Ok, lets face it, the stock Fit/Jazz shift boot sucks big style,the price of the Mugen shift boot also sucks big style, soooo lets do it for a lot cheaper, here goes.

Before we start let me say that you need patience to do this as it can get pretty fiddley, but in my opinion the results are well worth it, Oh and one more thing, the shift boot i purchased for this mod was only £10.00 uk pounds which i believe is around $20.00 dollars. Anyway lets start.

The pic below shows the shift boot ring removed from the car, you will notice there is an inner ring, this is where the stock rubber boot clips in, we need to remove the inner ring.



To remove the inner ring you need to use a small rotary tool with sanding drum,



Removing the ring.



Almost there, NOTE the black lumps, (Below) this is melted plastic, when the plastic forms like that let it cool and snap them off, don't try to use the rotary to sand them off, if you do, the rotary tends to jump around and you risk damaging the painted finish on the shift boot ring.



Inner ring completley removed.



Ok, next step, you need to cut your new boot, DO NOT cut it the same height as the the origional rubber boot, if you do your new boot will be too short, It's a little difficult to say how high to cut it as it all depends on how much slack you want in the boot. ( i cut mine 4inches higher)

Cut Boot.



Now for the tricky bit, it took me a long time to figure out how to attach the new boot to the boot ring, i tried alsorts of glues but nothing would stick the leather boot to the ring, then it hit me, screw it was the only option.........so i did.........and it worked,lol. I sourced some small screws from a model shop and cut them down in length with a pair of snips.

If you flip the boot ring over to it's back side you will see a recessed lip (pic below) this is what we screw the new shift boot onto.



Now very very very carefully drill a pilot hole in the boot and boot ring and install your first screw, the first couple are the trickiest then it gets easier.



WARNING WARNING WARNING, If you don't take your time this will happen



I drilled all the way through, luckily i got one from a breakers yard.

Another pic of the screws.



Once you have carefully completed the above steps this is what you get.





Installed in the car, i may shorten the boot a little as i think it looks a little baggy, all in all i think it looks a whole lot better than stock.what do you think,.

 

looks great. but i kinda like the stock. =) but it does look good though.

 

if i was to do it i would probably just hotmelt (hot glue) the boot
onto the inside of the outer ring on the bottom.

i like the retro style rubber boot on the FitS. i always
wanted to change mine out on my cooper-s...so was
quite happy when i found out that the Fit's MT used
these retro boots.

 

I tried it, it wont work, the glue sticks to leather boot, but once it has dried fully it just snaps and cracks of the plastic boot ring.

 

not if it's real leather... i know it works cause i tried it on a
car a while ago and had no issues. i use only genuine leather.

 

It is real leather, it must be the type of plastic that the boot ring is made of, trust me it won't stick, lol, i'll take a pic of my glue gun if you like, just incase you think i'm telling porkies.

 

or your glue temp is too low or the glue type. not sure.
not criticizing your work, just a thought.

i have 3 different glues i use and 2 different guns with
different temps so i must have better combinations.

 

Cool mod.
Thanks for the DIY.

Tyler