Video: Corvette Owner Attempts to Eliminate Annoying C5 Shifter Rattle

Few things are as annoying as the C5 shifter rattle. One YouTuber attempts to fix the problem at home with basic hand tools.

We fondly remember a time when the C5 Corvette was new, and still one of the hottest things on the street with its LS1 V8. It might be hard for you to believe, but the earliest C5 Corvettes are now over 20 years old.

Corvettes do get better with age, but they get worse, too. Things wear out and break, and will need to be addressed so that the car can continue to provide the same level of enjoyment.

Recently, YouTuber who goes by the name DriveHub picked up a very clean 2001 Corvette. Like any car that’s this old, it needed a few repairs to make it like new again. The oil pressure sensor was replaced, as well as the climate control panel. However, there’s another issue that’s driving the Corvette’s new owner nuts — the dreaded C5 shifter rattle.

As he explains, “Unless I keep my hand on the shifter at all times, something inside of it rattles.” Removing the shift knob requires some finesse, but not many tools — just a selection of screwdrivers. A small screwdriver works to remove the shift pattern, while two larger screwdrivers work in concert to remove the metal key holding the knob in place. After that, it unthreads normally.

Don’t Sweat the Technique

After inspection, everything looks fine. DriveHub’s host re-installs the knob, and uses the end of a screwdriver to put the metal key back into place. It gives our host a chance at a little humor. He says, “That’s probably not the best way to do it, but then again I’m not the smartest guy.”

So did it work? Is the C5 shifter rattle gone? Up next is a short test drive. Having this shift knob tighter does seem to help a bit, but the vibration isn’t gone completely. It seems like more involved repairs are in this Corvette’s future. After the drive, the host explains, “Now that I feel the shifter knob, it feels just as loose as it did when I first got in the car to make this video. So that tells me, as I drive it, something is loosening up in here.”

Perhaps a new knob and key are in the car’s future. After all, the shifter is one of the parts of your Corvette that you use the most. It would make sense that it would wear out after 20 years of use.

However, we did learn how to remove a C5 shift knob the east way. The C5 shift knob and its legendary “devil’s key” have been a quagmire for C5 owners since the car was nearly new. We hope that DriveHub’s host can get his car fixed soon, and we’re going to keep his removal method in our mental toolbox for when we work on C5 Corvettes.

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