Rubber boots...no, not the kind for your feet.

When I first removed my transmission for the clutch replacement and conversion, I found this:


The small boot fits directly over the shift tower of the transmission and the large boot bolts to the transmission tunnel above the smaller boot. The third boot, not pictured, is the one seen on top of the other two in plain view from the driver's seat.

The small shift tower boot is readily available from various suppliers, but requires that the shift lever be removed from the shifter shaft that comes out of the housing attached to the transmission. In the picture below, the black shifter, barely visible at the top, would have to be separated from the lower shaft that goes in to the housing.

Initially, I purchased the OEM boot but was unable to remove the shift lever. I suppose I wasn't doing it right, even after reading about how others did it. I tried to stretch the OEM boot over the bottom of the shift lever but ended up splitting it wide open. It was, unfortunately, now useless.

After some pondering, I visited a local tire shop and raided their trash bin. They allowed me to take a punctured inner tube meant for a large truck. Here is my score!

I cut a section out and used a socket and a hammer to punch a perfect little hole for the shifter. The inner tube material was much thicker, yet just as pliable as the OEM material, so I was hoping to stretch this over the shifter handle without it tearing.

I then cut the outer diameter slightly larger than the shifter opening it was meant to cover.

With a little help from a glob of grease, the boot slipped over the shift lever without tearing!

I then fastened the outside edge to the shift tower with a zip tie to seal it and keep it in place.

It looked good until I moved the shift lever. As you can see, an unacceptable gap formed when the shifter was moved in to various gears. This won't keep muddy water out!

To fix the issue, I attempted to simulate an accordion design to give it some room to flex. With an accordion design, I figured that there would be enough give to prevent the hole around the shifter from opening up and letting foreign objects into the shift tower. These are the two peices I used to build the accordion, sticking them together with rubber cement.

I then put some rubber cement on the boot that was already installed...

...and stuck the accordion peice on top of that, ending up with a boot that provided a good seal around the shifter. No muddy water in the transmission now!


With that done, it was on to the next boot that seals the transmission tunnel and keeps debris from slinging up onto the carpet inside. After what I had learned by doing the small boot, I planned on making another accordion-like contraption to aid in keeping a tight seal on the shifter. First, I cut away the ruined boot from it's frame and used the frame as a base for my homebrew boot.

I then made a series of pieces to stick together and form the accordion.

The accordion was then attached to the original frame and bolted to the transmission tunnel to form a water tight seal around the shifter. I don't have a picture of the finished product, but it works great and keeps the carpet dry when I'm wheelin'. Even better, it didn't cost me much at all...if you ignore the torn OEM boot, of course!