A common problem on high mileage rx7's is the shifter bushing. My 7 has 100k and the shifter was all over the place so it was time to fix it. I bought the upper and lower bushing kit from mazdatrix http://mazdatrix.com/g4.htm.

Tools.
1/4 ratchet, small extension, 10mm socket, flat head screwdriver and an adjustable.

The first step is to remove the shift ****. My boot was not zip tied down so I just slid it down. Use the adjustable to loosen the **** and remove.



Remove the base by prying at the bottom with a screwdriver.



You will them be looking at the outer boot. Remove the 4 bolts and remove the plate and boot.



Mazda marked both the boot and the plate for an easier reasembly.



You will them be looking at the 3 bolts that hold the shifter in place.



Remove the bolts to remove the shifter.



Remove the old bushings and any peices of broken springs that may be there. My Bushings were no where to be found but the upper spring was there. Install the white bushing on the bottom and slide the blue bushing down the shifter. Both bushings are tapered so the shifter sits in them. Line up the upper bushing with the groove in the shifter.



Place the shifter back in the trans and put it back together the way it came apart.

Overall this job took about 15 minutes and was very simple. I would suguest this to anyone who has a sloppy shifter.

 

I hope you replaced the lower boot too

(missing and ripped in this picture


The lower boot besides limiting the amount of play and increasing the life of the bushings, also keeps down the smell and the heat coming in from the transmission. It should always be replaced when replacing the upper bushing.

 

I just ordered one. I forgot to check the lower boot before I ordered the bushings.

 

how much gear oil should be down in there when the shifter is removed?

 

correct me if im wrong, but there shouldnt BE any liquid near the shifter. err thats what a mechanic once told me.

 

no, your supposed to have an amount (check the FSM for sure...) but its some amount that i cant recall

 

From buying the short shifter from mazdtrix does it come with the upper and lower bushings?? I am looking at getting one and that seems to be a good one.

 

any way to drain it? i had sludge.. SLUDGE?! last time i checked, so i poured gear oil in there before i was told that there shouldnt be "any" oil there. i have BIG problems shifting tho. its a Bitch to shift either way.. not because of the short shifter tho. i had this same shifter in my old gxl and i had no problems. it was a beauty. but this tranny is kinda guy.. its soo stiff. its ridiculous.

 

does this also fix the "springback" (when the shifter corrects itself when you push it left or right) of the shifter?

 

No it doesn't.
T2Rotor didn't mention it, but my shifter (91NA) has a return spring that must be levered to the side to pull the shifter out of the socket.
Also, it's unclear from his pics but there is supposed to be a bushing in the ball slot where it engages the locating pin...almost looks like his is missing.
Like so...

The return spring rides at about Point A when the shifter is installed...it's above the bottom ball and must be pushed aside to lift the assembly up and out.
When I redid my bushings the housing was full of oil to the point that the centering spring was submerged/hidden...I had to fish around with a pick to find/displace it.

 

thats extremely strange to me. the liquid part. my gxl had a moist interior, while the Se or gtu..whatever i have now is dry to the bone. actually it has grudge. is there any kind of solution i can put it and maybe drain somehow?

 

There is supposed to be a small amount of gear oil in there, though I'm not sure how much. I filled mine to the point where the bottom ball is submerged, but I don't know if that's correct. I haven't had a problem with it though.

I drained my sludge with a turkey baster (also good to have around for draining old brake/clutch fluid).

I have a total of 3 transmissions in my possession, but only one has the return spring. I didn't know about it, freaked me out the first time I saw it. I thought someone had shoved something in there that shouldn't have been there.

 

This is just a guess but maybe only S5 transmissions have the spring return?

 

No, they all came with the spring, but most of them have broken over the years and the pieces have fallen into the bottom of shifter housing.

 

You can order this from the dealer easily now. They sell the bushing and the spring, buy 2 springs and 2 bushings and then the gasket/seal or whatever, the guy thats esperienced with RX-7s told me about it that works at the dealer.

 

im ordering the parts right now and was wonder if i needed the "TRANS SHIFT CONTROL" and the "BUSHING SHIFTER". they are under the two main bushing on the website.
http://mazdatrix.com/g4.htm.
i really dont know what these part are for and if i need it. the thread didnt explain repacling them. thanks

 

so wait...my shifter doesn't spring back if you pull it over to the left (1st - 2nd) gear side...but if pushed to the right (5th - reverse) it springs back. There is a spring that can be replaced to make it pop back from either side? I don't see anything like that on mazdarix....is there another place to get it aside from a dealership? Does anybody have the part # for it if I have to get it from the dealer...Dealerships and this car don't get along...they hardly ever order the right part unless you have the exact part #.

 

For the boot housing....you just need to pop it off? There are no screws?

 

Mine does that too. It's not a terrible pain, but I wonder where that spring is too.

 

There are two springs. One that allows return to center from 1st and 2nd, and one that centers from 5th and reverse. The spring for 1st and second is a normal looking spring and goes into the back of the shifter housing. The other one looks like a bent paper clip and can be seen when the shifter is removed. This requires removing your transmission, taking of the rear housing, etc. I did it a while ago. There's a pretty good write up somewhere. If you look through my old posts there should be a link. Or search for it. Anyways, if you do end up doing it, make sure when you put the transmission back together that it doesn't get shifted into gear before reinstalling it. That happened to me and I had to drop the tranny again to fix it.

 

ha! No way I'm pulling the tranny for that.

 

yep, although I recommend that you reach inside the boot and pull up on the plastic part rather than try and pop it with a screw driver as shown in this thread.

 

No answer? I'd like to have then when I get my tranny flushed thids week

 

The boot housing is held on with 4 spring clips. You can see where them lock into in the second pic.

 

One other q about this....I believe it is called the boot plate or shift plate. Mine has worn down where the shifter can actually lock if shifted too hard...i don't think it's the bushings since everything is smooth shifting unless you shift too hard. Would a inner boot 3 part from the mazda parts online store fix this?