Another Shifter Bushing Question
 

My shifter is sloppy, so I figured it was time to put new bushings in. I ordered the upper and lower bushings with both springs from Mazdatrix as well as a new inner boot. (It turns out the previous inner boot was completely gone.)

The installation wasn't hard thanks to the instructions on Mazdatrix's website. The problem is that the shifter is still pretty sloppy. The only difference is the resistance to moving when in gear is higher, and I believe that has to do with the new inner boot. I was kind of hoping that the shifter would be more firm.

Is it possible that I missed something easy?

I got all the old bushings and springs out of the shifter hole and snapped a spring onto the upper and lower bushings and installed as described on the site.

Could this be the shifter itself (the car does have 220k miles on it) or something with the transmission? I've read on other threads that the Mazdatrix short shifter is tight, but I'm not sure if I want a short throw, I just want a tight shifter.

Thanks.

When I did mine it was 'like new' for a couple weeks. Then it went back to the way it was. (Engagement into gear was improved still).

I think you are talking about the stiffness when its in neutral right?

Yes and no. I'm talking about the stiffness while in gear. I can move the shifter around in all directions in gear (i.e. while in 1st, I can move it to make it look like it's in 5th)

It is more stiff in neutral now, but only because of the new inner boot.

Basically everything is a little stiffer, but it has the same sloppiness, if that makes sense.

that doesn't sound normal... you sure all the bushings are in right... because when i did mine it felt really snug until it breaks in... i would recommend the mazdatrix short shifter my buddy has one and its a really short throw and feels solid. the only problem with all short shifters is the rattle noise. yours might or might not have it.

Short shifter= worth the risk

Did you also replace the bushing that is in the shifter itself where it hits the linkage?

Not sure which one you are talking about. I replaced the the upper and lower bushings with the blue and white bushings respectively with the springs attached.

Are you talking about this one?

http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/g-...92BotBushS.jpg

yep that one can cause slop as well, i'm gonna replace that and the centering spring in my T2 trans before i do the swap.

:wallbash: How difficult is it to put this one in?

I don't remember seeing this one. So I guess the end of the shift lever sits in that white hole?

I ment the grove bushing on the notched part of the shifter itself

OK I definitely remember not seeing the groove bushing down there.

Even worse, I'm not sure how the groove (or the lower bushing for that matter) go in. :(

i believe you just push it on... it makes a hell of a difference, make sure your rubber part of your stock shifter is okay too... eh.. just get a mazdatrix ss, its the best thing ive ever got.. next to my arc ti shiftknob ;] lol....

This bushing
http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/g-...ShiftBush2.jpg
goes into the large ball of the shifter which you can see here in this Mazdatrix SS
http://www.mazdatrix.com/Pictures/g-...rtShifterb.jpg
When I redid my shifter bushings I found my lower bushing and spring were completely gone, the groove bushing had the corner busted off, and no spring on the top bushing. Some of that may have been due to the jerks that were supposed to rebuild my trans last year, but got me yet another junkyard trans because the couldn't figure out how to get the parts they needed. (Looooooong story)

Yes, 89-91's use the bushing shown in post #7, which just presses into the block that is at the end of the shift rod in the tranny. You don't take out the block to do this, so it's not hard to do.

Didn't know about the bushing that goes into the groove in post 13, but I'm not an S5 guy... :)

OK so you are saying that this bushing

http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/g-...92BotBushB.jpg

goes right up under the return spring and can be just pulled out and the new one is just pushed in? What about that hole on the side?

Also, for the groove bushing, I'm guessing there should be a hole inside the grooved part of the shifter ball were this part of the bushing is inserted.

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg710x/ShiftBush2.jpg

If that's the case, it looks like that part of my old groove bushing has been broken off inside the groove . At first glance, it looks like that hole is supposed to be plugged inside the groove of the shifter.

yes there should be a hole for the peg of that groove bushing to go into, if it busted off just drill it out, it's only pastic......trust me I've already done it

OK that makes a lot more sense. I saw pictures of other shifters that had that hole plugged up, so I thought that it was supposed to be like that.

Do you think that the groove bushing (or lack thereof) is causing the most trouble with the side-to-side sloppiness of the shifter while in gear? It seems like it would since it looks like it makes that groove a little tighter, thus causing it to have less play in it. Or do you think it's coming from the bottom bushing?

LOL, I never even knew that these existed!

Do you have to order the whole thing? Or is there a part number for just the bushing? If so, I can't find it on mazdaspeedmotorsports or mazdatrix.

thats cuz you have an S4 Alex, of course now I'm curious enough to take mine apart and make sure it's there because I don't remeber what i was looking at a year ago now

The advantages just keep adding up... :)

So, stupid question, but if the S4s don't have that, what keeps the shifter from wiggling around when it's in gear? Is there some kind of metal track or something?

I just ordered bushings for my '87 T2 from Mazdatrix--I bought all the stuff it said went onto my car--the two bushings, two springs, and the inner and middle (3 piece) boots.

None of those parts seemed to have any track-like structures, so I've been kind of curious as to how they work... I guess I'll find out in a few days when I pull the thing apart, but does anybody have a simple explanation? (I spent a bunch of time looking through shifter threads, but didn't find this information.)

that bushing in the tranny track crap doesnt wear as much, its suppose to be submerge in gear oil all the time, unless u had some crazy leak there and you shift like a monster... i looked at mine before i put in my mazdatrix ss, it look.. good compared to everything else.. including the transmission...

To the OP:....is your car an s4 or s5?....the s5 shifter uses the block with the nylon insert like the one shown in post #15. According to Mazdatrix, the nylon bushing isn't available without the entire block, which is a beeeeyotch to replace. And if I remember correctly, the s4 shifter doesn't have the hole for the groove bushing like the s5 one does (I could be wrong, or backwards). Also there is supposed to be a centering spring (not the ones above and below the plastic ball bushings) that breaks or gets lost. Mazdatrix part# 17-465B-M501

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

Check the fit of the bottom ball of the shifter where it fits into the hole of the shift shaft. If there's lots of slop, and your car is an s5, make your own bushing like I did out of brass. I actually used a bushing that came with a thermal fan clutch, but I think you could use a piece of brass or copper pipe to achieve the same result. Cut off a piece of the pipe, I think 5/8" long or so, and cut one side of the pipe lengthwise with a hacksaw or rotary cutter. Slip the piece of pipe over the bottom ball of the shifter, and then check the fit of the shifter again. If you need to sand off a little of the pipe to get it to fit into the shift shaft hole, do it. The bushing will last longer than the cheapo plastic ones that seem to "disappear" into oblivion. Mine works very well, and is as tight now as it was a year ago when I did mine. I may do a writeup of this with pics one day if I have time.

S4 is a solid shifter, has no guide bushing.

I however did believe though that the s4 uses a lower bushing, because i can tell there is stiill plenty of slop while in gear.

It's an S5. I didn't know where the groove bushing went until I started this thread. The old groove bushing on there had broken off and the tip of it is still lodged in the side of the shifter.

It seems logical to me that the groove bushing makes tighter for left-to-right movement while in gear. Needless to say, I'm going to order a new groove bushing from Mazdatrix soon.

One more thing to note: When I'm in 2nd gear, sometimes I can get the shifter to "stick" into place (i.e. no side-to-side movement). However, it's easy to "break" out of it and have it be sloppy again. Does this say anything about the condition of my bottom bushing, or is this a function of the groove bushing?