Owners of ’93-’02 Firebirds and Trans Ams equipped with manual five- or six-speed transmissions are likely to experience—or have already fallen victim to—shifter-boot-retainer failure. It occurs when the injection-molded plastic rectangle (“the retainer”), which is glued onto the bottom perimeter of the shifter boot and clips into the center console, literally breaks into pieces.
For a time, General Motors offered two solutions regarding the problem: a boot with a retainer, which it called a boot assembly, and for ’97-’02 models only, the option of the retainer separately. These items have been discontinued for more than four years. Beyond that, they were manufactured from prone-to-breakage plastic just like the failed part that’s being replaced. The parts could buy time for owners, but it’s not a permanent solution.
As shifter-boot-retainer failure became widespread in the early years of the past decade, late-model F-body forums quickly filled with posts from owners who admitted that they too were plagued by the persnickety problem. Some acted quickly and snatched up GM’s last remaining supply of the OE parts.
Enter Dave Bormet, owner of Farmer2 Specialties, who has since created a cottage industry that manufactures direct-fit replacements for these out-of-production OE pieces. “In 2004, I converted my ’02 Bright Red Trans Am WS6 coupe from automatic to a six-speed manual,” he says. “I called my GM dealer and learned that GM only offered the boot assembly, which consists of the boot and the retainer. I only needed the retainer, and was stranded with no way to inexpensively get one for the conversion.”
Seeing that his Firebird wasn’t the only one suffering from shifter-boot-retainer failure, he set out to make a sturdier solution—first for his car, and then for his comrades on sites like LS1tech.com. “Using a common metal coat hanger, I created a template for a replacement retainer,” he reveals. “Eventually I began manufacturing direct-fit boot ‘clips’ from galvanized spring steel. It’s much stronger than the factory’s plastic, and can withstand removal and reassembly multiple times.”
Our ’95 Firehawk is among the Fourth-Gen Trans Ams and Firebirds that experienced shifter-boot-retainer failure. We contacted Farmer2 Specialties, and within days PN 9396T for ’93-’96 Firebirds and Trans Ams arrived at our door. The cost was $27.21, including free shipping; the correct clip for ’97-’02 Firebirds and Trans Ams is offered at the same price.
The project is easy and you should have no problem doing it yourself. Since our Firehawk was already at Autoway Chevrolet in Clearwater, Florida, awaiting parts for a different project, Trim Specialist Seamon C. Finley offered to demonstrate the steps.
