[dsraven]

I have removed a few of these that were rusty. what I do is clean the area well prior to doing anything so you dont get junk down in the hole, then I use a big box end wrench slid down over the shifter shaft and it pushes on the retainer. that cab be tapped a few times with a rubber mallet or dead blow to loosen up the ring. sometimes it helps to turn the ring when it does get loosened enough to push down. then, if the wrench trick didn't turn the ring, I use water pump style pliers to turn it and pull the shifter lever up to remove it all. I have also used a large pipe fitting that fits the ring better if a large enough wrench isn't available. some diesel works pretty well to help loosen things up, if you have a farm or something with diesel machinery, or some penetrating oil. soak it for a few days before you need to work on it. tap on it a few times between the initial soak and the day of removal and you will be surprised.