I was trying to remove my shif knob and finally did but not without twisting the HELL out of the shaft as I was trying to loosen the knob. Could I have damaged something inside the tranny or inside the shifter assembly by twisting the shaft like this? I really don't know how these things are built.

All seems ok, except I feel a little play when twisting the knob either clockwise or counter-clockwise now. A little more play twisting clockwise. I'm not sure if this is normal. What can break if you were to twist the shaft too much?

Thanks,
Jazzyguy

 

Did you loosen the nut at the bottom of the shiftknob?

 

I did but it took A LOT of force with a wrench and for whatever reason I was not holding the knob while doing this.

 

The plastic seat for the shift lever ball could be damaged. Good time to pull out the shifter and re-grease it after an inspection. High temperature urea grease is recommended, Honda dealers sell it but you can also get it from a John Deere tractor dealer for much less.

 

It suppose to have a little play when twisting though, right? If so, I think I'm okay. If I twist the knob the whole shaft twists (maybe 20 degrees) but returns back.

 

Yeah, wondered about this too, I do think the ball seat at the end would be the most succeptible to damage. There's another plastic/delrin collar (not sure of the part name) above the ball on the lever that compresses the spring that also contacts metal in the block, but I don't know if it's prone to damage, I think you should be good though. I think my knob is beyond loctited on, I loosened the counter lock nut and still can't get the freakin' thing off (used strap wrenches, vise grips, you name it)... Just ended up detaching the shift boot and regreasing my shifter linkage with the knob still on. Not to thread hijack, but if you've got any tips to removing a shift knob I'd be interested!

 

And yes, a slight bit of play is normal in neutral.

 

When you speak of play, do your mean side to side movement or twist? I'm asking if it's normal to have a little "twist play" as if your unscrewing the knob. Just a tiny bit of play, like 20 degrees. Is this normal? I don't remember from before I started all this.

 

To me, 20 degrees seems excessive.

 

I recently replaced a ball shifter knob with an OEM type and it was extremely hard to get off. (I think the previous owner used loctite.) I had the same concern and used two large channel lock pliers, one to provide counterforce. Scarred the shifter a little, but the boot covers it up.