# What is the purpose of a shift boot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009 "2010-08-12T02:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![be\_bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@be\_bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/be_bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/1 "2010-08-12T02:38:38Z")
My current–and first!–car is a stick shift; other than knowing how to drive it (obviously), I don’t know much about manual transmission cars…or cars in general for that matter. My gear shift has a little boot on it. That is, doesn’t reach all the way up to the knob. Is having a thicker boot, and one that covers the whole stick, beneficial in any way? (when I read that sentence too many times it sounds really awkward) Or is it all about manly aesthetics? (Which, as a female, doesn’t matter to me. :rolleyes:) I also might as well ask if anyone knows where gear shift knob covers are sold, if anywhere. 😛 I’ve been looking for them because (A) my hands get sweaty and I like to keep everything clean, and (B) those suckers get really hot under the sun. Maybe I should stop looking online and just walk into an auto parts store… ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/2 "2010-08-12T02:42:13Z")
The boot is there to keep dust and debris in the cabin from getting into the shifter mechanism. All it has to do is cover the hole into which the shift lever goes, so it doesn’t have to reach all the way to the knob. I’ve never seen a gear shift knob cover, either in a car or in a store. There’s got to be something you could use – one of those foam microphone covers comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/3 "2010-08-12T03:11:55Z")
Yeah, the little boot is just to keep debris out because the part has to move and stuff can fall in there. It is a mechanical device after all and you don’t want it exposed. As for the shift knob cover, you can buy those or knit them yourself. They come in everything from ‘Hello Kitty’ to ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ designs. If that isn’t your thing, you can even retrofit a wooden beer tap as a handle as a project. [http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ\_ENUS317&q=shift+knob+covers&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=J2VjTIqUGsT48Aan\_dzaCQ&sa=X&oi=image\_result\_group&ct=title&resnum=7&ved=0CEMQsAQwBg&biw=1466&bih=586](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS317&q=shift+knob+covers&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=J2VjTIqUGsT48Aan_dzaCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=7&ved=0CEMQsAQwBg&biw=1466&bih=586) Just google ‘buy shift knob cover’. example: [http://www.14ushop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product\_Code=3805-US&Category\_Code=US-A&Store\_Code=1S4UI](http://www.14ushop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=3805-US&Category_Code=US-A&Store_Code=1S4UI) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/4 "2010-08-12T03:17:29Z")
Be careful with a cover though. You really don’t want your hand slipping off the knob as you’re trying to merge on to the freeway and you find yourself stuck in neutral, your engine racing and you have to stop paying attention to the traffic while you figure out what the hell just happened. I’ve only had that happen once. I was driving a friends pickup truck and as I shifted, his after market, improperly fitted, Marvin The Martian knob spun around in my hand. When I got back he said “Oh, make sure you’re careful when you shift or the knob’ll spin and your hand will fly off the stick.” ---
**Author:** ![be\_bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@be\_bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/be_bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/5 "2010-08-12T03:18:37Z")
Thanks to both of you! I also figured it might be to keep the dirties out. Now I know for sure! > [@Shagnasty](#): > > They come in everything from ‘Hello Kitty’ to ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ designs. Where’s the projectile vomit smiley? Hahaha. I’m not barfing at you, Shagnasty, just at the hyper-girly car accessory world. ---
**Author:** ![be\_bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@be\_bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/be_bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/6 "2010-08-12T03:29:02Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Be careful with a cover though. You really don’t want your hand slipping off the knob as you’re trying to merge on to the freeway and you find yourself stuck in neutral, your engine racing and you have to stop paying attention to the traffic while you figure out what the hell just happened. > > I’ve only had that happen once. I was driving a friends pickup truck and as I shifted, his after market, improperly fitted, Marvin The Martian knob spun around in my hand. When I got back he said “Oh, make sure you’re careful when you shift or the knob’ll spin and your hand will fly off the stick.” The KNOB itself once came off my gear shift. D: The stick-screw thing (???) with the notch was misaligned with the knob and its notch–the previous owner didn’t bother to tell me. Maybe he wasn’t aware. A few days later, my dad used a pair of pliers to rotate the screw, but I can see my knob came off a few centimeters again. Ugh. Hmmmm…maybe buying a cover isn’t such a great idea, after all. That would explain its unpopularity. I suppose I could just keep wiping down my knob with baby wipes and a towel. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/7 "2010-08-12T04:17:07Z")
> [@be\_bright](#): > > Where’s the projectile vomit smiley? If you think that’s bad, how about some Hello Kitty motor oil? [http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017](http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017) ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/8 "2010-08-12T04:38:02Z")
A lesson I learned. Do not ever drive (extremely lazy) friend’s car. He got his stick shift stuck in two gears and had to remove the boot, and pull the stick out from the top of the transmission. He only put two bolts back in, hand tight, and they only held the boot down. Lotsa fun driving down the interstate, shifting into 5th and having the whole stick come out of the transmission on you. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/9 "2010-08-12T06:49:38Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > > [@be\_bright](#): > > > > Where’s the projectile vomit smiley? > > If you think that’s bad, how about some Hello Kitty motor oil? > > [http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017](http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017) That’s just wrong, and makes me question how their market researchers managed to support that product. Equally weird, I once briefly dated a South American girl who sometimes wore Hello Kitty underwear (she was in her 20s). It thoroughly creeped me out and kind of made me feel like a criminal. Until they came off, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Add99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Add99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Add99)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/10 "2010-08-12T12:07:06Z")
Take that boot off and you will quickly regret the heat infiltration. There’s a lot of air flowing off of the engine and transmission that is quite hot. The boot blocks hot air, just like a rubber wiring grommet going through the firewall. ---
**Author:** ![JoeH2O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@JoeH2O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeH2O)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/11 "2010-08-12T15:41:03Z")
I was on a bus recently as part of my job - a 57 seater coach full of ESL students with packed lunches. The coach driver was having issues getting into second gear and it was only once we’d reached London and had a look into the hole in the floor, missing the shift cover, that an apple had lodged itself into the linkages down there. No wonder he was having problems changing gear. What had obviously happened was a student clearly didn;t want the apple in his lunch and just threw it on the floor, where it rolled to the front of the bus and went into the gear stick hole. I was at the front as a staff member and I collected several apples that rolled down towards us - I must have missed that one. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/12 "2010-08-12T15:50:48Z")
In m y wilder days I replaced my shift knob with a beer tap handle. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/13 "2010-08-12T16:14:01Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > > > If you think that’s bad, how about some Hello Kitty motor oil? > > > > [http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017](http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017) > > That’s just wrong… What, the six-legged fire-breathing dog wasn’t enough of a giveaway? ---
**Author:** ![be\_bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@be\_bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/be_bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/14 "2010-08-12T17:18:32Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > > [@be\_bright](#): > > > > Where’s the projectile vomit smiley? > > If you think that’s bad, how about some Hello Kitty motor oil? > > [http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017](http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/6251017) Wonder if it smells like strawberries? I find this mind-boggling: [http://image.automotive.com/f/images/9862513+pheader/eurp\_0802\_01\_z+mail+hello\_kitty\_audi\_tt.jpg](http://image.automotive.com/f/images/9862513+pheader/eurp_0802_01_z+mail+hello_kitty_audi_tt.jpg) It’s obviously Photoshopped, but still – why would anyone even _imagine_ a car like this? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/15 "2010-08-12T18:16:00Z")
These cars aren’t photoshopped: > **[Hello Kitty World](http://hello-kittyworld.blogspot.com/)** > > Kitty Wallpaper,Glitter Hello Kitty,Kitty icon,kitty,blackground kitty,Kitty Video,Cute kitty,Hello kitty,kitty world,french kitty,kitty cat,kitties,miss kitty,kitty picture,sanrio kitty,hellokitty,bg kitty,bg kitty,kitty sanrio,kitty ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/16 "2010-08-12T18:33:39Z")
> [@be\_bright](#): > > Hmmmm…maybe buying a cover isn’t such a great idea, after all. That would explain its unpopularity. I suppose I could just keep wiping down my knob with baby wipes and a towel. 😛 Perhaps you’d consider investing in a box of [Purple Nitrile Gloves](http://www.mountainside-medical.com/products/Nitrile-Gloves%252dPowder-Free-%28Purple%29.html)? > [@Giant Rat](#): > > Equally weird, I once briefly dated a South American girl who sometimes wore Hello Kitty underwear (she was in her 20s). It thoroughly creeped me out and kind of made me feel like a criminal. > > Until they came off, that is. Cleanshaven then, was she? :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/17 "2010-08-12T20:22:57Z")
I’m not even linking to the Hello Kitty vibrator. ---
**Author:** ![be\_bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@be\_bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/be_bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-shift-boot/550009/18 "2010-08-12T20:53:43Z")
All of you are defiling my thread!