removing gear lever pin

[skin_dog]

Is there a trick to this? It's driving me nuts!!

(pardon my terminology because i'm not quite sure of names of some of these bits)....the little steel tube-like pin that holds the gear lever to the collar bit thingy is only half way in.
I'm not sure if its broken or if it just needs to be pushed in further but my lever has sooo much play because its only held in place by the top half of the pin.
The pin itself is sitting proud of the knuckle on the collar thingy by a couple of mm. When i look from underneath the knuckle i can see that the lower end of the pin is flush with the hole in the end of the gear lever and doesn't penetrate into the underside of the knuckle. Make sense??

So the question is: do i try and whack it down further hoping that the couple of mm i have in excess at the top will be enough to carry through and grab the knuckle underneath? Or do i whack it up and out and replace it? ( i have a replacement one ready to go )

Either way, is there a trick to getting it out? I've tried a nail punch, i even tried drilling it out. Do i need to take of the steering wheel and get the whole collar off?

Help please!

[Blacky]

Get a pin punch the right diameter , knock out the old one and whack a new one in - easy job. Make sure it lines up when the pin enters the bottom section , as the casting of the honeypot is soft and easily buggered.

[skin_dog]

Honeypot! That's the thing!
Thanks Blacky, any tips for keeping the honeypot firmly in place so there's no slack when i start whacking things around?
Also, is there a certain gear i should have it in when i do this?

[Blacky]

just stick it in neutral and use the hand you are holding the pin punch with to steady the honeypot - it shouldn't be too tight , is there a roll pin in there ATM or has a PO bodgied it up with something else ??????

[skin_dog]

No it's the original pin with the split down one side but it's damn tight. I even braced and honeypot with a bit of wood and still couldn't knock it out.

[FJWALLY]

Need to do this myself as looks like the old has worn through on the bottom edge but having trouble finding a new pin - can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Blacky]

It's just a roll pin , a proper hardware store (if you can find one these days) or maybe your local mechanic should have a grab kit of pins , just take the old one with you for them to match the size.