So Sunday I went with a few friends to a Subaru WRX STI meet. I was the only rotary representing, so I had to step it up a notch! We were in a caravan of about 60 cars. (52 Subis, 6 Mustangs, 1 Mazda 3, and me in my 1990 RX7 Vert.) Luckily I had a full RB dual exhaust (thanks to Jason aka Tofu Ball) so I was able to hold my own and then some! =) It was a great time!

So we were driving on some back roads, and eventually we came to a major intersection. Since there was a lot of traffic it was impossible for all of us to pull out. When it came to be my turn to go, I revved up my rotary, and dropped the clutch. I peeled out for longer then I had ever in my 7, about 5 seconds. Smoke was everywhere. Once I started moving again I noticed the shifter was harder to move. I have a Miata short shifter installed. It has always been tight, but now it was difficult to get it into 4th and especially 5th. It's not particularly hard getting it into the gear, so I doubt it's the syncro. It's difficult to move left and right in neutral. Not impossible, but harder. After all the fun and games were over we went to a friends house to watch football. The car totally cooled down. It started raining as well. Then when I went home I noticed it was very hard to move the shifter. This morning was the same. Hard to move it, but not impossible.

Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks for reading!

 

Should I reduplicate the ball joint? If so what should I use? I noticed when I installed the Miata SS I noticed a pool of some kind of thin runny lubricating. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Matt|ttaM

 

kind of just sounds like you need to get the bushing kit from mazda, being that they're made of nylon/plastic they break after a long time - and if they break, they're likely to have a piece getting in the way of the ball.

 

Does anyone have the part number for that kit? Also should I get it for the RX7 or the Miata? I have a Miata shifter installed. Thanks for the input Sar!

 

i think mazdatrix is where i got mine when i did it, check them out

 

Definitely sounds like you toasted a bushing and now the tranny is out of alignment. That or part of your smokey burn out was your clutch....


BC

 

i had the same problem... i laid into it once out of a parking lot and then the shifter felt really stiff.. so i did nothing and it went away.. its cool tho.. my vert is going to need a tII tranny soon!

 

So I went to get gas yesterday, and checked the oil level. On the dipstick it read it was low. So I went to wall mart and got some oil, put a little in to get me home, then changed the oil when I got there. After I was done, I went for a test drive. Eureka! the shifter is perfect again. No harshness getting it into any gears, or moving left to right in neutral. It should be noted, I didn't change the engine oil with hopes it would fix the shifting. I will still replace the bushings though, but I am glad to see that something that should have nothing to do with the problem fixed it!

If anyone has any ideas, even crazy ones, as to how changing the engine oil can cause smoother shifting, please post here. I'd be interested to know =)

 

ive had trouble shifting because of a bad clutch master or slave, not enough fluid to actuate it all the way

and my experience w/ bad shifter bushings is that they make the shifter entirely way too sloppy, not really so much tight.

no idea how a miata shifter is different and if that is a part of your problem

just my inputs on experienced clutch/shifter problems
-Ben Martin

 

5 seconds is the longest you've ever broken traction?......................................... ...

 

if it was doing it while shifting in the neutral gates then it is definitely shifter related and not something in the transmission/clutch. could be a bushing decided to jump and pin itself on the alignment dowel causing it to bind up, some of the bushings in the kits are rather cheap so i can see it happening.

 

Second the bushing Thing Karcak is talking about.The Stock Shifter doesn't Have a PIN bushing,But the Aftermarket Miata shifter Does have one on the Upper Ball,To allow the shifter to Pivot.It could have just Nudged it a bit.It sits in the slot with by means of a Little "nub'" on the Bushing,In a small hole drilled to hold it There...I Noticed That Bushing,Right off the Bat when I Swapped my stock for the shorthrow...What I did to Fix it was to Have a machinist Fill the SLOT in with Metal,and It was Shaped back into a smaller Slot,that is now solid,Not Urethane or whatever the Bushing was made up of.Ths Shifter Now Pivots on Metal(Like the Old stock shifter),and it is alot better than having to Replace Plastic/urethane whatever bushings.

 

Not sure what was causing your problem or why it seemed to "fix itself", but I also have a Miata shifter in my NA and when I first installed it, the plastic bushing on the end of the ball wouldn't fit into the shift rod bore without sanding it down to a smaller diameter. Once I got it to fit and tightened the bolts, it would bind up in neutral. I took it back apart and removed the plastic bottom bushing and ground about 1/16th inch from the bottom of the ball, then snapped the bushing back on and now everything works perfect! Damn thing feels like a joystick and is a blast to shift. If your hard shifting persists, you might try what I did and see what happens.