[200q20v] Audi shift knob p/n

[Phil Rose]

>I have an  orginal 200q20v knob I wood(pun) part with,
>PO thought it was loose and relaced it w/ black
>leather type to match interior.

The oem knob's looseness (wiggle?) is something that I've noticed
from time to time, although it's pretty slight. In my car the knob's
wiggle persists even though the knob is well-tightened. Also it will
at times unexpectedly "firm up" for no apparent reason. Recently I've
been able to confirm that the plastic, threaded insert (inside the
knob) is not gripped or glued tightly, and so there is slight amount
of "wiggle room". I suppose either the plastic shrinks or the knob
itself expands (typical structural problems with wood--and plastic).
I think there may be a tendency for the "wiggle" to diminish during
the humid summer months, when the wood is expanding. This is a
difficult problem to solve for wooden shift knobs with any threaded
insert. Perhaps gluing the insert with a better adhesive could cure
this annoyance.

The knobs I've made so far have used no threaded inserts at all, but
instead the knob is bored to a diameter that permits the wood to be
threaded. That can be done by (1) compressively by using a 12x1.5 mm
bolt, or (2) by actually cutting threads with an appropriate tap.
I've used the 1st method with both knobs I've made. Chris says he's
had no problems using my cocobolo knob (after 2 yrs use) but it has
no shifter pattern on top to indicate if any slight tightening has
happened from time to time. That may be the secret--i.e. avoid the
shift pattern on top so the knob can be kept tight no matter what. Of
course it helps to use a dense, tropical hardwood which will have
much less swelling/shrinking and is much harder than a wood such as
walnut.

Phil
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Phil Rose				Rochester, NY
'91 200q	(130 Kmiles, Lago blue)
'91 200q   (57 Kmiles, Tornado red)
	mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net