because this YJ is a on a rebuilt title. . .

. . .but there is one problem that I ran into that I'm not quite sure what to do about. . .I did end up having to trim the floor pan at the back of the gear shift lever cut-out (5-spd. manual AX15) and without the shift boot in place I can engage 2nd, 4th, and revers, but once I put the shift boot back on I can no longer engage those gears. . .so I went ahead and started to trim the metal backing of the shift boot and that's where things didn't go so well. . .the shift boot is now ruined (no biggy I can buy a new one) but more importantly I had to trim the floorpan and the boot backing plate back to where there are no longer any bolt holes in that section to secure the boot to the floor pan (just in the area right behind the gear selector). . .so right I have a gaping hole in the tranny tunnel that funnels hot air directly onto me (top off doesn't matter. . .it's still pretty hot air and it's pretty hot already). . .I thought I had it figured out and I was just gonna cut a new trans. tunnel hump cover and extend it 2" right in the middle of the gear/T-case cutout so that it would cover the trimmed area and be able to be mounted to the floorpan as well, but then I realized that if I did that the stock shift boot would no longer fit the bolt pattern. . .

. . .so now I'm not really sure where to go with this. . .what I need to do is find either a larger shift boot off of another vehicle (not sure I'm gonna be able to find one large enough to work for the tranny and the T-case???), go double shift boots (one for the T-case and one for the tranny. . .not sure about where I would find boots to fit that idea either) or I need to find some way to make my own boot. . .

. . .do you guys know of any place that I can get larger shift boots or where I can get material to make my own shift boot. . .I don't have a sewing machine so I don't really wanna make my own but I will if I have to. . .if I made my own out of say marine grade vinyl/naugahyde I would still have to figure out some way to protect it from the heat coming up thorugh the trans tunnel cut-out (maybe just some adhesive backed thermal barrier on the inside of the fabric).

I'm sure I'm not the first one to run into this problem so let me know what you guys did to fix this problem (and just heating and bending the shift lever won't work because it's not the lever that was causing the problem it was where the lever actually attaches to the tranny which can't be bent).

Thanks!!!
 
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#4 ·
I had to trim the sheetmetal back about an inch. . .I bought a new shift boot for both the tranny and the transfer case from Autozone (just a generic shift boot) and that covered 95% of the hole and solved the shifting problem. . .

. . .I'm gonna weld some new sheetmetal into place to repair/cover what the new shift boot doesn't.

Eventually I will be machining a new shift boot retaining ring and will have a better looking solution, but it will probably be a little while because I have to get my own mill first.
 
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