There are two things that you touch frequently when driving your vehicle: the steering wheel and the shift knob. Changing either one can make the driving experience a bit more enjoyable, and is fairly easy to do. Just make sure that whatever shift knob you find is either universal or vehicle-specific. In this case, the project vehicle is a 2005 Ford Ranger 5-speed truck, but the process of changing the knob is similar for other vehicles.
Park the vehicle on a smooth and level surface, then place the wood blocks behind and in front of the rear tires. Set the emergency brake, hold down the clutch and put the gear shifter into neutral.
Grip the handle firmly with both hands and pull it straight back towards you. This may take some force to loosen the splines on the gear shifter, so pull with jerking motions if you have to.
Place the collar from the replacement shift knob onto the shifter rod and tighten down the adjusting screws using a hex-head key. Then slide the replacement knob in place over the collar, then twist to lock it in place.
