When I had a mechanic look at my car I asked them to look in to the play in my wheel. They said that the gear box was going bad, I've looked and haven't seen anything about replacing it or if they actually go bad.

So my question is, do they go bad? If so where do I get a replacement, and do they make new ones for it or would I have to find a decent one at a pick and pull?*

If they don't go bad, or if they do and it's highly unlikely it's the problem. What would cause significant play only to the left?
The wheel is tight when turning right but when it goes left it feels loose and if I turn it too far to the left it looses all traction and flails around until I get it back to near straight.



* If this, then how do I tell if it's a good one and not a bad one?

 

It is actually a common this for our cars to have this kind of play in the steering wheel from overtime usage, there are a few way to try to take out some of the play,

check your idler arm, see if the bushings in there are starting to go ... if they are, I would just go to rockauto.com and get the moog replacement part which is superior to the stock one and fairly cheap.

There is also a way to tighten a nut in there, you will need to pull up the thread on that as I've never done it myself.

lastly to get rid of all that headache, you could do like me and some others have chosen to do. go to ReSpeeds website (http://www.mrcmfg.com/respeed/) and order the rack and pinion conversion kit. Mind you that will cost in excess of 1000$ but well worth it in the end and you can also get a quick ratio rack and pinion for it.

 

Try this link found searching old threads just now...very thorugh...

Bobrx-7 from Mazdaspeed...

 

Now that your title reflects the information that you are looking for. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. There are now related threads that you can click onto that will cover the subject.

 

Love the article, i learn something new on this site everyday!

But i wish someone would revisit this process and document it with some pics for all of us that are more visually orientated.

 

Right, sorry. Late night after work and all, however I had already read those threads and none of them really answered if the gearbox is likely to be bad and need to be replaced not just adjusted, I'm not sure how the mechanic even checked which is why I'm trying to get that information. But I don't want to keep putting a band-aid on it by adjusting and have the entire thing die and lose control of the car or something.

 

mar3, you and others interested in steering box fixes should read this thread. https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=663212

 

but...but...it looks the same as the link I provided....same guy and everything...

 

Do you have trouble reading the original link? I edited it and posted it on the forum.

 

Mine still had a lot of play after replacing all of the front end parts (tie rod ends, idler arm, bushings, etc.). I used a much abreviated method to adjust my gearbox, and it has been great for well over a year now.

Unless you have like 300,000 miles on your car, I doubt that your gearbox is in need of replacement. Just giver her a quick adjust and you'll be all set (assuming all front end parts are good).