Removing transmission tunnel plastic covering query
 

Is there guide on how to remove the transmission tunnel plastic cover that starts from the gear lever to the flip top centre compartment? or can someone guide me as to where to search?

Reason is there are coins sliding around in the transmission tunnel area under the cover because the previous owner used to place coins in the ashtray. (Very annoying hearing them).

I can remove the ashtray, power window switch console and two other torx screws that secure the transmission tunnel cover so it feels more mobile, but it won't budge/lift out beyond that.

I've managed to remove approximately 10 coins already just with the limited access I have, but am stuck finding the last few I can still hear.

These instructions will tell you how it's done. Be careful to not damage the passenger side seat.

http://www.bmracing.com/media/products/pdf/67.pdf

Thanks for the help Blue2000S. I'll give it a go in a weekend or two when I get some time. I'm even tempted now to buy a B&M shoft shifter kit and install it myself. :p

I just compared the price to buy one online from B&M, and it would be a substantial saving compared to the Porsche dealership quote.

Installing the B&M is pretty easy. Cutting off the stock bushings is a bit of a pain and getting the cables adjusted correctly can take a little time.

The Porsche short shift kit comes with the shifter pre-installed into the black support frame, it's more of a bolt-in affair, that's how Porsche justifies the 2x price. B&M did make the Porsche shifter for a number of years, though, so it was the same part. Porsche has recently switched to a plastic shifter, similar in construction to the stock unit.

Mine was $55 off ebay. I figured if I didn't like the way the short shifter worked, I'd only be out $55 and if it was poor quality, I'd go to the B&M. It turns out that there's no noticeable difference between the knock-off ant the B&M except for the bushings. I replaced the bushings with teflon pieces and kept the knockoff. I'm pretty happy with it.

they are even cheaper than 55 on ebay now, and they are pretty much B&M, and probably made in the same factory, just the handle is put on the wrong way, btw,install is not hard at all, give it a go.
i was jsut suprised at the all things that needed to be dine, sicne my last short throw in my other car took no longer than 5 minutes to install, and it was a b&m as well...
good luck getting those coiins out, maybe you shold try something with magnets if nothing else works, move them to the point where you can reach them like you did with the other ones...

You can't pick up coins with a magnet, not real ones anyway.

hahaha... yeah it's true, you can't pick up coins with magnets :)

by the way, two other questions about short shifter:

1) once you cut out the original plastic shifter, can you ever re-use it again?

2) i noticed the metal shaft to the gear knob on the original shifter has a bend (roughly 20 degrees) towards the right hand side of the car (i'm assuming because mine is a right-hand drive). Pictures of the short shifter looks like they have a straight shaft. Do you guys think it would make it little harder to use?

1) The bushings are not re-useable. Theoretically, you can remove the bushings without breaking them, but it would take some effort. You can, however, use the new bushings on the old shifter if you want to go back.

2) All of the one's I've seen have the bend, but the cheap-o shifters are bent in the wrong direction, so you have to remove it from the housing, turn it around, and re-install it.

Update
 

I found the time last weekend to remove the transmission tunnel plastic console as per B&M instructions. After unbolting the shifter assembly, I immediately found 3-4 coins under it.

Further forward along the central groove in the metal bodywork where two wire bundles run, coins were lodged deep under where the CD holder is located. I fashioned a wire coat hanger into a straight long shaft with a small rounded hook tip to fish another 3-4 coins out.

After 3-4 repeated reinstallations and removal of the shifter assembly and test driving with sudden accelerating and braking motions to listen for jingle/rattles, (i didn't know how many loose coins were lost to begin with) i finally tracked down another 4 small coins that had travelled as far forward beyond the CD holder (shin level when your leg is resting against the dead pedal).

I only managed to remove these with bare fingers through a tiny hole in a metal bracket under the carpeting, in combination with the modified coat hanger. (Lucky i have small hands).

I can cautiously claim success for now, unless I hear further jingling, but so far, so good. Yay. :D