Leather reupholstery and gear knob tuning: how to make a cover with your own hands

Author: Victor

You can increase the comfort when driving a vehicle by tuning the interior elements. Most of all, the driver interacts with the steering wheel and gear lever. Therefore, car owners put a braid on the steering wheel and tighten the transmission selector with materials that are pleasant to the touch. Below are instructions on how to reupholster the gearshift knob with leather yourself.

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Material selection

To restore the aesthetic appearance of the handle of a manual transmission or automatic transmission located in the passenger compartment, you will need to perform the process of re-stretching the product.

The following materials are used to cover the transmission handle:

• Genuine Leather;
• artificial leather;
• faux suede or Alcantara.

All of the above materials are characterized by high performance characteristics, so when choosing, they are often guided by aesthetic indicators. With intensive use, the coating will not break, and if you take care of the selector, this will increase its service life. Each material has properties and features that set it apart from others. Below we will analyze the characteristics of natural and artificial leather, as well as Alcantara, in order to understand what to make a cover for the gearbox lever of a car, no matter what kind of car we are talking about - Ford Focus, VAZ or Mercedes.

Genuine Leather

This material is high quality and expensive. Genuine leather is used for upholstery of car interior elements. If you cover the gear lever with this material, you will ensure an excellent appearance of the selector, and the car owner will get a pleasant feeling from contact with the device.

The main characteristic of leather is wear resistance. As a result of processing during the production of the material, it becomes more resistant to mechanical and chemical damage. The skin is characterized by resistance to ultraviolet rays. It will not fade in the summer sun. When choosing leather for upholstery, give preference to material with a thickness of 1.3 mm. If it is thicker, you will not be able to replicate the shape of the gear lever.

If desired, you can purchase perforated leather. This material differs from the traditional one by the presence of many small holes.

Perforated leather upholstery is characterized by:

• high elasticity;
• softness;
• as well as vapor tightness.

If you decide to choose this material, then choose it carefully. If there are too large holes in the area of ​​the skin, dust and dirt will begin to accumulate in them. Because of this, the gear lever will have to be cleaned more often and thoroughly.

The price of leather is always higher than the cost of other materials. But its use is considered the best option in terms of quality and price ratio. The service life of the leather is long, it will be 7 years with careful use of the gearshift lever. In addition to the high cost, genuine leather also has disadvantages. For example, the chemical elements that are used to harden the material cause a serious allergic reaction in some drivers. In this case, it is better to give preference to eco-leather.

From Dmitry Zaikin's video you can learn how to make a new leather cover to cover an old gearbox lever.

Artificial leather (eco leather)

A special feature of eco-leather is that the material does not emit chemical elements harmful to the human body. It is considered a hypoallergenic fabric. Eco-leather will not deteriorate as a result of temperature changes. The fabric is characterized by high wear resistance and moisture resistance. Faux leather is not leatherette.

The difference between the materials is significant:

1. Compound. Leatherette is produced on the basis of polyvinyl chloride. And artificial leather is made from cotton or synthetic fabrics with a polyurethane layer.
2. Production technology. In the production of eco-leather, technology is used that allows the material to “breathe”, unlike dermantine.

In appearance, eco-leather does not differ from natural leather. It has the same relief and softness. The cost of the fabric is lower; many car owners choose this material to cover and restore the gearbox selector.

Alcantara

This is an artificial suede made from synthetics. It has a soft and velvety surface, and in terms of characteristics and properties is close to natural leather. The fabric is elastic and durable, characterized by high wear resistance. Alcantara does not fade when exposed to sunlight; it is difficult to burn through. If ash from a cigarette or a spark from a cigarette lighter gets on the fabric, it is not damaged, and its original appearance is not lost even after a long period of use.

The main advantage is Alcantara's ability to retain heat. If you get behind the wheel in the cold season, when negative temperatures prevail outside, you will not touch frozen skin, but warm fabric. The cost of Alcantara is low, it can easily be found on sale, and using this material for covering is much more convenient and easier than leather.

User Garik Silantos showed in his video how to tighten the transmission lever on a car.

Rosette on the gearshift knob | How to make and where to buy?

Every car enthusiast loves his car more than anything else. And it is quite natural that everyone wants their “baby” to look the best.

Today, for such lovers of decorating their car, there is not only the name of this hobby - tuning, but also a lot of opportunities to stand out from the general mass of car enthusiasts. But this was not always the case.

There were times when everyone got rid of themselves as best they could.

Gear knob with rosette. How it was?

In the 90s, foreign cars had just begun to appear on the roads of the post-Soviet space, and such a thing as “tuning” had not been heard at all. For the most part, domestic cars drove along the roads of the former USSR, no variety. But every driver wanted his car to stand out from the general gray mass.

How to do this if it was practically impossible to get anything for this? Even tinting the windows was a problem. So drivers came up with different ways to decorate their beauty:

• They installed a spoiler on a Lada and even a Zaporozhets;
• We made a braid for the steering wheel from colored insulated wire or a regular dropper;
• They used unusual fur covers or, conversely, decorated the seats with wooden massage capes;
• They decorated their VAZ cars to look like Formula 1 sports models;
• We installed a sun visor on the windshield and blinds on the rear window;
• Reflectors were attached wherever possible; these reflectors were considered especially fashionable when they were attached to mudguards;

Do-it-yourself handle wrapping

You can sheathe or alter an automatic or manual transmission lever at home. To re-tighten the transmission selector, you will need standard tools. If we are tightening and sheathing the handle yourself, be sure to take into account all the nuances described in the instructions below.

Tools

To tighten the car gearbox lever, you will need:

• pen, felt-tip pen or marker;
• scissors;
• stationery knife;
• cling film;
• scotch;
• Super glue;
• sewing machine;
• threads (silk or nylon);
• fabric that will be used for upholstery.

Re-upholstery process

Before completing the task, you will need to remove the transmission selector. Don’t forget to remove it with the cover, which we then carefully rip into pieces using a utility knife. From them we create patterns, according to the dimensions of which the components of the new product are cut out.

The gearbox cover is sewn by machine or by hand, the procedure is carried out from the wrong side. If you do not use a sewing machine, the parts of the product must be pierced with an awl in advance to facilitate the joining procedure. The made cover must be fixed to the frame with glue.

User Vladimir Mazur in his video explained in detail and showed how the procedure for tightening the transmission selector is carried out.

The tightening procedure is performed as follows:

1. Take cling film and cover the gear selector with it.
2. The top of the film must be secured with tape. It is better to use a painter's one, as it is easier to mark with a felt-tip pen.
3. Mark the lines on the tape with a marker or felt-tip pen where the seams will be located.
4. Using a utility knife, carefully cut the winding along the previously drawn lines.
5. You will receive a dummy that must be carefully removed and aligned.
6. Using the finished pattern, parts are cut out from Alcantara, genuine leather or other material. Don't forget to leave some space around the edges (about 5mm) to adjust the tension.
7. By hand or using a machine, sew all the elements of the cover, while maintaining the remaining distance of 5 mm.
8. Sew the components of the future product together. Before using a needle or machine, glue the parts for secure fastening.
9. You need to pull the prepared threads into the seams you made. Afterwards they are tightened as much as possible.
10. When the cover is ready, it must be wetted with water. This will make the material more elastic. Then we pull the product onto the gearbox lever.

User Liberman in his video showed how the procedure for re-stretching and restoring the appearance of the gear selector in a car is performed.

What to look for in the gearbox?

If you have not found the culprit for the long lever stroke when choosing the desired gear, you will have to deal with the gearbox. It is important to make sure that none of the external parts can cause such a problem. Removing a transmission is a specific task that many trust only to good service. If you can do this yourself, it is worth finding normal conditions for performing all the necessary actions. After removal, it is important to carry out the following checks:

• without disassembling the box, test the gear selector rod, look at its play and other troubles that may arise in the process of selecting the desired gearbox stage;
• if you hear play or free movement, feel free to disassemble the gearbox, but if there are no backlashes, you should return to the switching mechanisms and carefully inspect everything again without the gearbox;
• then disassemble the gearbox and get directly to the switching mechanisms; most likely, one spring is missing or one fastening in the mechanism itself is unscrewed;
• look at the rod mechanisms, their stroke and possible breakdowns in the fastenings; often it is on the switching path that problems arise that lead to an extended stroke of the lever;
• evaluate possible problems in fixing gears, especially if there were problems with long strokes only at one specific stage; the locks often fall out of their mounting positions;
• pay attention to the entire mechanism of the box, since disassembly has been carried out, it is worth checking the operation of the entire mechanism, this is how you can resolve most of the problems.

Such attention will give not only an understanding of the problem, but also allow you to check the operation of the box as a whole. So you can be sure that the gearbox will last for some time without problems. If the gearbox is already being disassembled, it is worth taking the opportunity to change all rubber products, as well as the oil in the gearbox. Worn parts with signs of deformation should also be purchased new so as not to cause problems in operation in the future.

Homemade pen lighting

A way to decorate the interior is to add lighting to the gearshift lever.

Tools and materials

To complete the task you will need:

• diode light bulb (the color of the light source is chosen by the car enthusiast at his own discretion);
• 1 kOhm resistor element;
• stationery knife;
• soldering iron with tin and rosin;
• laser printer;
• glue gun with a transparent rod.

Stages of work

How to make a gear knob backlight:

1. Remove the transmission lever.
2. Remove the glass from its top. This element is painted black during vehicle production. You need to remove the paint layer. To complete this task you will need felt cloth or GOI paste.
3. Using a computer and a printer, an image is created for illumination. It is necessary to develop a stencil and take into account that the light must penetrate in those places where the car owner requires it. Make a picture on your computer with a light filter so that there is light in the place where the numbers themselves are located, but not outside.
4. All unnecessary parts and elements are removed from the inside of the gearbox selector. This is necessary to install an LED light bulb in it, which is fixed with glue.
5. Make a vertical hole in the selector. Through it, voltage will be supplied to the light source. When the hole is ready, install a diode lamp in the middle of the lever. First you need to solder a resistor element and a wire to it using a soldering iron. It is advisable to place the light bulb itself not in the central part of the lever so that it does not shine upward. The diode is directed slightly to the side. With this arrangement of elements, the lighting will be distributed optimally.
6. Using a utility knife, determine the location where the glue will be applied. All free space should be filled as much as possible, but apply carefully, in small portions, so as not to overfill. If you install an additional paper circle inside the gear knob, this will provide light diffusion. The image itself, which you made on the printer, is placed above the paper circle.
7. Reinstall the gear lever. Connect the LED light bulb wires to the car's electrical system. If the cigarette lighter is directly connected to the battery, then there is no need to wire a wire to this section of the circuit. Otherwise, the indicator will light constantly, which will lead to battery discharge. Connect the wire to the car radio circuit or ignition switch.

Gear number on the gear knob of a VAZ 2110 | Homemade catalog

To give the gear knob an original appearance, you can backlight it with an LED indicator showing the number of the engaged gear or neutral. This craft is very easy to make if you have at least a little experience in programming AVR microcontrollers.

The principle of operation of the device is as follows. It is turned on through the ignition. The main thing here is the microcontroller that communicates with the reed switches.

When the gear is engaged, the magnet attached to the rocker leans against the reed switch and its magnetic field, thereby closing its contacts. The signal is sent to the controller, which displays the image of the number corresponding to the reed switch on the indicator.

When the handle is in the neutral position, none of the reed switches is closed, then the snake rotates cyclically on the indicator.

Such a gear number indicator on the gearshift knob can be made quite easily yourself.

During the manufacturing process you will definitely need radio components:

1. Microcontroller ATtiny2313;
2. LED indicator with a common anode;
3. Reed switches for closing in the amount of 6 pieces;
4. Voltage stabilizer series 7805;
5. Resistors for current limiting at 100 Ohms (7 pieces) and one at 10 kOhms;
6. Capacitors 100 and 10 µF;
7. Two magnets;
8. Kit for gear lever from Turkish manufacturer SAHLER.

Photo gallery

The photo shows the results of self-tuning of the gear lever.

1. Place cling film and tape on the gear lever

2. Mark the seam lines on it and go along them with a stationery knife

3. In accordance with the resulting dummy, make a leather base for the case

4. Sew the fabric elements, pre-treating them with glue

Video “Detailed instructions for restoring the gear lever”

The MIS7Ter channel video provides a step-by-step guide to re-upholstering a car transmission selector, indicating the nuances of the process.

Do you have any questions? Specialists and readers of the AUTODVIG website will help you ask a question

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Let's sum it up

The problem of the shift lever travel being too long in a car is quite common. This can be seen in active topics on forums and rather long repair reports at large service stations. Also, reviews from owners about certain car models say a lot of useful things about the operation of gearbox mechanisms, including the extended shift stroke. Pay attention to how the process of changing the required gear works in your car. This will make it much easier to find the necessary changes in the technical part and eliminate them before they lead to unpleasant breakdowns.

The long stroke of the gearshift knob is not just an unpleasant and uncomfortable effect. Most likely, we are talking about a complete or partial breakdown of the mechanisms that are responsible for selecting the required gear. This can ultimately lead to very serious damage and unexpected failure of the box. If this happens on the highway at high speed, problems cannot be avoided. Take this into account and carry out the necessary diagnostics of your car. This way you can be sure to say exactly what problems caused this unpleasant effect. Contact a service station if you do not have experience in diagnostic and repair work. With the help of specialists, you can quickly find and fix even the most complex problems. Have you ever encountered too much gear shift?