Shifter feel like a stick in the mud sometimes
 

Most of the time the shifting on my 83' feels normal. However sometimes the gear selector starts to feel different. Its litterally feels like I'm stirring a bucket of mud. It comes and goes randomly. Sometimes it will hang around for a while, other times it goes away fast. It does it hot or cold.

Gear oil is fresh, i've changed it several times with synthetic. I'm thinking my tranny is going bad.
Anyone else experience this?

Thanks.

How do the shifter bushings look?

I dunno, thats the plastic ring thats next to the "ball" of the shifter, correct?

Yeah, there is a top and bottom one, a weird looking shim thing, then there is also a spring that holds the shifter in place in the shifter housing.

I'd check all that stuff first.

Cool, I'm thinking the spring is okay as it always falls back to center. I'll definetely check the bushings though. Maybe they're worn to the point where they are getting caught on something.

thanks man.

Mine does this too. 83 also. Im gonna look into it. Plus, I remember watching the video at MazdaTrix about installing their short shifter and they talk about filling it with fluid up there, I think I need to do that cause I never did, I just put fresh oil in the tranny itself.

~T.J.

I had my tranny out just recently when I put my engine in. I did fill up the shifter housing with gear oil..... mine was a bit dry. I don't think that’s the problem though. The feeling comes and goes too fast to be a lack of oil.

I am glad to see I'm not the only one experiencing this :)

Thanks for the help.

Well, mines gonna get some new oil in there for sure :).

~T.J.

I also have an '83, and mine feels like that too. I haven't check into it yet, but, I figure it is the bushings.

Actually greasing the shifter ball is another option that I Know works very well. I tried gear oil in the well and it always seemed to leak out over a few months (maybe that's why most of them are dry all the time.

Ahhh Grease! Yes....Grease good.

I think the gear oil runs down that shifter rod housing and never comes back.

Yeah, when i had mine out, there was some kinda grease on it...It seems to get worse everytime I take my shifter out, lol...Less and less grease on there I guess...

~T.J.