Hurst C5 Billet Shifter Installation by Ed Bon Patches on Corvette Forum After months of anxious teeth-gnashing, screams and wails of despair, and then covert, desperate attempts to locate a Hurst shifter for my 2002 C5, LAPD finally came through and delivered one to my doorstep, honoring their original commitment to my order placed, I think, sometime in 2001. After several days of raucous, drunken rejoicing and the sacrficing of many small animals to the Gods for their nebulous role in the delivery of said Hurst shifter, I decided it was time to actually install it in my torch red 2002 C5, which crouched in the garage, shaking with anticipation of the long-awaited transplant. The instructions that come with the shifter are really quite good, rendering this web page, and thus, my superficial attempt to school the apparently mechanically-savvy forum membership in the installation of a simple shifter, redundant, at best. But it helps kill the time, and so, it follows. Obviously the stock shifter - loathed by the masses, abused by some.
Pry up the AH trim plate with a small flat-blade screwdriver.
Disconnect AH/F45, airbag light and console accessory plugs.
Got a little ahead of myself, but you get the idea. Remove the nuts that hold the console/instrument trim panel in place. The rubberband you see in the picture below is put on at the factory (very high-tech mounting fixture). Toss it when you get the trim panel over it off.
At this point, you're probably asking yourself why the hell you're removing the center console just to change the shifter. Well, maybe you're not, but I sure did. It's because you have to pull the instrument trim panel towards the back of the car to get it out and the console is in the way.
To get the center console out you have to lift it up to clear the mounting studs and then pull it towards the back of the car to free it from under the instrument trim piece. You may have to tilt the seat-backs foward - I did anyway. Whatever - do what you want . . . just get it outta' there. Be careful as you pull it free. The gas door release plug needs to be disconnected before you pull the console completely away from the tunnel.
Notice in this picture I instruct you to pry carefully. To be honest, it's a piece of soft, cheap plastic and I doubt any amount of damage could make it look worse - besides I was replacing it with a new knob.
The picture below was obviously taken after-the-fact since my digicam decided not to cooperate at a critical juncture in my foray into micro-photography. So, I decided to "bench-demo" my unique method of extracting the "Demon Key", notorious in the world of C5 knob replacement. Actually, I tried the vise-grip method touted by the true pros among us, but it kept slipping off. My impatience got the better of me and I grabbed a towel and screwdriver and pried as pictured below (with towel under screwdriver, of course) and voila'! It popped out VERY easily - no damage to the knob or key. At this point, I says to myself, "Self, you is startin' to make some progress heah." Anyway, as indicated, grab the boot at the edges and make your way around the circumference, pulling in towards the shifter and then up to free up the plastic ring retainer that holds the boot in. Clear as mud? The next couple of pictures are just for your edification (don't you hate it when someone says that - kinda like they're calling you stupid or something, huh?). You won't be modifying this puppy unless you got a new short boot from Ken King like I did. Hey, I'm thorough, if nothing else! Anyhow, this is the shifter boot. Why do they call it a "boot"? It looks more like a dunce cap, doesn't it? Finally, we reveal the star of our shifting nightmares! Now we go for the instrument trim panel. Three Torx screws, two hiding behind the ashtray door (pull the ashtray to reveal the right one) . . . . . . and one behind this little guy next to the ignition switch. Man, this thing FLEW when I popped it out. Bounced around like a SuperBall when it let go. There are two tabs on the sides that hold it in. Once again, pry carefully. Ummm . . . self-explanatory. Ok, so to get this guy out, well, I don't exactly know how to explain it. I just sorta' carefully pulled it away from the dash and worked it around until it cleared everything. I didn't break it, anyway. You have to disconnect the lighter plug behind the panel once you have enough room before you pull it all the way out. Also, there are a couple of alignment prongs on the back you need to be aware of. As always, be careful. (Really, it's not hard.) Time to yank the stock shifter. These 10mm flange nuts were barely finger tight when I unscrewed them (shouldn't that be unnutted them?). Remember this for re-install. They just hold the isolator in place so no stress is put on them. 3/8" socket here. Wish GM would make up their minds - standard or metric, jeez! OK, here's the fun part. Grab the shifter by the throat, er, shaft and pull it straight up and outta' there! Mine came out with nary a peep. The gasket came up with the shifter base - no muss, no fuss. Others may have some sort of glue holding it down - obviously, mine didn't. Clean it off if yours does. The stock shifter is not so bad so much as the Hurst is so good. (Did that make sense?) Look at that Bad Boy on the right! It's base is considerably heavier and it feels of much better quality than the stocker. (Well, DUH! What's the point otherwise?) Do as instructed below. This was another display of C5 component acrobatics I demonstrated to myself during the course of the morning. Popping the little hard plastic bushing off the stock shifter was yet another entertaining little puzzle the task afforded me. The bushing made it's way across the garage at, I suspect, close to Mach 2. Luckily, no humans or animals were injured. Lightly grease the ball on the Hurst, put the bushing on a stable surface and push down until it seats completely. Ahhh . . . Success! Make sure it's well-seated as pictured. Wouldn't want that puppy poppin' off of there in the middle of a powershift, eh? I didn't change the factory springs Hurst puts in since I wasn't sure how it'd feel. You can see the extra springs you get with the kit. Below is the gasket in place - I used silicone sealant to keep it in place while I mounted the shifter but, it's not really necessary. Finally, it lives! Make sure the slot cut into the top of the shaft faces the back of the car. It's required for the "Demon Key" if you're putting the stock knob back on. I made no adjustments to the stops since the C5 doesn't require it and the shifter came from the factory with full travel. Check the stops to make sure the locknuts are tight. I found out later that they can loosen up if you don't tighten them! Try the shifter and make sure it engages the gears cleanly. Reverse the center ring of the isolator so that it extends upward as shown below. This is to give clearance for the larger base of the Hurst as compared to stock. Here's where you snug those 10mm nuts down lightly! Now, go ahead and reinstall the instument trim piece and the center console. You're done needing access to this area. Just reverse the removal process. This is where I deviate from the standard installation with the addition of my Ken King boot as replacement for the stock. Since the Hurst is shorter than stock, I wanted a boot that fit as if it were made for the new height. I pulled the existing boot off the retaining ring and installed the new boot in its place. Simple, just pull the new boot over the ring, making sure the tabs are exposed. The new boot has elastic to hold it in place. The stock boot has glue and staples to hold it to the ring. Ready to put back in. Pop the boot back in and install the shift knob, stock or aftermarket, whichever is your pref. That's it! Congrats! Now go out and enjoy the precision!