Hey all,

Changing gear on my 88 RX-7 feels a bit like stirring a pot of soup. Finding the right gear is a bit vague, and there's a lot of play in the shifter even when in gear. Any thoughts about where the problem could be? I figure it might just be some worn bushings on a linkage somewhere, but I'm nowhere near enough of a mechanic to point to the problem.

Thanks!

 

Shifter bushings and centering spring.
Bushings accessible from the top, inside the car.
The spring is trickier I understand (never done one myself) but still, apparently do-able without dropping the trans.

 

Sweet, thanks.

 

Oh my god, I could never imagine trying that.

Taking the reverse switch out of mine resulted in cussing and a wrench mark in drywall.

 

Don't forget to order the flat wave washers (2) if doing the bushings. One of mine had cracked in 3 and dropped into the shift-selector housing, replacing it has made the shifter surprisingly more positive and smoother.

 

jjwalker: Working on my RX-7 has helped me grow in my patience

rx7racerca: Thanks for the advice! I need to do my research so I go in prepared. Knowing which parts to have up-front is very helpful, so I appreciate you sharing your experience!

 

Hey gents,

I tried looking up information about the flat wave washers, but couldn't find a lot about them. Know where I could source these parts?

Sorry for the newbie question. I'm still starting out on doing my own maintenance

 

Transmission
looks like those "wave washers" come with the bushings.

 

Sweet, thanks!

 

Your welcome..and sometimes I am Spicy..

 

The long-awaited followup:

I purchased the upper (M508) and lower (M501) bushings as well as the inner (M513) and middle (FB01) boot kits. The bushings did come with the flat wave washers, which are referred to as springs in the instructions.

It was a little challenging because pretty much all the parts (inner boot, bushings, and washers) had disintegrated (hence my sloppy shifter). This meant that I couldn't use the existing setup for reference, and the tiny-tiny pictures on the Mazdatrix page were not entirely clear. But I managed to get everything bolted together and my test drive went well. The shifter is very tight and smooth now; perhaps a bit stiff, but I'm sure I'll wear it in after a week or so

Thanks again for all your help!

 

IF you find it a little "too stiff" and feel it could be a little "looser" for you,Then you could try this:
Make another gasket that sits on top of the trans and between the shifter assembly(under the round piece with the 3 holes).Mazda had a real thin one there.
You know that 3 hole bolt pattern on TOP of the trans?..THERE...That is where you would have the gasket.
Doing this lifts the whole shifter assembly,.in a miniscule amount,but it does "adjust the feel".It all depends on what thickness of gasket you use that would dictate the difference.
But again,as you said it can be that it is just "too new"..

and again..you are not use to having a TRUE fixed shifter because you had the crappy one when you started..hahha!