how to you remove the plastic piece where the gear is located in an auto

[rayyan345]

hi i wanted know how to you remove the plastic piece where the gear is located in an auto.its screwed down pretty tigh. i removed the screws i could see. but it still wouldnt pop out. i searched but i didnt find anything except how to remove the center console.also is it possible to paint remove the ac vent with out taking out the whole dash board? i was thinking of painting these both parts red with my center console.

thanks!

[Zero]

If I remember correctly, you need to pop it out. It's held down by screws and pop-tabs.

[rayyan345]

i removed the screws that i could see.but it still wouldnt come off.

[Zero]

did you remove the shifter?

[rayyan345]

i didnt get to the stage where i have to remove the shifter knob.it is screwed somewhere else.

[Magic_AoD]

the ac vents just pop out. i did mine, not hard, use a flathead screwdriver. make sure it is small, maybe a bit of tape to avail scratching. it took me a few minutes to pop them out and just slightly long to put them in.

Christian

[lilmexicanoboi]

i just took mine out a few days ago and honestly you dont even need any tools. you first remove the shifter surrounding plastic by popping it out by hand. unplug the big lighter and take out the surrounding plastic and set it aside. once you see the "box" that the shifter is in, there are 3 tabs holding down the plastic piece ontop with the holes to show the gear selections. push the center part down and the ouside parts upwards and the top should just pop off the clips. you wont be able to take that piece completely off without taking the shifter off, but you can still move it out of the way slightly and make enough room to reach under it to reach the plastic piece that has the gear markings written on it. its held on by some melted plastic tabs. just pinch the melted plastic with some tweezers (u gotta get creative and find a way to reach them with whatever tool ur using) and the gear selector piece will just slip out to the right.

to put it back on, you are going to need some kind of adhesive to keep it stuck on or else it will slide out of place and get stuck around the shifter and wont let u shift. (happened to me a few times, it was scary as sh!t cuz i was in second gear (automatic) on the freeway and couldnt shift up without alot of force. when i finally shifted, i felt like i broke the plastic piece. luckily i didnt, but the paint chipped a bit and got really scratched. so use some dabs of glue or even some tape.

[lilmexicanoboi]

^by the way... thats assuming you want to remove the gear selector plastic piece. if you just want to remove the plastic piece directly around the shifter with the holes in it, then u will have to remove the shifter to completely take it out. for that, you will have to remove the two screws in the front of the shifter on the bottom and remove the O/D button by either popping it out and tracing the wire running down to wherever it goes and pulling it out or by just cutting the wire and reattaching afterwards.

[silverCELICAgt-s]

If I remember correclty, put the auto shifter in neutral, then pop the lower panel off, now you can put the car back into park. Next take the knobs off the ac controls and unscrew the necessary screws holding that piece in. After that is out you should be able to pop the upper portion out.

[lilmexicanoboi]

If I remember correclty, put the auto shifter in neutral, then pop the lower panel off, now you can put the car back into park. Next take the knobs off the ac controls and unscrew the necessary screws holding that piece in. After that is out you should be able to pop the upper portion out.

i dont think he is referring the the center console. i think hes referring to the gear selector... right? :confused:

OP, are u trying to take this piece out?:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/LiLgHeTTo145/DSCN0079-1.jpg

[rayyan345]

^yes thats exactly it. its all scratched up in m car so i wanted to remove it and paint it withe my center console. ok so i did realize that it just pops out like you guys said. and i managed to pop open the left side of the gear and the black thing that tells you what gear you are on came out. but i can manage to take out the right side.should i use forse to pop the other side out?i dont wanna break it thats the thing.

[rayyan345]

i dont think he is referring the the center console. i think hes referring to the gear selector... right? :confused:

OP, are u trying to take this piece out?:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/LiLgHeTTo145/DSCN0079-1.jpg

btw how do i take out the the window and the lock switch and paint it like yours?i took out the 2 screws and it can come up a little bit but not enough to put my hand in and unplug the wire that is attached with it.i wanted to paint it too but was wondering is it hard?

[broderp]

i dont think he is referring the the center console. i think hes referring to the gear selector... right? :confused:

OP, are u trying to take this piece out?:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/LiLgHeTTo145/DSCN0079-1.jpg

I don't like painted anything in my cars, but this actually looks nice. I like the color combo and the two tone scheme. Good job!;)

[lilmexicanoboi]

^yes thats exactly it. its all scratched up in m car so i wanted to remove it and paint it withe my center console. ok so i did realize that it just pops out like you guys said. and i managed to pop open the left side of the gear and the black thing that tells you what gear you are on came out. but i can manage to take out the right side.should i use forse to pop the other side out?i dont wanna break it thats the thing.

wait... you only removed the left side? im pretty sure the right side pops out the same way :confused:

there should be 3 clips holding it on. i forgot which side has 2 clips, but its the same deal for all of them. just pull outwards and pull up.

btw how do i take out the the window and the lock switch and paint it like yours?i took out the 2 screws and it can come up a little bit but not enough to put my hand in and unplug the wire that is attached with it.i wanted to paint it too but was wondering is it hard?

thats held on by those 2 screws you took out and a connector under it. the conenctor is on REALLY tight and u gotta push down the tab really hard and not be afraid to pull it (just make sure to pull from the clear plastic and not to yank on the wires). after you pull it out, its pretty much common sense from there. just take out the necessary screws to take off the top plastic piece so you can paint it cleanly.

I don't like painted anything in my cars, but this actually looks nice. I like the color combo and the two tone scheme. Good job!

wow, a compliment from you? i dont get too many of those! haha jk. thanks :)

[rayyan345]

^i think your 2 tone is very clean.

btw what about the over drive button in the gear?to remove the gear peice i will have to take out shifter.now i can uncrew the 2 screws but then i dont want to cut any wires or anything.is it hard?

edit: ok so jsut an update.i removed the gear peice and looks like there isnt a way to remove the wire without cutting it so left it alone. also i lost one of the 2 screws for the shifter and it fell down into the place where no one wants to go (under the shifter). hopefully it shoulnt matter if i only have one screw holding the shifter.

[lilmexicanoboi]

^i think your 2 tone is very clean.

thanks :)

btw what about the over drive button in the gear?to remove the gear peice i will have to take out shifter.now i can uncrew the 2 screws but then i dont want to cut any wires or anything.is it hard?

i didnt even touch the OD button on the shifter to paint my surrounding plastic honestly. when i had my whole interior out, i just masked off the shifter and the surrounding areas and just rattle-canned it inside of the car. it was risky due to overspray, but i felt confident cuz of how much i masked off and not to mention ive dont more detailed jobs before so i knew what i was doing ;) personally, i like how it came out. there wasnt any need to take it off or remove anything (besides the gear selector plastic with the markings on it) and it came out very clean :) you can try that if you like, but be careful/cautious if u have never tried anything like that before. too much overspray and it will start to smell, not to mention ull have paint in unwanted areas :faint:

edit: ok so jsut an update.i removed the gear peice and looks like there isnt a way to remove the wire without cutting it so left it alone. also i lost one of the 2 screws for the shifter and it fell down into the place where no one wants to go (under the shifter). hopefully it shoulnt matter if i only have one screw holding the shifter.

i dont think it should be TOO much of a problem if theres only one screw holding it on. i think maybe they put two for that reason lol. but try looking for it anyways. it may look scary under there, but its not like ur gonna rewire the whole car. just move some stuff around and make sure not to yank too hard on anything. i doubt the screw fell in a place where no man has ever gone before lol.

in the meantime, try not to pull up on the shifter too hard. this isnt the air force ;)

[monkeyb01]

Hey mexicano, in the picture that you posted with the box around the shifter area, did you paint that part or did it come stock black?

[re4m]

think you have to cut loose a few strings and unscrew the screw behind the handle and thats it.

[lilmexicanoboi]

Hey mexicano, in the picture that you posted with the box around the shifter area, did you paint that part or did it come stock black?

i painted it myself :wiggle:

[monkeyb01]

its looks very nice. i plan on doing that pretty soon after i saw it on monster hui track celica