When instaling the lower shifter boot (the small one) I couldn't decide how far to slide it down on the shifter. I slipped it over the top part and then it popped onto the part where the shifter goes from being fat to being skinny. There is a little groove there that the top of the boot slid into, so I left it there. But when bolting it down, this meant that the shifter base had to be stretched a bit to fit down on the transmission top - like 1/2 inch.
This puts stress on the rubber and seems that it would be bad over time. But I was afraid to slide the boot top down more for fear that it would leak.
Anyone have experience with exactly where the top of the shifter boot should end up on the shifter?