my shifter has alot of play(it feels really loose), should i add some tranny fluid? isnt it supposed to feel more stiff than anything else? any info would help. Thanks!

 

Instead of saying SEARCH!!!! ...it is probably the shifter bushings. Check out Mazdatrix.com and you will find they have the parts and the directions.

However, I have replaced them in my car and still have the loose feeling. There are a springs in the transmission that keep the shifter planted in the center. If they are gone, it requires removing the entire transmission to replace them ...so you may have to deal with it. I also noticed the ball at the bottom of the shifter sits loosely in the transmission seat. Previous models have a bushing that goes in there. I haven't noticed any diagrams that show we are supposed to have one. If you look at the miata short shifter kits on eBay, they hage bushings at the very bottom ...which I have bought in order to fix that loose feeling as well. GL!

 

When I had that problem it turned out my shifter's inner boot was worn out. I replaced it with a new one from mazdatrix and haven't had a problem since.

See:
http://mazdatrix.com/g4.htm

 

Here's the info you need:

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

 

or alternatively, the shifter itself, i mean the "stick" itself, might be broken. my shifter was real loose too and i had to replace it, and then it was fine. stock one, not the short-throw, for fd costs around 100 bucks, so i'd imagine for the fc it's around the same

 

Also it could be the shifter bowl. Over time the gasket or boot between the shifter rod and the ring can break/become worn and start to leak. When this happens the oil escapes the upper shift housing (proper name? the thing the shifter bolts into) and excessive wear occurs due to metal to metal contact. The ball at the bottom of the shifter sits in a metal bowl and is connected to the shifting rods. When this bowl becomes warn the replacement of the shifter bushings only helps the problems slightly but the wobbely shifter problem remains. If you replace the shifter bushings drain/suck out all the fluid in the shift housing and inspect the bowl. A writeup was done somwhere on this subject on another forum but i cant find it. In it he had pictures of the warn bowl and he placed the shifter in it showing the bowl was much larger than the ball on the shifter. Also the bowl had chips along the edge and cracks through it. He had a junk tranny with a good bowl so he swaped them out but I remember him saying it requires the removal of the tranny to do. But it MAY be possible to replace it through the shifter hole in the cabin.