Alright, I have searched about everywhere to find out how to remove the stock shift knob on the automatic transmission so I could put a custom one on without breaking something. Now, I'm going to share my knowledge if there are any others like myself. It's obviously very simple, but if you're a bit cautios like me then you probably don't want to attempt it without knowing for sure what to do. I have found alot of opinions from people about how to remove it, but noone that had experience doing it.

Step 1: We'll have to remove the unlock button that you have to push down to shift out of neutral and park. To do this, stick a flathead screwdriver, or something of that nature, between the button and the shifter on the side facing the back of the car. Do not try to remove the inner, plastic trim around the button. Push down ion the tool and pry the button up. You shouldn't have to apply much pressure to do this, so if you're really trying to force it then you're probably doing something wrong and should stop and have a beer.

Step 2: Once the button pops up and off, you'll see 3 screws. These aren't very important because they only hold down the plastic trim down.

Step 3: Pull off the rod cap and spring - but make sure to keep them as you will probably need them for your custom knob.

Step 4: You'll see a large bolt down in the middle of the knob. This is a bit awkward to get to, but I was able to unscrew it with needle-nose pliers. Unscrew it, pull off the knob, and there you have it! Piece of cake.

I hope this helps!

What did you replace it with. Pics? does it look good?

I replaced the worn original shift knob with a silver, "shark" shifter. It's slimmer and has finger grips on the font side. It looks awesome and gives it more of a sporty look. I'll get pictures of it here soon. I had to jimmy-rig it to make it stay because the stock J30 shift stick is very thin.

Very informative post Deathdealer!

Old thread just saved me lots of time, worth the bump but I would like to add some info

It does come apart as described but tabs that hold the button are on each side, keep this in mind , being 20 years old 3 out of 4 cars I had to choose from had very soft deteriorating plastic surrounds (the surround is what holds the button tabs down lower) Important info if one wanted to reassemble with original parts.