I decided I needed a new shift knob. I always liked the look and feel of "cue ball" shifters on muscle cars, and realized that a pool ball is actually a really comfortable size to grab on to. Called up the local billiards supply place and found out they had a bucket of miscellaneous and mismatched balls for $2 each. Unfortunately they didn't have any cue balls. My next thought was an 8 ball because those are cool, right? None of those left either. Decided to get a 6 ball because it's green, my jeep is green, and my trans is a 6-speed. Perfect. The stock shifter comes right off, just have to push it down and turn. Took the top of the lever off the bottom by loosening the torx bolt in the bushing. I set up the pool ball in a drill press at work and chose a bit just SLIGHTLY smaller than the diameter of the shift lever. Drilled a little less than halfway through the ball. You have to put the shift boot over the lever before installing the new knob, as the coupling on the bottom is larger than the boot opening. Clamped the lever in a vice and tapped the ball on with a rubber mallet. It's a VERY tight fit and seems secure. If it ever comes loose I'll use some kind of adhesive, maybe. It ended up almost exactly at the same height as the top of the factory knob, it's comfortable in the hand, and has a nice heft to it that seems to make shifting easier. There's about a one inch gap between the bottom of the ball and the shift boot. Doesn't bother me.
