the pics in the archive are great - but they tell you to refer to the instructions in places.

UPS just delivered my short shifter. It arrived torn open and without instructions. Anyone have a copy of em?

 

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...14#post6849414
there you go, but what kind of short shifter did u order?

 

yeah, I mentioned the pics in that thread. And as I said, the posts say refer to the instructions. I need the instructions.

 

The Mazdatrix site has a complete how-to.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/ssinstal.htm

 

awesome - thanks downloaded their tutorial video into my mobile phone for quick reference

 

******* hel.

Took out the old shifter, and a piece of hook-shaped metal snapped into place overtop of the hole that the lower shifter bearing goes into. it's not mentioned in the pics, vodeo, or even the FSM. ******* INVISIBLE PARTS.

 

Well, now the lower bushing shattered and the whole thing is fucked.

 

Yeah, that bushing is pretty fragile. You can get them from the dealer for $8 or so...

 

I've heard that the hooked-shaped metal wire is the piece that springs the shifter back towards the middle when you take it out of gear.

 

Yea its the end of the centering spring manntis. Its in the FSM.

 

where? I've read section 7A three times and don't see where it's supposed to be positioned

 

Matt -

stock shifter has a larger lower ball, no bushing. Is the bushing a Miata part?

 

pushed it to the left and insterted the shifter end into a nylon sleeve I bent into shape. Greased it all up, threw it together, and took it for a test drive. A bit more shifting effort than stock - to be expected from the new fulcrum - and a bit notchier but definately a shorter throw.

 

Its not really documented well sorry, I looked again. I figured out how it goes like this. On the shifter you can see a notch that gets worn into the side of it from that spring. Between the lower ball and the upper ball. Thats how I figured out how it fits.

 

is the shifter supposed to be 'hooked' in the middle of the loop? Mine is only notched on the left, hence why I pushed it off to the side.

 

There are supposed to be two fingers on the shifter spring. The ball of the shifter fits down in between the two fingers on the spring. Sorta like this....

I o I

Terrible example, but that's the best I can think of to explain it. The loop on that shifter spring is what holds it into place. I think there is a rod that goes through that hole on the spring and fixes it to the shifter housing. But it sounds to me like your spring is broken, and missing one of the fingers that makes the shifter snap to neutral. If this doesn't make sense let me know...

 

 

What year is this transmission from?

 

1985

 

The spring clip shown in Mannitis' pic is a centering spring. It does not hold the shifter in place, it merely pushes the shifter to the neutral position. At one time I had 8 spare trannys in the basement, 7 of them had a broken centering springs. It's not a critical item but it does aid in shfting by giving a slight bit of resistance when going to the 3/4 or 5/R gates.

It's possible that the part that breaks off can jamb the shifter, but that rarely happens. Replacing the spring is a pita and for me, it's not worth the time and effort.

If one's shifter is loose/sloopy, it's due to worn bushings. If the shifter handle rotates, it's due to a worn or misaligned centering pin that is pressed in through the front of the shifter housing.

 

Sorry, my reply was not very well written. As trochoid more eloquently put it, I meant to say that the loop on the spring is what hold the spring in place, not the shifter. If you want to replace the spring I believe that there is plate on the side of the shifter housing that is held on by 3-4 10mm bolts. If you take those off and remove the plate you will be able to see better how the spring makes the shifter snap back to the neutral position. Between taking the side plate off of the shifter housing, and working from the top of the tranny you should be able to replace the spring fairly easily....

 

Doesn't look like his spring needs replacing though?

 

like I said, I just pushed it to the left and let it spring back to press against the left side of the shifter column.

 

So that's what makes it come back to centre when you move the shifter to the side... I always wondered that

Jon

 

just as an FYI, that little guide that is bolted in there at the top... should be taken out and thread locker put in cuz that little part sometimes likes to rattle loose. There have been a few reports in the 2nd gen forum of theirs having eventually rattled loose.